H. L. A. Hart's book The Concept of Law is perhaps the single greatest contribution to the
field of legal philosophy in this century. Hart lays the groundwork for the continued progress
in the perennial debate between legal positivism and natural law. This book briefly reviews the
historic significance of that debate and demonstrates how Hart paves the way for an enlightened
analysis of the tenuous relationship between law and morality. It provides a detailed
examination of Hart's efforts to establish a legal framework through primary and secondary
rules and an ultimate rule of recognition. It focuses specifically on Hart's reliance on the
internal perspective as a means of establishing the form of obligation necessary for a legal
system. It examines Hart's treatment of the relationship between law and morality and Hart's
mischaracterization of St. Thomas Aquinas's natural law theory.
