Hans Kelsen’s Basic Norm: Transition from the Transcendental-Logical Condition to a Fiction
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60131/jlaw.2.2022.7014Keywords:
Kelsen, the basic norm, the jurisprudential antinomy, the transcendental method, fictionalism.Abstract
Hans Kelsen's legal philosophy plays a significant role in shaping modern legal thinking. The defining, primary concept of his legal theory is the basic norm, which was represented as a transcendental-logical condition until 1960, and then, in the last years of his work, as a fiction. The article is dedicated to the study of the mentioned change, in particular, to the discovery of the influences of Cohen’s and Vaihinger’s philosophical doctrines in the formation of the contents of the basic norm and their criticism. The paper will also discuss the possibility of solving the problem that we come against when separating the pure theory of law from natural law and legal positivist traditions.
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