Positivism, Natural Law and Morality

Legal positivism helps solidify the distinction between law and morality by stating that there is no inherent or necessary connection between the validity conditions of law and morality. It further states that rules are made, whether deliberately or unintentionally, by human beings. In that case all human beings naturally also adhere to some code of morals or ethics, whether intentionally or not. In the view of positivism, the law is seen as being conceptually different but not separated from morals. The law is a purely human institution while morals can be linked to a higher power. Positivism and natural law are ultimately up to the same thing and positivism helps to improve the methods of natural law. This is particularly the case because it is difficult to relate ethics to natural law and positivism helps to reinforce that separation and distinguish the differences between the two. The main difference is that a law can be unjust without it being any less of a law in the eyes of positivists, while those adhering to the theory of natural law would argue that there is indeed something legally deficient about an unjust law. In natural law there is an inherent connection to morals, because this theory claims that just laws are imminent in nature and are not created. Since these just laws come naturally to man, they are obviously grounded in some sort of ethics and morals. For instance, a law concerning killing or stealing is bound to have some moral basis.