Archiwum
Filozofii Prawa
i Filozofii Społecznej

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

IVR

The sorites paradox and vagueness phenomena in the language of law

Mgr Sławomir Piekarczyk

University of Silesia


English abstract: In order to make a legal text more flexible, the lawmaker is enacting in its content the vague predicates. Provisions with such predicates are applied by the courts that are forming their content in every specific case depending on the case facts. This paper’s purpose is to explain an issue of the vagueness, point out and compare the varieties of vagueness in legal texts specified by A. Marmor and T. Gizbert-Studnicki and at last try to apply law’s vague predicates – anchored and not anchored in definite numbers – to the sorites paradox which is immanently associated with the vagueness phenomena.

Keywords: vagueness, language of law, sorites paradox, weighing the rightness

Language: Polish

Received: 10.05.2016
Accepted: 23.12.2016

Published: Number 1(14)/2017, pp. 90-101.

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Number of downloads: 143

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: 16