Basic human goods and the basis of law. A study of john finnis's proposal

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to determine to what extent the explanation of basic human goods offered by Australian legal philosopher John FINNIS might be useful to account for the current legal phenomenon, inasmuch as most western constitutional texts include fundamental rights - adopted in many cases as principles- and systems of judicial review which presume recognizing that legal systems are formed not only by rules but also by principles to guide action as directly applicable law and that the validity of the rules of the system depends not only on their formal correctness, but also on their compatibility with constitutionally recognized fundamental rights. First, the notion of basic human goods will be described, along with their common features: self-evident, pre-moral and fundamental. Then, the various challenges basic human goods might face with respect to all being equally self-evident, pre-moral and fundamental will be taken into account, and possible responses to said objections will be suggested. Based on this study, a conclusion will be reached on the capability of basic human goods to constitute irreducible, underived and directive starting points to help formulate a set of general moral standards on which constitutional principles can be forged.