Normativity, Coordination and Authority in Finnis's Philosophy of Law
Mark Sayers and Aladin Rahemtula (eds), Jurisprudence as Practical Reason: A Celebration of the Collected Essays of John Finnis (Supreme Court Library Queensland, 2013)
University of Queensland TC Beirne School of Law Research Paper No. 13-10
8 Pages Posted: 12 Dec 2013
Date Written: December 10, 2013
Abstract
This chapter reviews John Finnis, Philosophy of Law: Collected Essays Volume IV (Oxford University Press, 2011). It draws out some central themes of Finnis's work on philosophy of law, focusing on the concepts of normativity, coordination and authority. The chapter also considers some similarities and differences between the natural law theories of Finnis and Michael Detmold, both law students at the University of Adelaide in the late 1950s and early 1960s. I argue that Detmold provides the more convincing account of legal normativity.
Keywords: Natural law, jurisprudence, normativity, coordination, authority, Finnis, Detmold
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