Vagueness and Legal Theory

Legal Theory ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy A. O. Endicott

The use of vague language in law has important implications for legal theory. Legal philosophers have occasionally grappled with those implications, but they have not come to grips with the characteristic phenomenon of vagueness: the sorites paradox. I discuss the paradox, and claim that it poses problems for some legal theorists (David Lyons, Hans Kelsen, and, especially, Ronald Dworkin). I propose that a good account of vagueness will have three consequences for legal theory: (i) Theories that deny that vagueness in formulations of the law leads to discretion in adjudication (including Dworkin's) cannot accommodate “higher-order” vagueness, (ii) A legal theory should accept that the law is partly indeterminate when it can be stated in vague language, (iii) However, the traditional formulation of the indeterminacy claim, that a vague statement is “neither true nor false” in a borderline case, is misconceived and should be abandoned.

Author(s):  
Crispin Wright

This anthology includes fourteen of Crispin Wrights’s highly influential essays on the phenomenon of vagueness in natural language, collectively representing almost half a century of cutting-edge systematic research. Key issues addressed include whether or under what assumptions vague expressions’ apparent tolerance of marginal changes in things to which they apply indicates that they are governed by inconsistent semantic rules, the varieties of Sorites paradox and the roots of the plausibility of their respective major premises, what it is for something to be a borderline case of a vague expression, whether vagueness should be viewed as fundamentally a semantic or an epistemic phenomenon, whether there is ‘higher-order’ vagueness, and what should be the appropriate logic for vague statements. The essays reprinted here jointly document the development of a distinctively original treatment of the philosophy and logic of vagueness, broadly analogous to the intuitionistic philosophy and logic for pure mathematics. Richard Kimberly Heck contributes an extended introductory essay, providing both an insightful critical overview of the development of the distinctive elements of Wright’s thought about vagueness, and indeed an invaluable advanced introduction to the topic.


Legal Theory ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Soper

Conversions occur in legal theory about as often as they do in religion, which is to say rarely—so rarely that they fascinate as much for the fact that they happen at all as for the reasons they happen. It should not surprise, then, that the Postscript to H.L.A. Hart's famous work on jurisprudence reveals “the outstanding English philosopher of law of the twentieth century” reaffirming, rather than revising in any significant way, the two central tenets that distinguish his theory from that of both classical natural law theorists and modern “new naturalists” like Ronald Dworkin: (1) There is no necessary connection between law and morality; and (2) judges inevitably confront cases where the decision is “not dictated by the law” and the judge “must act as a conscientious legislator would by deciding according to his own beliefs and values” (p. 273).


1987 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 465-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. E. Simmonds

In his first book, Taking Rights Seriously, Ronald Dworkin opposed the view that law is a body of publicly ascertainable rules identifiable by some basic master test or rule of recognition. In place of that account he offered a rival vision. Law was portrayed as inherently controversial in content. Discovering the law on this or that subject is not, Dworkin argued, simply a matter of looking up the established rules: it is a matter of constructing a justificatory theory beneath which the established legal rules can be subsumed. In his latest book, Law's Empire, that account of the nature of law has been backed up by an analogous account of the nature of legal theory. A sound theory of law, we are told, is not one that unearths semantic rules governing the use of the word ‘law’. Disputes between rival legal theories do not hinge on the discovery of such deep semantic criteria, any more than disputes about the content of the law in hard cases hinge on the correct application of a rule of recognition. Disputes of both kinds are interpretive disputes: they concern the proper interpretation of legal practices.


