Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. Moral Combat
  • Cited by 46
      • Show more authors
      • You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Select format
    • Publisher:
      Cambridge University Press
      Publication date:
      November 2011
      March 1999
      ISBN:
      9780511896880
      9780521642248
      9780521089999
      DOI:
      https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511896880
      Dimensions:
      (228 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.65kg, 368 Pages
      Dimensions:
      (228 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.54kg, 368 Pages
      • Subjects:
      Law: General Interest, Law, Legal Philosophy, Philosophy, Political Philosophy
      Series:
      Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Law
    You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Selected: Digital
    Add to cart View cart Buy from Cambridge.org
    Subjects:
    Law: General Interest, Law, Legal Philosophy, Philosophy, Political Philosophy
    Series:
    Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Law
    Information

    Book description

    This book explores the thesis that legal roles force people to engage in moral combat, an idea which is implicit in the assumption that citizens may be morally required to disobey unjust laws, while judges may be morally required to punish citizens for civil disobedience. Heidi Hurd advances the surprising argument that the law cannot require us to do what morality forbids. The 'role-relative' understanding of morality is shown to be incompatible with both consequentialist and deontological moral philosophies. In the end, Hurd shows that our best moral theory is one which never makes one actor's moral success turn on another's moral failure. Moral Combat is a sophisticated, well-conceived and carefully argued book on a very important and controversial topic at the junction between legal and political philosophy. It will be of interest to moral, legal, and political philosophers, as well as teachers and students of professional ethics in law.

    Reviews

    "[Hurd's] book is admirably systematic, rigorous, clear, informed, and reasonable." Ethics

    "Hurd's book brings many important issues in moral, political, and legal philosophy together in a structured way...I found Moral Combat to be rich and have prompted reflection." Thaddeus Metz, The Philosophical Review

    "This striking and challenging book lays out as persuasive a case as can be made against the view that citizens and legal officials should elevate legal roles over moral commitments and in favor of the view that democracy and the rule of law are not well served by what Hurd calls the moral perspectivist point of view. This book makes an especially powerful case against the view that it is right to punish those who are morally innocent in order to advance or preserve institutional values. Philosophers, lawyers, and others committed to the humanistic study of law will find much of value in Hurd's thorough review of the arguments in favor of treating law as authoritative when it conflicts with morality. Hurd's book is destined to become a landmark in the field. Highly recommended for upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, and practitioners." Choice

    "This volume by a professor of law and philosophy explores the thesis that legal roles force people to engage in moral combat, since citizens may be morally required to disobey unjust laws and judges may be morally required to punish citizens for civil disobedience." Ethics, Law, and Aging Review

    Refine List

    Actions for selected content:

    Select all | Deselect all
    • View selected items
    • Export citations
    • Download PDF (zip)
    • Save to Kindle
    • Save to Dropbox
    • Save to Google Drive

    Save Search

    You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

    Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
    Cancel
    ×

    Contents

    Contents

    Metrics

    Full text views

    Total number of HTML views: 0
    Total number of PDF views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    Book summary page views

    Total views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    * Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

    Usage data cannot currently be displayed.

    Accessibility standard: Unknown

    Why this information is here

    This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

    Accessibility Information

    Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.