Law as a means to an end. Undecidability of the end problem.
Journal Title: Polish Law Review - Year 2017, Vol 3, Issue 1
Abstract
The starting point of the paper is the conclusion that within the theory of law there are movements which support the purely instrumental view of law, as a means to a predefined end. Those movements are usually connected to a sort of legal realism. Unavoidably they are condemned to solve two complex problems: the problem of means and the problem of ends and moreover they are often supposed to do that (compliant to their philosophical assumptions) within the philosophical naturalism stance. In the paper, I focus on the latter problem indicating the sources of that view and the initially identified obstacles to proceeds consecutively towards the very contemporary, evolutionary approach to the legal theory. I put the question whether it is possible to solve the ultimate end problem within this field. Further Załuski’s account is critically reviewed, and Brożek’s model is presented, supported and completed by some evolutionary models based on genetic algorithm. Two conclusions seem to be crucial: There are no such things as definable, stable human nature and exogenous fitness function which both could be possibly informative for the ultimate end quest. Human nature seems to be biologically programmed towards aggression and non-cooperation while fitness function in the biological and cultural evolution is endogenous, and thus its determination is multicausal and multidimensional and, at the end untractable. What eventually remains is the “modest naturalistic programme” which I propose in the concluding remarks referring to works of Quine, Hayek, Churchland and Stelmach.<br/><br/>
Authors and Affiliations
Marcin Gorazda
Keywords
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