William A. Edmundson is professor at Georgia State University College of Law. He is the author of Three Anarchical
Fallacies: An Essay on Political Authority (1998, Cambridge University Press).
Review
"Edmundson's anthology is full of well-selected readings that define the range of the problem in its most
current incarnation. His contributions and summaries are insightful and will promote valuable discussion."
--Dale J. Dewhurst, University of Alberta PHILOSOPHY IN REVIEW
Rowman and Littlefield, INC. Web Site, December 2000
Summary
The question, "Why should I obey the law?" introduces a contemporary puzzle that is as old as philosophy
itself. The puzzle is especially troublesome if we think of cases in which breaking the law is not otherwise wrongful,
and in which the chances of getting caught are negligible. Philosophers from Socrates to H.L.A. Hart have struggled
to give reasoned support to the idea that we do have a general moral duty to obey the law but, more recently, the
greater number of learned voices has expressed doubt that there is any such duty, at least as traditionally conceived.
The thought that there is no such duty poses a challenge to our ordinary understanding of political authority and
its legitimacy. In what sense can political officials have a right to rule us if there is no duty to obey the laws
they lay down? Some thinkers, concluding that a general duty to obey the law cannot be defended, have gone so far
as to embrace philosophical anarchism, the view that the state is necessarily illegitimate. Others argue that the
duty to obey the law can be grounded on the idea of consent, or on fairness, or on other ideas, such as community.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments Introduction William A. Edmundson
1. The Obligation to Obey the Law Richard A. Wasserstrom
2. The Justification of Civil Disobedience John Rawls
3. The Conflict between Authority and Autonomy Robert Paul Wolff
4. Is There a Prima Facie Obligation to Obey the Law? M.B.E. Smith
5. The Principle of Fair Play A. John Simmons
6. Political Authority and Political Obligation Rolf Sartorius
7. The Obligation to Obey: Revision and Tradition Joseph Raz
8. Legitimate Authority and the Duty to Obey Kent Greenawalt
9. Presumptive Benefit, Fairness, and Political Obligation George Klosko
10. Legal Theory and the Claim of Authority Philip Soper
11. Freedom, Recognition, and Obligation: A Feminist Approach to Political Theory Nancy J. Hirschmann
12. Special Ties and Natural Duties Jeremy Waldron
13. Who Believes in Political Obligation? Leslie Green
14. Surrender of Judgment and the Consent Theory of Political Authority Mark C. Murphy
