Nominalist legal theory reduces to an attack on mechanical jurisprudence

Evidence

If we boil away the bluff, the nominalist attack reduces to an attack on mechanical jurisprudence. Through the lines of the attack, and in spite of the heroic calls for the death of law, the nominalists themselves have offered an analysis of how the terms “law” and “legal obligation” should be used which is not very different from that of more classical philosophers. — Ronald M. Dworkin, The Model of Rules, 20

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies what the ‘death of law’ rhetoric actually amounts to beneath its surface.
• XREF: connects to: Legal nominalists treat law and obligation as myths to be discarded — Ronald M. Dworkin, The Model of Rules, 11; Reductionist legal theories obscure the diverse functions of rules within a social system — HLA Hart, The Concept of Law (Clarendon Law…, 649; Legal systems rest on customary social rules rather than moral foundations — HLA Hart, The Concept of Law (Clarendon Law…, 56 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Formalism disguises the need for judicial choice by freezing rule meaning #corroborates (0.55) — HLA Hart, The Concept of Law (Clarendon Law…, 370
• In this Article, Professor Schauer examines divergent uses of the term ‘formalism’ to elucidate its descriptive content. Conceptions of formalism, he argues, involve the notion that rules… #responds-to (0.50)
• Reductionist legal theories obscure the diverse functions of rules within a social system #expands (0.45) — HLA Hart, The Concept of Law (Clarendon Law…, 649
• Judicial rules should not be applied to dryly logical extremes #corroborates (0.40) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 144
• Legal systems rest on customary social rules rather than moral foundations #qualifies (0.35) — HLA Hart, The Concept of Law (Clarendon Law…, 56