The Separability of Law and Morality: A Research Companion offers a comprehensive examination of one of the central and most persistent debates in contemporary jurisprudence. Rather than treating the separability thesis as a single proposition, the volume explores the different claims, levels, and theoretical commitments associated with the possibility that law and morality constitute distinct normative orders.
Bringing together contributions from scholars working in legal positivism, non-positivist jurisprudence, legal philosophy, constitutional theory, experimental jurisprudence, and comparative legal thought, the book investigates the foundations and implications of separability from a wide range of perspectives. It examines questions concerning legal validity, normativity, obligation, sources, constitutionalism, institutional reasoning, and the psychological dimensions of legal and moral judgment, while also reassessing the thesis through the work of major theorists including Kelsen, Dworkin, and Alexy.
The volume further broadens the traditional parameters of the debate by considering biblical and Islamic legal traditions as well as African and non-Western perspectives, thereby questioning the extent to which familiar formulations of the separability problem are culturally universal.
Combining conceptual analysis, theoretical reconstruction, empirical inquiry, and comparative perspectives, this Research Companion provides both a systematic map of the contemporary debate and a platform for its further development. It will be an essential resource for scholars and advanced students of jurisprudence, legal philosophy, legal theory, and related fields.
