John Austin (Legal Philosopher) Information
John Austin (3 March 1790, Creeting Mill, Suffolk - 1 December 1859, Weybridge, Surrey) was a noted British jurist and published extensively concerning the philosophy of law and jurisprudence.
Austin served with the British Army in Sicily and Malta, but sold his officer's commission to study law. He became a member of the Bar during 1818. He discontinued his law practice soon after, devoted himself to the study of law as a science, and became Professor of Jurisprudence in the University of London (now University College London) 1826-32. Thereafter he served on various Royal Commissions.
His publications had a profound influence on English jurisprudence. They include The Province of Jurisprudence Determined (1832), and Lectures on Jurisprudence.
Austin married Sarah Taylor, who also became an author, at St George Colegate, Norwich, on 24 August 1819.[1]
Theories on legal positivism
The three basic points of Austin's theory of law are, that:
- the law is command issued by the uncommanded commander—the sovereign;
- such commands are backed by threats; and
- a sovereign is one who is habitually obeyed
John Austin is best known for his work developing the theory of legal positivism. He attempted to clearly separate moral rules from "positive law."
Austin was greatly influenced in his utilitarian approach to law by Jeremy Bentham. Austin took a positivist approach to jurisprudence; he viewed the law as commands from a sovereign that are backed by a threat of sanction. In determining 'a sovereign', Austin recognized it as one who society obeys habitually.However, Herny Main in "Early Institutions" proved that in some Empires of the orient there is nothing to correspond with " determinate superior" or sovereign.
References
- ^ Macdonell, John (1885). "Austin, Sarah". In Leslie Stephen. Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900. 02. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- This article incorporates public domain text from : Cousin, John William (1910). A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London, J. M. Dent & Sons; New York, E. P. Dutton.
- Wilfred E. Rumble, The Thought of John Austin : Jurisprudence, Colonial Reform, and the British Constitution London ; Dover, N.H. : Athlone Press, 1985
The last 2-3 sentences of this section definitely need to be edited.
External links
- John Austin entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Austin, John |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 3 March 1790 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | 1 December 1859 |
| Place of death | |
Categories: 19th-century philosophers | 1790 births | 1859 deaths | Philosophers of law | Academics of University College London | British legal scholars | Utilitarians
|