Do You Have an Obligation to Obey the Law?

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From the course by The University of Edinburgh

Introduction to Philosophy

2911 оценки

The University of Edinburgh

Introduction to Philosophy

2911 оценки

This course will introduce you to some of the main areas of research in contemporary philosophy. Each module a different philosopher will talk you through some of the most important questions and issues in their area of expertise. We’ll begin by trying to understand what philosophy is – what are its characteristic aims and methods, and how does it differ from other subjects? Then we’ll spend the rest of the course gaining an introductory overview of several different areas of philosophy. Topics you’ll learn about will include: Epistemology, where we’ll consider what our knowledge of the world and ourselves consists in, and how we come to have it; Philosophy of science, where we’ll investigate foundational conceptual issues in scientific research and practice; Philosophy of Mind, where we’ll ask questions about what it means for something to have a mind, and how minds should be understood and explained; Political Philosophy, where we'll investigate whether we have an obligation to obey the law; Moral Philosophy, where we’ll attempt to understand the nature of our moral judgements and reactions – whether they aim at some objective moral truth, or are mere personal or cultural preferences, and; Metaphysics, where we’ll think through some fundamental conceptual questions about free will and the nature of reality. The development of this MOOC has been led by the University of Edinburgh's Eidyn research centre. To accompany 'Introduction to Philosophy', we are pleased to announce a tie-in book from Routledge entitled 'Philosophy for Everyone'. This course companion to the 'Introduction to Philosophy' course was written by the Edinburgh Philosophy team expressly with the needs of MOOC students in mind. 'Philosophy for Everyone' contains clear and user-friendly chapters, chapter summaries, glossary, study questions, suggestions for further reading and guides to online resources. Please click "Start Here" and navigate to the "Optional Reading" page for more information.

From the lesson

Do We Have an Obligation to Obey the Law?

(Dr. Guy Fletcher) The laws of a state govern what we can and cannot do within that state. But do we have an obligation to obey those laws? In this module, we'll discuss this question, together with some of the main positions that philosophers have developed in response to it. We'll start off by examining what obeying the law means exactly. Then we'll look at three factors that might form the basis of an obligation to follow the law. Finally, we'll discuss what the consequences might be if the problem can't be solved.

Do You Have an Obligation to Obey the Law?4:32

The Grounds of Political Obligation2:53

Gratitude and Benefit4:11

Meet the Instructors

Dr. Dave Ward
Lecturer in Philosophy
University of Edinburgh
Professor Duncan Pritchard
Professor of Philosophy
University of Edinburgh
Professor Michela Massimi
Full Professor
Philosophy
Dr. Suilin Lavelle
Lecturer in Philosophy
University of Edinburgh
Dr. Matthew Chrisman
Reader in Philosophy
Philosophy
Dr. Allan Hazlett
Dr. Alasdair Richmond
Dr.
Philosophy
Guy Fletcher
Lecturer
Philosophy
Elinor Mason
Senior Lecturer
Philosophy

Hi, so my name's Guy Fletcher, and

I'm a lecturer in philosophy at the University of Edinburgh.

In this lecture we're going to think about the question of whether you have

an obligation to obey the law.

Political philosophy is the part of philosophy that examines philosophical

questions about the relations between states and between states and

their citizens.

In this lecture, we'll be thinking about the problem of political obligation.

This is one of the central questions of political philosophy.

And the plan for the lecture is as follows.

In part 1, I'll introduce the problem of political obligation.

In part 2, I'll examine some possible solutions to that problem.

And in part 3,

I'll explain what the consequences would be if that problem can't be solved.

Okay, so part 1, The Problem of Political Obligation, so

states make demands upon us everyday.

They make demands upon us to pay taxes, to provide certain kinds of information,

to do jury duty sometimes, and very occasionally to fight in wars.

They impose these burdens through the laws that they enact and that they enforce.

This gives rise to an important question.

Do citizens have an obligation to obey the states and to obey its laws?

The problem of political obligation is the attempt to answer precisely this question.

Even more precisely we can describe the problem of political obligation as

follows.

It's the attempt to find an explanation of why we

have an obligation to obey the state and its laws.

Before we go any further,

we need to understand the elements of the problem of political obligation.

So first we need to understand what it is to obey something and

what it is to obey the law.

And secondly, we need to understand the grounds of political obligation.

Okay, so first, obeying the law,

obeying the law is not the same as complying with the law.

Having an obligation to obey the law is not the same as having an obligation to

comply with the law.

Here's how we can see the difference.

Suppose the law tells you to pay your income tax.

If your income tax gets paid, then that's enough to count as complying with the law.

The law told you to do something, and you did it.

Acting in accordance with the law is sufficient to comply with the law.

By contrast,

to obey the law, you must act in accordance with it because it is the law.

So if someone pays their income tax only because they don't want to be punished,

then they've complied with the law, but they haven't obeyed it.

So obeying the law and complying with the law are importantly different.

The difference between an obligation to comply with the law and

an obligation to obey the law is important here because it's

easy to have obligations to comply with the law.

But it's not so clear that we have obligations to obey the law.

We have obligations to comply with the law because of

the effects of breaking those laws.

So if our income taxes are used to support vital services,

then we have a moral obligation to pay our income tax.

And similarly, if our family requires us to provide for them,

then we have an obligation to comply with the law because

we need to stay out of prison and to provide for our families.

These are clear cases where we have an obligation but

an obligation to comply with the law.

Another way of seeing why obligations to comply with the law and

obligations to obey the law are importantly different is to think about

problematic states, so states such as Nazi Germany.

People living within those states typically have obligations to comply

with the law.

They have reasons to comply with the law.

And they have obligations to comply with the law because of the bad things that

would happen to them and to their families if they don't comply with the law,

if they don't do what the law says.

But in the case of a problematic state,

it's not the case that the laws that it makes are legitimate, and so

perhaps the citizens don't have obligations to obey those laws.

They don't have to act in accordance with the law because the law commands it.

Okay, so so far we've seen the difference between complying with the law,

which is doing what the law commands, and

obeying the law, which is doing what the law commands because it commands it.

We've also seen the important distinction between having an obligation to comply

with the law and having an obligations to obey the law.

It's the obligation to obey the law that is central here to our

investigation of the problem of political obligation.

We have an obligation to obey the law if we have an obligation to act in accordance

with the law because the law commands it.

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