Is There a Duty to Obey the Law? (For and Against)

The central question in political philosophy is whether political states have the right to coerce their constituents and whether citizens have a moral duty to obey the commands of their state. In this 2005 book, Christopher Heath Wellman and A. John Simmons defend opposing answers to this question. Wellman bases his argument on samaritan obligations to perform easy rescues, arguing that each of us has a moral duty to obey the law as his or her fair share of the communal samaritan chore of rescuing our compatriots from the perils of the state of nature. Simmons counters that this, and all other attempts to explain our duty to obey the law, fail. He defends a position of philosophical anarchism, the view that no existing state is legitimate and that there is no strong moral presumption in favor of obedience to, or compliance with, any existing state. Series Copyright Contents General Editor’s Preface Acknowledgments I Samaritanism and the Duty to Obey the Law (Christopher Heath Wellman) 1 Why I Am Not an Anarchist A Defense of Statism The Anarchist’s Rejoinder Samaritanism and Voluntarism 2 Doing One’s Fair Share Samaritan Duties and Fairness The Particularity Requirement Particularity and Citizenship Conclusion 3 Just and Unjust Laws The Duty to Vote Military Service Conclusion 4 Confronting Injustice Illegitimate Regimes Unjust Laws Civil Disobedience Conclusion II The Duty to Obey and Our Natural Moral Duties (A. John Simmons) 5 The Problem and Its Significance 6 The Theories Three Families Associative Theories Transactional Theories 7 Natural Duties and the Duty to Obey the Law The Basic Argument The Argument Consequentialism Necessity Respect and Deference The Natural Duty of Justice Doing Justice The Rawlsian Natural Duty of Justice Particularity and the Effects of Noncompliance Particularity and Salience Obedience and Rescue 8 Conclusions Index The central question in political philosophy is whether political states have the right to coerce their constituents and whether citizens have a moral duty to obey the commands of their state. Christopher Heath Wellman and A. John Simmons defend opposing answers to this question. Wellman bases his argument on samaritan obligations to perform easy rescues, arguing that each of us has a moral duty to obey the law as his or her fair share of the communal samaritan chore of rescuing our compatriots from the perils of the state of nature. Simmons counters that this and all other attempts to explain our duty to obey the law fail. Concentrating especially on refuting Natural Duty accounts of the duty to obey, he ultimately defends the view that there is no strong moral presumption in favor of obedience to or compliance with any existing state. Concentrating especially on refuting Natural Duty accounts of the duty to obey, he ultimately defends the view that there is no strong moral presumption in favor of obedience to or compliance with any existing state."--Jacket