The Province of Jurisprudence Determined

2012. ISBN-13: 9781584770237; ISBN-10: 1584770236. Austin, John (1790-1859). The Province of Jurisprudence Determined. Originally published: London: John Murray, 1832. xx, 392, lxxvi pp. Reprinted 2000, 2012 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN-13: 9781584770237; ISBN-10: 1584770236. Hardcover. New. $39.95 * Reprint of the first edition. Austin introduced theories of analytical jurisprudence and positive law in this landmark book, which also became the founding text of legal positivism. This reissue of the only edition published during his lifetime, long unavailable, will be of great interest to researchers, historians, libraries and scholars of jurisprudence. Austin argues that positive law consists of general commands issued by a sovereign authority to members of an independent political society. These commands are backed by the threat of punishment, or sanctions, in the event of non-compliance, creating a duty to obey. Central to his theory is the concept of a sovereign: a determinate person or body of persons who is habitually obeyed by the bulk of the population but does not habitually obey any other earthly authority. Austin argues that all independent political societies must have such a sovereign. Austin was a key figure in the analytical school of jurisprudence, advocating for the study of "law as it is" (positive law), rather than "law as it ought to be" (morality or natural law). He contended that a law is valid if it emanates from the sovereign, regardless of its moral content. Influenced by his friend Jeremy Bentham, Austin incorporated a version of utilitarianism, suggesting that while law's validity is separate from morality, laws should be made to promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. The book was derived from Austin's lectures as the first professor of jurisprudence at the University of London and became a landmark work that profoundly influenced the development of legal theory in the English-speaking world. John Austin [1790-1859] is best known for developing the theory of legal positivism. After serving in the military he read law and was called to the bar in 1818. He abandoned his practice when he was appointed to the first chair of Jurisprudence at the University of London in 1826, a post he held until 1835. His work was greatly influenced by Jeremy Bentham, a close friend. Austin was the dominant English legal theorist.