Do We Have a Right to Disobey an Unjust Law - Literature review Example

The letter was written in protest to the law that segregated people on racial bases.... The letter was intended to persuade his audience on the need for a nonviolent but direct action to eliminate the unjust laws.... Additionally, he establishes his role as the right person to promote civil rights when he claims, “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference” (King 117)....

66) The most important aspect of well-being is to note that the individual has complete authority in matters regarding themselves, society does not have the right to restrict the individual, as long as the actions of the individual is not causing harm to themselves or others.... 15) He advocates that the individuals will adapt to society's preferences and then will be able to have a good life, striving for well-being.... 0) His conviction is in that the individual should have absolute control in matters that affect only him or her....

This paper critically assesses the question of obedience to law in the face of factors that may make a person disobey them such as a law being unjust, hurtful to members of the society or when it goes against the moral teachings as given by God.... f different scholars on obedience to law such as Plato, Martin Luther King, Ronald Dworkin and Milgram and other ideas and how affect the thoughts of humans on obedience.... After careful discourse through the philosophies of these legal thinkers, we will conclude that at times The question of an obligation to obey the law often crops up especially in the current world where some laws within a legal system are deemed to be unjust or evil and we find ourselves within such systems....

Therefore, when people perceive certain laws as unjust, they tend to disobey them out of their sense of morality and righteousness, which overrides their “law-abiding behavior” (p.... However, when laws disregard freedom of individuals and ignore the aspect of common good, such laws are unjust and against the The Morality of law The Morality of law The required readings for the week facilitated in me an understanding that in thecivilized society of today many laws exist in nations across the world, which are intended for the common good of the public....

King (1963) Letter from Birmingham Jail A just person has a moral obligation to disobey an unjust law.... As King (1963) notes, people have the right to disobey the unjust laws if compelling moral grounds exist to underscore the action.... In essence, individuals have the right to disobey laws when they firmly believe the enforcement of the legislation is wrong and affects the shared moral standards.... In this respect, invoking morality will justify the people's decisions to disobey the unjust laws that tend to infringe upon their moral autonomy....

It helps determine if any citizen has absolute permission, right, or duty to disobey an unjust law.... The question as to when an individual or citizen holds the right to practice civil disobedience, however, remains controversial.... This work called "law: Civil Disobedience'" describes an analysis of the limits of citizens' obligation to obey the law, the rule of law.... In most democratic regimes, citizens have an obligation to adhere to the provisions of every legitimate law....

Any law that doesn't ensure justice for all people and is against the principle of the common good is an unjust law and can be disobeyed; disobedience of such laws is morally right.... In my view, civil disobedience can be morally justified and it is, indeed, morally right to disobey some laws if the laws are against the principle of the common good, and if the disobedience will lead to the granting of the hitherto denied rights to the citizens by the government....

The law equally has provisions that protect the members of the family.... Some members of the family might be violent against others, and thus, the law is never silent about their rights.... For instance, the law is against child abuse, and in this precept, any member of the family who physically or mentally abuses the child must be punished by law.... Even though every state has a specific definition of what is considered disorderly, they all stem from the common law and its goal of punishing any act of breaching the peace....