Paradigmatic Concerns Arising From Issues of Language Philosophy in Law
Paradigmatic Concerns Arising From Issues of Language Philosophy in Law

Summary/Abstract: The present work sets forth to approach the notion of “meaning” in law by coating it, first and foremost, into the depths of concerns arising from paradigmatic research conducted by iconic theoreticians of law. The paper consistently delves around several ideas promoted by Herbert L. A. Hart in relation to the issue of “meaning” in law, while also making cross-references to relevant directions of research underlined in the writings of Wittgenstein, Austin and Bentham. The analytical frame pinpoints a series of interesting facets related to this kaleidoscopic field of legal research, among which are the imbalance between knowledge and understanding, the pragmatic effects of language use in law and, last but not least, the “open texture of law”. This philosophical basis will open up a secondary level of analysis configured around the issue of normativity and the ways in which it is understood in relation to the idea of language uncertainty in law. In analysing normativity, appeal will be made to ideas extracted from the theory of deconstruction, which promotes new and novel ways of thinking about the conceptual and discursive frames of law. The conclusions of this second section of the paper will open up the debate towards the problem of normativity at the crossroads between different legal cultures. Given the existing linguistic and non-linguistic deterrents, the paper's general conclusions will acknowledge the difficulty of conceptual apprehension in law.

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