Archiwum Filozofii Prawai Filozofii Społecznej

Journal of the Polish Section of IVR (ISSN:2082-3304)

IVRwww.ivr.org.pl

Ronald Dworkin’s Philosophy of International Law

Dr Tomasz Widłak

University of Gdańsk


Abstract: During his academic career Ronald Dworkin did not show much interest in the fundamental philosophical questions on international legal issues. This had changed towards the end of his life when he wrote an article titled „A New Philosophy for International Law” published posthumously. The aim of this article is to summarise the key arguments of Dworkin’s approach, address some of its critics as well as to suggest the possibility of further development of this discussion in the context of current global constitutionalism. In the first part, three thesis of Dworkin’s approach are reconstructed. The first one claims that international law requires interpretative understanding which should be grounded in the political morality of the international community. The second thesis can be formulated as follows: the legitimacy of political power at the national and international levels is uniform. The third thesis demands the implementation of the principle of salience in international law as the basic structural principle. After discussing critically Dworkin’s theory, in second part the article proposes a constitutional interpretation of the new philosophy for international law. Two conditions of global constitutionalism have to be satisfied by the theory in order to consider it as a constitutionalist approach. The first condition is the primacy of individual rights and second is the primacy of constitutional norms within the system. The conclusion is that the conditions are satisfied for Dworkin’s new philosophy of international law and his principle of salience is in fact a deeply constitutional arrangement based on moral justification. Dworkin’s proposal constitutes only a rough sketch, however there is a potential for developments. Lawyers and philosophers have at least an intellectual responsibility for building new viable theoretical models for international law.

Keywords: Ronald Dworkin, international law, international society, principle of salience, global constitutionalism, constitutionalization of international law, international legal theory, global law

Language: Polish

Published: Number 1(12)/2016, p. 64-77.

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Number of downloads: 525

May fashionable and just have something in common? – or a few words about „thick terms”, „thick concepts” and „thick properties”

Mgr Izabela Skoczeń

Jagiellonian University in Kraków


Abstract: In the present article I explore two questions. First, what are the theoretical relations between thick terms, concepts and properties? I try to depict that the answer is dependent upon a choice of philosophical assumptions. Second, I explore what are the possible bonds between descriptive and evaluative components of thick expressions. I concentrate on the nature of the evaluative component and contrast the semantic and pragmatic approaches. Finally, I conclude that terms such as ‘legal’ are par excellence thick. Therefore, we should be aware of all the theoretical intricacies of the evaluative content when building a coherent theory of the legal realm.

Keywords: thick terms, thick concepts, thick properties, legal philosophy, law and language

Language: Polish

Published: Number 1(12)/2016, p. 55-63.

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Numer of downloads: 469

The influence of cognitive dissonance reduction on the content of positive law. Euphemisms

Mgr Sławomir Piekarczyk

University of Silesia


Abstract: The written law is a result of collective normative decision. It is enacted by competent members of legislative body being people which aren’t free from their experiences and motives in the process of the enactment. Therefore the following question appears – what occurring processes at these persons can affect contents of the law. To find an answers (explanations), there is a need to go beyond classical law research, to the direction of outside integration theory of law and derive them from such a disciplines as psychology, sociology, political science, cognitive science and the other. Presented paper uses a theory of cognitive dissonance, derived from social psychology and developed by Leon Festinger (1957’) to formulate a hypotheses about the influence of cognitive dissonance reduction on the content of written law, which expressions may be euphemisms used by legislator.

Keywords: law-making, cognitive dissonance, cognitive dissonance reduction, Leon Festinger, euphemisms

Language: Polish

Published: Number 1(12)/2016, p. 44-54.