Author(s):  
Ronaldo Porto Macedo Jr

Resumo: O trabalho apresenta um esquema conceitual da crítica formulada por Dworkin ao convencionalismo jurídico e seus impactos para a correta descrição do conceito de direito e da compreensão da natureza dos nossos desacordos jurídicos. Depois de  definir os significados de convenção, convencionalismo e do convencionalismo jurídico é apresentada a sua relevância para a determinação de uma concepção positivista de direito apoiada na tese de que este de funda exclusivamente em fontes diretamente sociais. Em seguida, são apresentados casos paradigmáticos de desacordos teóricos que não são adequadamente explicados por uma teoria jurídica comprometida com o convencionalismo jurídico. Com base neles é apresentado um esquema conceitual geral e provisório para a compreensão da critica que Dworkin formula ao convencionalismo jurídico, salientando-se como ela se fundamenta numa análise da gramática lógica pressuposta em desacordos teóricos comuns em nossa prática jurídica. Por fim, o texto indica que o convencionalismo jurídico não foi capaz de responder ao desafio dworkiniano na medida em que não considerou corretamente o tipo de desacordo teórico que estava em questão em casos centrais das práticas jurídicas.Palavras-chave: Positivismo jurídico; Convencionalismo jurídico; Interpretativismo.Abstract: The essay presents a conceptual scheme of the criticism made by Ronald Dworkin to legal conventionalism and its relevance for an accurate description of the law and the correct understanding of the nature of legal disagreement. After defining the concepts of convention, conventionalism and legal conventionalism it shows its connection to a positivist conception of law based on the exclusive social grounds of law. It offers shows how some paradigmatic cases of theoretical disagreements are not adequately explained by a legal theory committed with legal conventionalism. Based on these cases the text offers a general and preliminary conceptual scheme to understand Dworkin’s criticism of legal conventionalism. Dworkin’s approach is grounded on the analysis of the logical grammar presupposed by theoretical disagreement common in ordinary legal practice. Finally the essay points to the fact that legal conventionalism failed to cope with the Dworkinian challenge since it could not rightly take in consideration the kind of theoretical disagreements that are at stake in pivotal cases of legal practice.Keywords: Legal positivism; Legal conventionalism; Interpretativism.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Pablo Antonio Lago

<p><strong>RESUMO:</strong></p><p><span id="docs-internal-guid-decdab21-6e60-7f17-85b2-a2ed5562f90b"><span>O presente artigo tem por objeto as principais críticas que Andrei Marmor, em seu livro </span><span>Interpretation and Legal Theory</span><span>, apresenta à concepção de interpretação defendida por Ronald Dworkin. Em um primeiro momento, Marmor sugere que, para Dworkin, toda e qualquer conclusão sobre o Direito seria objeto de interpretação, o que não seria correto quando analisamos, por exemplo, o modo como seguimos certas regras e convenções. Em um segundo momento, Marmor argumenta que a perspectiva dworkiniana defende uma objetividade impossível de ser alcançada na interpretação: o fato de que compartilhamos valores de natureza incomensurável, por exemplo, implica na impossibilidade de se considerar que uma interpretação será, todas as coisas consideradas, melhor que outra. Analisando tais críticas à luz das respostas que Dworkin ofereceu ou poderia ter oferecido, conclui-se que a visão de Marmor sobre a concepção dworkiniana de interpretação é incorreta, na medida em que ignora distinções que lhe são centrais, como a diferença entre “conceitos criteriais” e “conceitos interpretativos”, e sobre a natureza integrada dos valores que compartilhamos socialmente. Ainda assim, o debate entre ambos os autores ressalta sua clara natureza metodológica, sendo importante para a compreensão do “estado da arte” da Teoria do Direito contemporânea de vertente analítica.</span></span></p><p><strong>ABSTRACT:</strong></p><p dir="ltr"><span>This paper focuses on the main criticisms presented in Andrei Marmor’s </span><span>Interpretation and Legal Theory</span><span> to Ronald Dworkin’s conception of interpretation. In the first criticism, Marmor suggests that in Dworkin’s theory each and every conclusion about what the law is in a given case is a result of interpretation, which cannot be correct when we think, for example, about the way we follow certain rules and conventions. In the second criticism, Marmor argues Dworkin supports an impossible objectivity view on interpretation: the fact that we share values of incommensurable nature, for example, implies that it is impossible to consider that one interpretation can be the best, all things considered. Considering both criticisms and the answers that Dworkin offered or could have offered to it, this paper concludes Marmor's view about Dworkin's concept of interpretation is incorrect, considering that Marmor ignores central distinctions of Dworkinian thought, such as the difference between "criterial” and “interpretive” concepts, and about the integrated nature of values we share on society. Nevertheless, the debate emphasizes its methodological nature, and is important to understand the state of art of the analytical contemporary legal theory.</span></p><div><span><br /></span></div>


