ABSTRACT
The dominant view within analytic jurisprudence sees it as aiming to provide an account of the ‘nature’ of law, as it exists beyond time and place. Against this background, this essay considers the role time plays in jurisprudence at three levels: First, law and jurisprudence exist in time, and have a history; second, at least in common-law systems precedent ties present law to its past; and third, at the most general level, I ask whether law’s authority can be understood without taking time into account. On all three levels, I argue that law is connected with time in ways that are insufficiently appreciated in much of the work dedicated to timeless jurisprudence. While others, Gerald Postema among them, have recognized the significance of time to law and jurisprudence, this essay aims to show how they fit a naturalistic approach to jurisprudence.
Priel, Dan, Analytic Jurisprudence in Time (March 11, 2020) in Philosophy of Law as an Integral Part of Philosophy: Essays on the Jurisprudence of Gerald J Postema (Thomas Bustamante and Thiago Lopes Decat eds, forthcoming 2020).
First posted 2020-04-09 08:02:11
Leave a Reply