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Number of downloads: 428

The conflict between doctor and patient: an attempt to diagnosis, proposals for „treatment”

Dr Błażej Kmieciak

Medical University of Lodz


Abstract: Patients’ rights have become in recent years a particular element of the discussion on health care. They refer to a special relationship. It is often associated with situations in which the medical expert must step into the intimate sphere of life of the sick person. This person also often experience physical or mental suffering. In debates on medicine appeared, however, a new element. It refers to information on conflicts between patients and doctors. These conflicts have a special character. They occur between the person needing help, and an expert who can give it. It is worth to think about: What is the source of that conflict? Does this conflict deepens? Are there systemic forms of assistance in resolving the dispute? Are the mediation procedures may be supported in similar difficult situations? The proposed text is attempt to answers to the above questions.

Keywords: health care, patients’ rights, doctors, conflict, conflict resolution, mediation

Language: Polish

Published: Number 1(12)/2016, p. 30-43.

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Number of downloads: 449

The Law as a Cultural Subject in the Philosophy of Law by Carlos Cossio

Mgr Krzysztof Goździalski

University of Łódź


Abstract: The main purpose of this article is to present the view of an Argentinian legal philosopher Carlos Cossio on the issue of law. He called his philosophy “egology”. The originality of Cossio’s works is expressed by a strong relationship between philosophy of law and his philosophical assumptions. The starting point for deliberating on law are widely recognized onthological and epistomological contentions. Cossio justifies his legal theses basing them on his philosophical views. Egology derives from Edmund Husserl’s phenomenology which is related to some elements of William Dilthey’s philosophy of culture. Martin Heiddeger’s and Immanuel Kant’s philosophies are the basis too. I described Cossio’s ontologies of subjects otherwise known as regional ontologies. I also presented methods for examining the above subjects and gnoseological acts which those methods comprise. I presented the characteristics of law as a cultural subject. The text is not only a report. Its aim is to show that Carlos Cossio’s legal philosophy is also semantic in character.

Language: Polish

Keywords: Carlos Cossio, egology, law as a cultural subject, phenomenology, regional ontologies, Jerzy Wróblewski

Published: Number 1(12)/2016, p. 12-29.

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Number of downloads: 572

Different texts – similar interpretation. Interpretation of law and interpretation of the Bible

Mgr Bartłomiej Dębski


English abstract: This paper concerns similarity of interpretation of law and interpretation of the Bible. It focuses on the same mechanisms grounding both the principles of interpretation of law and interpretation of the Bible. First, similar textual principles of interpretation are briefly described. Second, extra-textual principles of interpretation are given. In the second part some shortcomings of legal extra-textual principles of interpretation are also indicated. At the end of the text, a theory that allows to disregard these shortcomings is proposed.

Keywords: legal interpretation, Bible, interpretation of the Bible, dynamic interpretation

Language: Polish

Published: Number 1(12)/2016, p. 5-11.

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Number of downloads: 435

Kant, Korsgaard and the Moral Status of Animals

Prof. dr hab. Tomasz Pietrzykowski

University of Silesia


English abstract: The paper discusses the views of Christine Korsgaard – one of leading modern Kantian moral philosophers – on the proper status of sentient animals. Famously, Kantian moral theory is considered as much less favorable to the idea of animal rights than the competing utilitarian tradition. Ch. Korsgaard however reexamines the foundations of Kantian ethics and comes to the conclusion that their best reading implies (contrary to Kant’s own beliefs) that not only humans but also sentient animals deserve to be treated as ends in themselves. Her interpretation and development of Kantian ethics aims to reconcile it with modern philosophical naturalism and contemporary scientific knowledge on the nature of living creatures. Ch. Korsgaard proposes convincing comprehensive picture of naturalistic axiology and its ethical implications. Nonetheless, I raise two important objections that her views seem to give rise to – concerning the nature of human and non-human subjective selves as well as relation between moral and legal rights. The paper is based mainly on the opinions presented by Ch. Korsgaard during the 3-days seminar held in Oxford (2014) devoted to discussion of her views on the status and rights of animals from the perspective of Kantian ethics as well as on her numerous writings related to the subject.

Keywords: Christine Korsgaard, Immanual Kant, Kantianism, animal rights

Language: Polish

Published: Number 2(11)/2015, p. 106-119.

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Number of downloads: 590

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