the question of objectivity in legal interpretation has emerged in recent years as an imprtant topic in contemporary jurisprudence. This book addresses the issue of how and in what sense legal interpretation can be objective. The author supports the possibility of objectivity in law and spells out the content of objectivity involved. He then provides a defence against the classical, as well as less well-known, objections to the possibility of objectivity in legal interpretation. The discussion is thoroughly grounded in metaphysics, which sets the book apart from other similar discussions in jurisprudence. Stavropoulos identifies an important source of resistance to the acceptance of the possibility of objectivity in legal interpretation; a widely held but faulty semantic. He then develops an alternative semantic framework, drawing on influential theories in contemporary philosophy. The book shows that objectivism is a natural, common sensical position, and rejects the currently popular notion that objectivism requires extravagant or bizarre metaphysics. Furthermore, the discussion presents the opportunity to re-interpret major debates in jurisprudence and to show how influential theories, notably H.L.A. Hart's and Ronald Dworkin's, bear on that issue.
Reviews
Applying, as it does, a sophisticated philosophical analysis to questions of interpretation, objectivity, the relations between law and morals, and to figuring out Ronald Dworkin's work, this book is important reading for the serious scholar of analytical jurisprudence, including the serious undergraduate. * J. E. Penner, Modern Law Review *
This ingenious book ... makes too many challenging arguments in favour of Dworkinian interpretivism even to list in a review ... his complex and challenging book shows that jurisprudence is essentially controversial. * Timothy A. O. Endicott, Law Quarterly Review *
In order to follow the argument, a fair degree of acquaintance with contemporary semantics, meta-ethics and jurisprudence is required. That said, anyone who is interested in any of these fields may find herself provoked and stimulated by this bold attempt to rescue law from indeterminacy. * Iain Law, Mind Vol.109, No.435. July 00. *
The arguments against ethical noncognitivism are elegant and powerful * R.E.S., Ethics, April 1999 *



Book Information
ISBN 9780198258995
Author Nicos Stavropoulos
Format Hardback
Page Count 228
Imprint Clarendon Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 511g
Dimensions(mm) 242mm * 163mm * 18mm