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 195
Author(s):  
Muhammad Harun

<p>The purpose of this paper is to compare and evaluate the thoughts of Hans Kelsen with Satjipto Raharjo. Both offer their respective theories, namely Hans Kelsen's pure legal theory and Satjipto Rahardjo's progressive law. In this theory, both of them base their philosophical approach. After reviewing, the theories of these two figures are relevant for interpreting the law. This paper uses a critical paradigm with a combination of normative or doctrinal and sociological or non-doctrinal approaches. The results showed that Hans Kelsen directed his mind that legal positivism considers moral speech, values are finished and final when it comes to the formation of positive law. Pure Legal Theory is not a perfect copy of transcendental ideas, but it does not try to see the law as a posterity of justice. While Rahardjo's progressive law rests on the aspects of rules and behavior. Regulations will build a positive and rational legal system. While the behavioral or human aspects will drive the rules and systems that are built.</p><p> </p><p>Tujuan penulisan ini adalah untuk membandingkan dan mengevaluasi pemikiran Hans Kelsen dengan Satjipto Raharjo. Keduanya menawarkan teori masing-masing, yaitu teori hukum murni Hans Kelsen dan hukum progresif Satjipto Rahardjo. Dalam teori ini, keduanya sama-sama mendasarkan pendekatan secara filosif. Setelah dikaji, teori dari kedua tokoh ini relevan untuk memaknai hukum. Tulisan ini menggunakan paradigima kritis dengan pendekatan kombinasi normatif atau doktrinal dan sosiologis atau non doktrinal. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa Hans Kelsen lebih mengarahkan pikirannya bahwa positivisme hukum yang menganggap pembicaraan moral, nilai-nilai telah selesai dan final manakala sampai pada pembentukan hukum positif. Teori Hukum Murni bukanlah salinan ide transendental yang sempurna, namun tidak berusaha memandang hukum sebagai anak cucu keadilan. Sementara hukum progresifnya Rahardjo bertumpu pada aspek peraturan dan perilaku (rules and behavior). Peraturan akan membangun suatu sistem hukum positif yang logis dan rasional. Sedangkan aspek perilaku atau manusia akan menggerakkan peraturan dan sistem yang dibangun. </p>


1996 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 397-409
Author(s):  
Wil Waluchow

It is not easy to summarize what this book is about, except to say that it is an exploration of a variety of themes and a variety of authors on the role of language in the practice of law, the role of theories of language in legal theory, and how all this bears on “the problems of legal determinacy.” By the latter we are to understand problems having to do with whether the law always, almost always, or never provides uniquely correct answers to legal questions like “Does the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms invalidate the Federal government’s ban on tobacco advertising?” or “Is this defendant guilty of defamatory libel?” The works of several authors are discussed, with emphasis placed on Wittgenstein, Friedrich Waismann, Herbert Hart, Ronald Dworkin, Michael Moore, and Lon Fuller. As with the writings of Wittgenstein, who serves as Bix’s philosophical inspiration, it is not always abundantly clear what the discussions all add up to. Nevertheless, it is possible to distil from Bix’s somewhat unfocused discussions the following central themes. These, as Bix himself notes, are linked by nothing stronger than “family resemblance.”


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-191
Author(s):  
Lung-Lung Hu

