Describing Law

33 Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence 85 (2020)

22 Pages Posted: 15 Nov 2019 Last revised: 3 Mar 2020

See all articles by Raff Donelson

Raff Donelson

Chicago-Kent College of Law - Illinois Institute of Technology

Date Written: February 18, 2020

Abstract

Legal philosophers make a number of bold, contentious claims about the nature of law. For instance, some claim that law necessarily involves coercion, while others disagree. Some claim that all law enjoys presumptive moral validity, while others disagree. We can see these claims in at least three ways: (1) We can see them as descriptions of law’s nature (descriptivism), (2) we can see them as expressing non-descriptive attitudes of the legal philosophers in question (expressivism), or (3) we can see them as claims that must be assessed on the basis of practical reasons (pragmatism). Ultimately, this paper argues that we should understand these claims in the pragmatist way; as such, jurisprudential claims are about what to do, e.g., what to treat as law and how to order society.

Keywords: Jurisprudence, jurisprudential methodology, pragmatism, expressivism, description, natural kinds, philosophy of language

Suggested Citation

Donelson, Raff, Describing Law (February 18, 2020). 33 Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence 85 (2020), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3482180

Raff Donelson (Contact Author)

Chicago-Kent College of Law - Illinois Institute of Technology ( email )

565 W. Adams St.
Chicago, IL 60661-3691
United States

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