legaltheory

Legal theory, or jurisprudence, is the branch of philosophy that studies law as a social institution. It investigates what law is, where it comes from, how it derives its authority, how legal rules are interpreted, and what counts as justice within a legal system. It distinguishes descriptive explanations of how law operates from normative claims about how it ought to operate, and it engages with questions about the relationship between law, morality, and politics.

Major strands include legal positivism, natural law, legal realism and critical theory, interpretive and hermeneutic approaches, and law and economics. Legal positivism treats law as a system of rules created or recognized by social authorities, with validity determined by sources rather than moral content (exemplified by thinkers such as Austin and H. L. A. Hart). Natural law holds that law is grounded in universal moral principles that ordinary human reason can discern. Legal realism emphasizes the social and practical function of law and how judges’ decisions are influenced by factors beyond formal rules. Critical legal studies and related approaches analyze how law may reinforce social power and inequality. Interpretive theories focus on how law should be read and applied, including debates over textualism versus purposivism. Law and economics analyzes legal rules through the lens of efficiency and social costs and benefits. Feminist jurisprudence and critical race theory examine how law shapes and is shaped by gender and racial power relations.

Legal theory uses doctrinal analysis, case law, statutory interpretation, comparative study, and philosophical argument. It informs debates about judicial doctrine, constitutional interpretation, and reform, and it remains central to questions about the legitimacy and purposes of law in society.