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Hohfeldian Infinities: Why Not to Worry

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Peer-reviewed

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Article

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Abstract

Hillel Steiner has recently attacked the notion of inalienable rights, basing some of his arguments on the Hohfeldian analysis to show that infinite arrays of legal positions would not be associated with any inalienable rights. This essay addresses the nature of the Hohfeldian infinity: the main argument is that what Steiner claims to be an infinite regress is actually a wholly unproblematic form of infinite recursion. First, the nature of the Hohfeldian recursion is demonstrated. It is shown that infinite recursions of legal positions ensue regardless of whether inalienable rights exist or not. Second, the alleged problems that this might pose for the analysis are discussed. The conclusion is that one should not worry about the recursion as long as one understands correctly the role of the Hohfeldian analysis in normative reasoning.

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This is the author accepted manuscript. It is currently under an indefinite embargo pending publication by Springer.

Keywords

jurisprudence, philosophy of law, rights, Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld, inalienable rights, infinite regress

Journal Title

Res Publica

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Journal ISSN

1356-4765
1572-8692

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Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Sponsorship
The Kone Foundation funds my PhD project in Cambridge for which I am thankful.