Skip to content
Carmelics
TopicsThinkersChangesContributorsLoading account…

    Carmelics

    A reasoning platform. Break down any belief into clear reasons, explore both sides, and weigh the evidence honestly.

    Navigate

    • Topics
    • Search
    • Recent Changes
    • Contribute
    • How It Works
    • Glossary
    • Thinkers
    • Contributors
    • About
    • Statistics
    • Terms
    • Privacy

    Database

    Statements
    —
    Perspectives
    —
    Topics
    —

    Press ? for keyboard shortcuts

    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Home/Original/inverse
    See Original
    Inverse View

    It is not the case that Positive law necessarily reflects conventional social norms, and legislatures have legitimate authority to encode community moral standards.

    ?Set your confidence on the premises below to see your aggregate.

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.Social norms vary across communities and change rapidly; basing law on them risks enshrining bigotry and denying universal moral truths.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Legislative majorities can be wrong morally; legitimacy requires adherence to principled constraints, not mere reflection of current preferences.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.Laws affecting minorities disproportionately shouldn't depend on majority sentiment; some domains require rights-based limits on democratic encoding.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Laws require broad compliance; they gain legitimacy when aligned with widely-held community values rather than imposed arbitrarily.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Democratic legislatures represent the people; encoding shared moral standards respects collective self-governance and popular sovereignty.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.Positive law coordinates behavior effectively only when citizens recognize its rules as reflecting their considered moral commitments.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Next step

    Based on where you are in your exploration

    Strongest counterpoint
    Explore the most compelling reason on the other side.