Dworkin on the Semantics of Legal and Political Concepts / trans. from Engl. A. B. Didikin, S. A. Aleksandrov

Authors

  • D. M. Patterson Rutgers University, Camden, USA
  • Anton Borisovich Didikin National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0808-8900
  • Stanislav Andreyevich Aleksandrov National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25206/2542-0488-2021-6-2-83-93

Keywords:

Dworkin, natural kind, semantic theory of legal concepts, moral realism

Abstract

In a recent comment on H. L. A. Hart’s «Postscript» to The Concept of Law, Ronald Dworkin claims that the meaning of legal and political concepts maybe understood by analogy to the meaning of natural kind concepts like «tiger», «gold» and «water». This article questions the efficacy of Dworkin’s claims by challenging the use of natural kinds as the basis for a semantic theory of legal and political concepts. Additionally, in matters of value there is no methodological equivalent to the scientific method. Thus, there is little hope of finding hidden essences to explain the meaning of legal and political concepts. Finally, even if there are natural kinds, Dworkin’s arguments for their efficacy in jurisprudence are problematic and unpersuasive. The problem for Dworkin is that his embrace of natural kinds undermines the «fit» side of the fit/justification model of adjudication that lies at the heart of his theory of law.

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Author Biographies

Anton Borisovich Didikin, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia

Doctor of Philosophical Sciences, Candidate of Law, Professor of Faculty of Law, School for Theory of Law and Cross-sectoral Legal Disciplines

Stanislav Andreyevich Aleksandrov, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia

2nd year Undergraduate of Faculty of Law.

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Abstract views: 20

Published

2021-05-31

How to Cite

Д. М. Паттерсон, Didikin А. Б., & Aleksandrov С. А. (2021). Dworkin on the Semantics of Legal and Political Concepts / trans. from Engl. A. B. Didikin, S. A. Aleksandrov. Omsk Scientific Bulletin. Series Society. History. Modernity, 6(2), 83–93. https://doi.org/10.25206/2542-0488-2021-6-2-83-93

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 2 (2021)

Section

Philosophy

Categories

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