On Negativity Character of Law in Content——Also an Explanation of Reasons for Law's Validity in Human Civilization

The character of law is an important question in the consideration by philosophy of law. The character of law consists of two aspects: that of the form and of the content. Generally law theories pay attention to the generalization of the form of the law, lacking systematic discussion about the character of its content. The law is a unique and important humanitarian product in human social life, whose content embodies and carries forward specific humanist value with specific human connotation as opposed to animal connotation. Therefore, it is necessary and important to cognize the content of law in preexistence. Corresponding to the moral the negativity is basically the legal character in content, or visually the character of law, which contains connotations in two levels: the first is that people are free in the scope beyond the prohibition by law; the second is that the law sets restrictions strictly in a comparatively small range to prevent a man from harming others. The law and morality are the two independent but also relative objective existences: in the first place, they are opposite and cannot substitute each other, nor entering into the field of the other, to mix up the two will result in evil consequences in society; in the second place, on the premise of its independent character, the two form complementation, morality making the world warm by its character if positivity, the law maintaining the basic social order by its character of negativity. In conclusion, it will be valid for morality to go on the route of non-enforcement because of its positivity character, while it will ae valid for the law to take the route of enforcement because of its character of negativity.