HISTORICAL THEORIES OF LAW

There are 3 main historical theories of law. They include divine, natural and positive law.

DIVINE LAW
Rests on the belief of divine intervention that all law comes from God. The law is the product of Gods will, which people incorporated into their own legal codes. Some supporters of divine law say that because it is derived from God, it cannot be changed or overruled, and that human laws that violate the laws of God are invalid.

NATURAL LAW
Unchanging, moral principles common to all people, who strive to be good; An observable law relating to things that occur in nature; Assumes that it is human nature to be good, and goodness is essential to our well-being; Applies to all humankind, so it is universal; Imposes a moral responsibility on a society to give each person his or her due, regardless of the laws in place; Philosophers of natural law always try to seek out the meaning of truth, which they believe can be discovered by constantly questioning the meaning and purpose of law (rationalism and the Socratic method) Most natural law philosophers condoned the concept of civil disobedience the idea that if a human law contradicted a natural law (or a law of nature), then people were not obligated to obey it. Natural Law philosophers include Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.

POSITIVE LAW
Laws that are enacted and adopted by government rejects natural law; Argue that law and justice are not the same; the law is nothing more than more than the opinion of whomever has the power, while justice means conforming to the law; Separation of the law and morality law has no moral purposes other than to ensure the survival of the state. Argue that obedience to the law is essential, even if justice is not served. Builds its legitimacy on the supremacy of the rule of law the belief that neither the individual nor the government is above the law. Positive Law philosophers include Thomas Hobbes and Jeremy Bentham.

Assignment:
Your task is to complete the charts on the Theories and Philosophers of law using the information you find by accessing the OERB website. 1. Go to the OERB website at: https://resources.elearningontario.ca/ 2. Log in to the site using the following information: Login: pdsbstudent Password: oerbs 3. Accept the Terms and Conditions of using the site, then click on search. 4. Click on eLO Course Units. Select Grade 12, and Select Course CLN4U Canadian and International Law. 5. Click on Unit One. Scroll down the page. At the bottom you will see a section called "Activities" with links to different unit activities. For this assignment, you will need the CONTENT from Activities 7 and 8. i.e., click on Activity 7. It will bring you to a page that says "overview". Click on the content link. 6. Read through the content for both activities. Use the information you can gather from these two activities to complete the charts on the different Theories and Philosophers of Law that I have provided you. 7. Once you have completed the charts, begin to work on the Dr. "Phil" O. Sopher Expert Analysis Case. YOU WILL NEED THE INFORMATION FROM THE CHARTS TO HELP YOU COMPLETE THIS ASSIGNMENT. 8. Though the charts are NOT being collected for evaluation, there will be a quiz on their contents, so it is imperative that you complete them!!!!