Legal Theories. The Dispute Between Dworkin and Hart

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2010 in the subject Law - Philosophy, History and Sociology of Law, grade: A, University of Manchester (School of Law), course: Jurisprudence, language: English, abstract: Throughout their intellectual lives, eminent legal theorists, Ronald Dworkin and Herbert Lionel Adolphus Hart, have had an ongoing debate where they have presented their own theories of law, whilst criticising each other’s theories. In fact, Dworkin’s criticisms of Hart’s theory are the basis on which Dworkin uncovers his own theory. Their arguments, at times, can be tricky for people other than themselves to get a hand on; but what can easily be detected is that Dworkin thinks there is an argument between them, whilst Hart does not. This paper will dissect the current nature of dispute between Hart and Dworkin following an in depth, yet concise, elucidation of the main aspects of Dworkin’s attack on Hart’s positivism in both Taking Rights Seriously and Law’s Empire. This will be followed by Hart’s response in his Postscript to the second edition of The Concept of Law, and an examination of the subsequent academic opinions that have arisen on the basis of their debate.