Legality, by Scott Shapiro (Book Review)

Abstract:     
In this book review I discuss some of the central aspects of Scott Shapiro's book 'Legality', and provide a critical view of the key submissions of the book. I hold that Shapiro's Planning Theory of Law is actually a new form of normative positivism, although it is unaware of this feature. I also claim that the Planning Theory is an interpretive theory of law in Dworkin's sense, and that it fails to construct a purely 'conceptual' theory of law. Nevertheless, in spite of some methodological problems, it is a very promising positivistic theory of law and legal reasoning.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 9

Keywords: Scott Shapiro, legality, law, plans, normative positivism

working papers series