Fuzzifying the Natural Law-Legal Positivist Debate

Abstract:     
Legal scholars have long debated various theories of law. The debate between natural lawyers and legal positivists is case in point. This debate centers, as is well known, on the claim that there is a conceptual connection between law and morality. Natural law theorists maintain that there is such a connection, whereas legal positivists maintain that there isn't. The dialogue in this article details the respective positions of a natural law theorist, Naturalis, a legal positivist, Positivus, and a fuzzy logician, Multivalus, with regard to a case that arose in post-war Germany. As the dialogue highlights, fuzzy logic is a significant new tool which may be used to bridge the gap between the bivalent world-views espoused by natural law theorists and legal positivists.

Keywords: Natural Law Theory, Legal Positivism, Fuzzy Logic

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