The Province of Jurisprudence Determined

By John Austin

Book Overview

The Province of Jurisprudence Determined, Volume 3, presents a foundational exploration of legal philosophy by John Austin. This seminal work delves into the nature of law, distinguishing it from morality and other social norms. Austin rigorously examines the concepts of legal positivism, focusing on law as it is, rather than law as it ought to be. Through detailed analysis, he seeks to define the boundaries of jurisprudence, offering insights into the structure and function of legal systems.

This volume continues Austin's profound investigation, making it an essential resource for scholars and students interested in legal theory, the history of law, and ethical considerations within legal frameworks. His clear and systematic approach provides a lasting contribution to understanding the fundamental principles of law.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1023726475
• ISBN13: 9781023726474
• Release Date: May 2025
• Publisher: Hutson Street Press
• Length: 458 Pages
• Weight: 1.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

One of the "founders" of "legal positivism"

I read this book for a class on the philosophy of law. The English legal philosopher and jurist, John Austin, was instrumental in developing the theory of legal positivism, which held that there had to be a separation between religious laws of morality and positive or human made law. In his book "The Provence of Jurisprudence Determined," he delineates how laws are made and obeyed. "Every positive law, or every law simply and strictly so called, is set, directly or circuritously, by a sovereign person or body, to a member or members of the independent political society wherein that person or body is sovereign or supreme" (253-254). Therefore, in a representative democracy, the people are the sovereign and either they or their elected representatives produce the laws. Austin argued against judges interpreting their nation's constitution or law code to make perceived necessary changes to keep up with changing social values. Austin believes that in a democratic society, the people are sovereign and thus a nation's constitution and law code should be changed by the people's elected representatives and not by appointed judges. Austin is not against citizens changing their Constitution or laws, "... the Constitution should keep up to date--but it should keep up to date with the views of the people." Austin's genius was in his perception of the history of how nations govern, which has provided ample proof that there is a direct correlation between those democracies that maintain a healthy balance of powers between the branches of government and are the same democracies that are most protected from the danger of slipping into tyranny; whether it is rule by a dictator or rule by a politically privileged few, such as an oligarchy. Recommended reading for those interested in philosophy, history, and political science.