Gaffney, Paul

Ronald Dworkin on Law as Integrity Rights as Principles of Adjudication

1996 0-7734-2268-4
This study provides a comprehensive examination of the legal theory of Ronald Dworkin, arguably the most original and provocative philosopher of law that America has produced this century. Dworkin's work represents an effort to synthesize the moral commitments of the natural law tradition with the hermeneutical character of post-modern philosophy. The result is an interpretive theory of law, focused on the essentially moral character of hard case adjudication. Judges strive to be principled and consistent in their resolution of legal disputes, thus manifesting an implicit commitment to the ideal of Integrity. This book clarifies and probes the moral, epistemological, and metaphysical commitments of Law as Integrity.