Publisher's Synopsis
This book argues that much of the inconsistency in the theoretical treatment of legal obligation derives from a misperception of conventional linguistic usage. Conventional legal discourse treats 'obligation' as an implicitly quasi-moral and unitary phenomenon. The author suggests that legal obligation must be admitted to involve multiple linguistic usages, including at least three different types of 'obligation' which may be associated with provision of positive law. - - The Obligation to Obey in Legal Theory aims to advance the contextual analysis of the obligation to obey which, by showing a number of existing controversies to be founded upon misconceptions, may provide a means whereby a more fruitful analysis of a complex central legal phenomenon may be advanced. The recognition of the complexity of the phenomena of legal obligation is an important step in this process, which may also lead to a more fruitful development of general jurisprudence.
