John Austin

John Austin was a British legal philosopher known for his theory of sovereignty and legal positivism. He argued that law is a set of commands from a sovereign authority enforced by societal power. According to Austin, the validity of a law comes from its source, not its moral content, meaning a law is valid if it's enacted by the recognized authority, regardless of whether it's just or unjust. His work emphasizes the separation of law and morality, shaping modern legal thought by influencing how we understand the relationship between law, authority, and society.