ISSN:
0008-1973
Source:
Cambridge Journals Digital Archives
Topics:
Law
Notes:
The argument of the preceding part of this article has progressed as follows. Jurisprudence, it has been contended, is thought about law, including analysis of its internal structure and exploration of its external relations. Only confusion results, however, in the absence of a preliminary indication, with some degree of precision, of the subject-matter to which the term “law” is to be applied. Jurisprudence cannot presuppose, but must begin with, a definition of the term “law.” The distinctive characteristic of a lawyer's jurisprudence is the criterion it adopts in framing such a definition. This, it has been suggested, is utility to lawyers, a specialised professional group whose specific interests and experience differ from those of citizens, politicians, sociologists, philosophers, or whom you will. In particular a lawyer's concept of law should be judged by its power of ordering, conceptually, the elements of the lawyer's professional experience. The best definition will be that whose analysis displays the maximum degree of coherence to be found amongst the largest number of the most important elements in that experience.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0008197300005961
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