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Indecisive Reasons For Action: Socrates, Not Hercules, As Judicial Ideal, Eric J. Miller
Indecisive Reasons For Action: Socrates, Not Hercules, As Judicial Ideal, Eric J. Miller
Eric J. Miller
Ronald Dworkin famously introduces the idealized judge, Hercules, to demonstrate how to identify one right answer for any legal problem. Since judicial disagreement makes sense, according to Dworkin, against the background of plural theories of the good, Hercules solves a particular political problem: how to avoid apathy or indecisiveness in choosing among competing theories. Dworkin's judge is supposed to stand by his or her political convictions in the face of competing, plural points of view. Choosing the one right answer is thus a method of political commitment.
My claim is that Dworkin is caught between a rock and a hard …