Ronald Dworkin offered the legal theory which is known as a “chain enterprise”. According to this theory, throughout history, judges have, collectively, created a “law” that was designed to fulfil a specific purpose. Those judges can be seen as co-authors who, together, develop a chain-story. As such they not only create freely but also are constrained by the story made by authors, in this case judges, who have come before them. The law created by Chinese traditional judges is another case: compared with the judges mentioned by Ronald Dworkin, they have relatively narrower parameters of discretion in which they may implement a legal sentence. The limited amount of discretion available to an individual judge is due to the way in which, traditionally, the legal framework has been designed. The fact that traditional Chinese law was first conceived of as a penal code leaves little room for a judge to subjectively interpret a statute. Furthermore, because law is representative of the authority of the government, i.e. the emperor, any misinterpretation will be considered as a challenge to the supreme power. Conversely, while judges are bound by restrictive parameters with regard to the interpretation of the law, a Chinese litigation master (Songshi) who wishes to receive a favorable outcome for his client must be willing to challenge a judge’s narrow interpretation of the law. Conversely, while judges are bound by restrictive parameters with regard to the interpretation of the law, a Songshi who wishes to receive a favorable outcome for his client must be willing to challenge a judge’s narrow interpretation of the law. According to Stanley Fish’s articles that question Ronald Dworkin and Owen Fiss’ ideas about law, Fish construes that, since law is made of language, law is open to interpretations that cannot be constrained by any rules or any particular legal purposes. Stanley Fish’s idea can also be applied to the analysis of the stories of Songshi in traditional Chinese literature. The legal opinions of Songshi in traditional Chinese literature can be regarded as an unexpected event that calls for revision of the standardized concept of law propagated in legal stories. Although they are not welcome, neither by the officials and nor by society, their existence is still a phenomenon representing another version of justice different from the standardized concept of justice and can be seen as a de-structural power to the government. Hence, in this present paper the language and strategy applied by Songshi in Chinese legal stories will be analysed to see how they refute legal judgments and challenge the standardized concept of justice.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 199
Author(s):  
Muhammad Harun

<p>The purpose of this paper is to compare and evaluate the thoughts of Hans Kelsen with Satjipto Raharjo. Both offer their respective theories, namely Hans Kelsen's pure legal theory and Satjipto Rahardjo's progressive law. In this theory, both of them base their philosophical approach. After reviewing, the theories of these two figures are relevant for interpreting the law. This paper uses a critical paradigm with a combination of normative or doctrinal and sociological or non-doctrinal approaches. The results showed that Hans Kelsen directed his mind that legal positivism considers moral speech, values are finished and final when it comes to the formation of positive law. Pure Legal Theory is not a perfect copy of transcendental ideas, but it does not try to see the law as a posterity of justice. While Rahardjo's progressive law rests on the aspects of rules and behavior. Regulations will build a positive and rational legal system. While the behavioral or human aspects will drive the rules and systems that are built.</p><p> </p><p>Tujuan penulisan ini adalah untuk membandingkan dan mengevaluasi pemikiran Hans Kelsen dengan Satjipto Raharjo. Keduanya menawarkan teori masing-masing, yaitu teori hukum murni Hans Kelsen dan hukum progresif Satjipto Rahardjo. Dalam teori ini, keduanya sama-sama mendasarkan pendekatan secara filosif. Setelah dikaji, teori dari kedua tokoh ini relevan untuk memaknai hukum. Tulisan ini menggunakan paradigima kritis dengan pendekatan kombinasi normatif atau doktrinal dan sosiologis atau non doktrinal. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa Hans Kelsen lebih mengarahkan pikirannya bahwa positivisme hukum yang menganggap pembicaraan moral, nilai-nilai telah selesai dan final manakala sampai pada pembentukan hukum positif. Teori Hukum Murni bukanlah salinan ide transendental yang sempurna, namun tidak berusaha memandang hukum sebagai anak cucu keadilan. Sementara hukum progresifnya Rahardjo bertumpu pada aspek peraturan dan perilaku (rules and behavior). Peraturan akan membangun suatu sistem hukum positif yang logis dan rasional. Sedangkan aspek perilaku atau manusia akan menggerakkan peraturan dan sistem yang dibangun. </p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (11) ◽  
pp. 643-667
Author(s):  
John MacFarlane ◽  

This lecture presents my own solution to the problem posed in Lecture I. Instead of a new theory of speech acts, it offers a new theory of the contents expressed by vague assertions, along the lines of the plan expressivism Allan Gibbard has advocated for normative language. On this view, the mental states we express in uttering vague sentences have a dual direction of fit: they jointly constrain the doxastic possibilities we recognize and our practical plans about how to draw boundaries. With this story in hand, I reconsider some of the traditional topics connected with vagueness: bivalence, the sorites paradox, higher-order vagueness, and the nature of vague thought. I conclude by arguing that the expressivist account can explain, as its rivals cannot, what makes vague language useful.


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