QUESTIONS

15 September 2023

Instructions: Answer the questions briefly and concisely. Submit your

answers on or before 16 September 2023, 11:59PM. Good luck!
1. In Philippine Jurisprudence, which between the natural law theory
and legal positivism is used more often by the Supreme Court?
Explain your answer.

2. If philosophy is a speculative/theoretical discipline, how can it affect

the factual/experiential world?

3. “Dura lex, sed lex.” What legal theory supports this legal maxim, is it
natural law theory of legal positivism?
4. Explain the existence of states and constitutions using the social contract
theory.

5. Mr. A is the biological father of child X. Ms. B is the mother who

demands Mr. A to marry her. Mr. A argued that he has no legal
responsibility to marry Ms. B. Ms. B retorted that it is Mr. A’s moral duty to
marry her.
• Should Mr. A marry Ms. B?
• Are law and morality separate and distinct?
• Is morality a mandatory requirement for the passage of a law?
6. How can the method of deconstruction help the courts in deciding
cases?

7. Are law and justice one and the same? Explain your answer.

8. Natural law theory evolved from the Greeks to the present times.
a. Compare and contrast the classical theory of natural law of the Greeks and
Romans with the medieval natural law theory of St. Tomas Aquinas.
b. Compare and contract the natural law theory of St. Tomas Aquinas with the
natural rights theory of John Locke.
9. In the discussion between H.L.A. Hart and Ronald Dworkin about the
components of the legal system, whose arguments are more convincing
to you? When developing your position, summarize their points of
difference, and determine from these points whose position is better.
10. What makes the case of Salvacion v. Central Bank (G.R. No. 94723
August 21, 1997) problematic? Analyze this case using the philosophical
framework advanced by Ronald Dworkin.
11. Discuss briefly the connection of conscience, law, and practical
reasoning.
12. What is law according to Jurgen Habermas? Expound his concept of
law in relation to his rational discourse theory.
13. Explain the meaning of law using the teleological approach.
14. If you were to advocate a legal philosophy in the Philippines, what
theory will you advocate and why?
15. What are the Natural Law principles enunciated in the following
cases:
• Estrada v. Escritor (A.M. No. P-02-1651, August 4, 2003)
• Oposa v. Factoran (G.R. No. 101083, July 30, 1993)