Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This text is characterized as an analysis of the definition of law proposed by Hermann Kantorowicz in his book, The Definition of Law (1939), considered as a broad concept and suitable for a comprehensive history of legal science, averse to elements such as positivity, coercibility, state origin and validity, but favorable to the idea of a set of social rules that prescribe external conduct and are considered justifiable. In this sense, the exclusion of validity in Kantorowicz's definition is discussed in opposition to Robert Alexy's own reflections, which have as their central focus the relationship between law and morality to argue that, although the exclusion of validity may be useful for the history of law, a complete definition of law needs to incorporate this element.
Author: Robert Alexy
Institution: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
Language: English
Topic: Legal and Social Philosophy
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4409396174