We must live by the rules we as a people create. You need only think about people like Gandhi, Steve Biko, Nelson Mandela etc. According to the theory of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 18th century French political philosopher, ?in a democratic society the state represents the general will of the citizens, and that in obeying its laws each citizen is pursuing his own real interests. But do we have an obligation to obey those laws? According to the theory of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 18th century French governmental philosopher, ?in a democratic society the state represents the prevalent will of the citizens, and that in obeying its laws each citizen is pursuing his own genuine interests. But the question is: are we living in an ideal state and do all the laws of our land express the common will of the people and should we obey all the laws even if they are unjust? First, the caveat. If you don't like the law of the land and cannot change it, then move to a community that does not have that law. In Jefferson’s words, it is a nation in which “All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights that among them are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of … This means that laws, regardless of how unfair, unjust, or immoral they may be, must be followed with no better reason that they are the law. (Note that typos are con­tained in the orig­i­nal manuscript.) Men generally, under such a government as this, think that they ought to wait until they have persuaded the majority to alter them. Conversely, should one obey an unjust law? Watch Queue Queue Specifically, if living in a society means obeying the "laws of the land", do we owe it to our fellow citizens to obey or defy laws that are unjust or wrongheaded? “Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once? Given Plato's rather dim view o But what about unjust regulations? So how should we read Paul’s injunction in Romans 13? G iven my specification that we have a moral duty to obey only the just laws of a legitimate regime, it is natural to explore what types of laws are in fact just. We must obey or stand condemned before God. Socrates is among those who believe that we should obey laws even if they are unjust. (See my Grove booklet How to Interpret the Bible for a longer exploration of these principles.) Obviously, such an individual like Antigone in ancient Greece is naturally torn between two loyalties. ? 1. Just and Unjust Laws: Should the Unjust Laws be Obeyed? The answer to this question can be different for different people, but in my opinion it is NO. This is a topic that Plato will (partially) address in the next reading: On Consenting to Laws – another short reading from the Crito. Shall we obey unjust regulations? The teacher then underlines the distinction between moral responsibilities (which people take upon themselves as part of their own values and beliefs) and legal duties, which are imposed by governments. This video is unavailable. Now we come to the dialogue "Crito", which poses the question: What does the individual owe his society? Hmm, there’s a caveat and a practical answer here, I’ll post both. We can not give them the respect of the rule of law because our highest respect for the rule of law requires that we not give respect to a lawless decision." If he obeys the law, he would be guilty of knowingly aiding to sustain an unjust system. By Alberto Mingardi. But it also raises problems about whether we are obligated to obey unjust laws. This means that laws, regardless of how unfair, unjust, or immoral they may be, must be followed with no better reason that they are the law. 9 . Feb 2018 | 5g, Infrastructure, Injustice, Should we obey unjust laws?, Wireless. You express a great deal of anx­i­ety over our will­ing­ness to break laws. “Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once? Governmental laws should absolutely be disobeyed and actively fought against when the society is fundamentally unjust against the people. This applies to all laws -- from criminal laws to traffic laws -- and even when we think the laws are unreasonable. The quotation bears a much closer resemblance to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s comment in his famous letter from Birmingham Jail: "One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Laws should be obeyed but if unjust should be challenged. First-century rulers, both Roman and Jewish, were corrupt and unjust. Important Letter to Zoning Committee on Their Responsibility to Protect Public Rights and Not Hide Behind Federal Laws That Can Harm Us. Written by Duncan Ivison, Professor of Political Philosophy, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research), University of Sydney The claim by Sally McManus , the new head of the ACTU, that when the law is unjust, ‘I don’t think there is a problem in breaking it’, returns us to a deep question in political philosophy: Why should I obey the law and the state more generally? If a law was unjust, however, it then was contradictory and should not be considered a law according to King. SHARE POST: “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws,” so goes the old, venerable quote by Martin Luther King. Typically businesses play by the rules. should you obey an unjust rightfulness Should you obey an unjust police force? In this module, we'll discuss this question, together with some of the main positions that philosophers have developed in response to it. Unjust Laws The United States is homeland for millions of immigrants who risk their lives for a better existence. This matter is especially pressing for those who draw on samaritanism because a critic might worry that samaritan considerations are too restricted to justify most of the functions that modern bureaucratic states legitimately perform. I don’t think many people would say their actions were immoral. This simply means we should fight every unjust law legally at first. Martin Luther King, Jr., "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963. We have no duty to obey intrinsically unjust laws but we usually do have a duty to obey extrinsically unjust laws. But, what’re the criteria for “unjust laws”? We Have a Moral Responsibility to Disobey Unjust Laws In the Same Way We Should Obey Just Laws . People should not go around breaking laws just because they do not approve of them. Then we'll look at three factors that might form the basis of an obligation to follow the law. Acts 5:29 -- We disobey only when obedience to civil law would involve us in disobeying Divine law. ? We accept that in Britain there are no ifs or buts about our duty to obey existing law and to suffer the consequences of failing to do so. "An unjust law is an earthly law that is in direct collision and conflict with the higher law. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws." Its purpose is to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of his theory. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws."1. Some of the students read their examples aloud in the plenary discussion. Why should we obey the law? For a more thorough discussion, Dr. Gregory Sadler has several videos on the Crito. We see two drastically different opinions. Men generally, under such a government as this, think that they ought to wait until they have persuaded the majority to alter them. Watch Queue Queue. Hobbes says that government won’t work if people decide whether to obey a law based on justice, but Thoreau says that if a law is unjust we need to try our best to destroy it. The following Letter by Dr. Ronald N. Kostoff was written to the Montgomery County Zoning Committee. Laws that unjust and interfere with our rights should not be obeyed. Should You Obey An Unjust Law Essay, Research Paper Should you obey an unjust law? The governmental state always insists that its citizens obey without question. Examples might be breaking the speed limit in an emergency or defying a law because it is bad or unjust. [MLK] said that we must disobey them. That’s how we expand freedom. This dissertation is an examination of John Finnis's theory of our duty to obey unjust laws. We'll start off by examining what obeying the law means exactly. They think that, if they should resist, the remedy would be worse than the evil. There are also those that believe laws must be obeyed whether they are just or unjust. It is also important to obey the law (just and unjust laws) because an individual in society is who he/she is because of the laws in society. There is a long history of people not complying with unjust laws. Well, the rest of us have to obey the law and big, militant unions are no exception -- we're making them obey the law. This is simply to say that since the time one was young to when they grew up to be adults, the laws that existed and … These civil activists believe that we have god given rights that no one can take away. So, I don’t believe “all people should obey seemingly unjust laws”. - "One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Martin Luther King's words, which just correspond with the above assertion, perfectly tell us what to do in face of laws, either just or unjust. We need to read it as we need to read any biblical text—but asking what kind of writing it is (genre), exploring its context, seeing where it comes in the canon of Scripture, and paying attention to its content, what the text actually says. 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