Law Commons^™

Wittgenstein And The Rule Of Law, Anil Shankar

Anil Shankar

Legal theorists have made a number of attempts to extend Wittgenstein’s remarks on rule-following to the law, but no consensus has emerged as to their appropriate implications. This paper articulates a limited sense in which Wittgenstein’s remarks are of interest to legal theory, as remarks capable of changing how we view and justify our involvement with legal rules. This position responds to both the exaggerations and misreadings that have dominated legal discussion of Wittgenstein and to the recent wave of articles suggesting Wittgenstein’s philosophy has nothing to offer the law. In addition, the article directly raises the question that has …