Abstract

The paper analyzes the approach to “the definition of lawµ in the works of prominent American legal realists such as Felix S. Cohen, Karl N. Llewellyn, Walter W. Cook and Jerome N. Frank. As the analysis highlights, despite their commonplace representation of proponents of philosophically naïve claims about the nature of law, such authors shared a more sophisticated philosophical strategy in framing such “definitionsµ. The shared strategy is significantly influenced by the pragmatist tradition (especially by James and Dewey) and, when appropriately understood, appears to resist the criticism which is typically and recurrently undergoing in legal philosophy.