Citation

Fox C, Feis G. Inquiry (Oslo) 2018; 61(4): 370-393.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/0020174X.2017.1371873

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the 'ought implies can' (OIC) thesis, focusing on explanations and interpretations of OIC, with a view to clarifying its uses and relevance to legal philosophy. We first review various issues concerning the semantics and pragmatics of OIC; then we consider how OIC may be incorporated in Hartian and Kelsenian theories of the law. Along the way we also propose a taxonomy of OIC-related claims.

Language: en

Keywords

Hart; iterated modalities; Kelsen; law; legal drafting; meta-norms; OIC; Ought implies can; pragmatics; semantics; von Wright