Question

Austinian notion of 'positive morality' is:

• A. a priori
• B. socially constructed
• C. religiously constructed
• D. law strictly so called

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

The Correct Option is (B): socially constructed.

Answer 2

The question asks how John Austin characterises "positive morality" in his command theory of law, a category he separates from positive law, or law strictly so called. Reviewing Austin's own distinction settles this.

1. a priori: Austin was thinking about law and morality as social facts, not as truths known independently of experience, so describing positive morality as a priori does not match his approach.
2. socially constructed: Austin defines positive morality as rules set and enforced not by a political sovereign but by general opinion, the shared standards of a society or group, such as rules of etiquette, clubs, or international law as Austin saw it. Because these rules arise from and are sustained by the opinions and practices of a community rather than sovereign command, they are properly described as socially constructed.
3. religiously constructed: Austin's positive morality is not confined to or defined by religious rules, it covers any body of rules backed by social opinion generally, religious codes are only one possible example among many, not the defining feature.
4. law strictly so called: Austin reserves this label for positive law, rules set by a political sovereign and backed by a legal sanction, and he draws positive morality as a distinct, separate category precisely because it lacks that sovereign command and sanction.

Austin's own framework roots positive morality in the opinions and practices of a community rather than in sovereign command, which is exactly what makes it socially constructed rather than legally binding.

So the correct answer is socially constructed.