Legal History Commons^™

A Review Of Hohfeld's Fundamental Legal Concepts, Alan D. Cullison

Cleveland State Law Review

Wesley N. Hohfeld tried to split the atom of legal discourse and to identify its elementary particles. He identified eight atomic particles which he called "the lowest common denominators of the law." All legal concepts, he thought, can be completely analyzed, even defined, in terms of these eight fundamental legal conceptions: Right, No-Right, Power, Disability, Duty, Privilege, Liability, Immunity. Of course, Hohfeld had in mind very specific meanings for these eight terms; so it is not the words themselves, but rather the meanings he had in mind, that tell Hohfeld's story. The first thing that needs clarifying is what kind …