HLA Hart and the Methodology of Jurisprudence

29 Pages Posted: 6 Oct 2015

See all articles by Ian P. Farrell

Ian P. Farrell

The University of Denver Sturm College of Law

Date Written: 2006

Abstract

Nicola Lacey’s biography, A Life of H.L.A. Hart: The Nightmare and the Noble Dream, is a triumph of the highest order. Lacey takes to the role of biographer with aplomb, weaving thoughtful philosophical assessment into an intimate, richly detailed tapestry of Hart’s life and character. Her sympathetic portrait of a man whose unparalleled external success in legal philosophy contrasted sharply with his life-long internal struggle with self-doubt is rewarding reading on several levels, and not just for aficionados of jurisprudence. Hart’s life story is compelling in its own right, and Lacey’s treatment of it holds the additional promise that biographical detail will lead to theoretical insight.

The book has something valuable to offer to the legal theory novice and expert alike. Lacey’s goal is to produce an “intellectual biography,” and the book contains substantial descriptions of Hart’s theoretical work. Lacey is a formidable legal theorist in her own right, and she presents Hart’s theories in a clear, straightforward, and accessible manner reminiscent of Hart himself. She achieves this (in the main) without sacrificing subtlety and accuracy, fleshing out her description with well-placed criticisms. For the jurisprudential novice, then, the biography provides a palatable entrée into contemporary legal theory.

Nor are those already familiar with Hart’s work left wanting. Criticism of the philosophical method employed by legal positivists in general, and Hart in particular, has been at the center of jurisprudence in recent years, and Lacey makes several bold assertions about Hart’s life and his philosophical methodology with which leading philosophers are already engaging.

Keywords: jurisprudence, HLA Hart, methodology, Nicola Lacey, positivism, conceptual analysis

Suggested Citation

Farrell, Ian P., HLA Hart and the Methodology of Jurisprudence (2006). Texas Law Review, Vol. 84, No. 983, 2006, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2670174

Ian P. Farrell (Contact Author)

The University of Denver Sturm College of Law ( email )

2255 E. Evans Avenue
Denver, CO 80208
United States

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