Abstract

HARGOUS, VICENTE. The Concept of Law and the Knowledge of What is Just According to Francesco Viola. Díkaion [online]. 2018, vol.27, n.2, pp.310-342. ISSN 0120-8942.  https://doi.org/10.5294/dika.2018.27.2.5.

The author offers a systematic and critical explanation of Francesco Viola's vision of the law and its knowableness. Both points, given Viola's unusual perspective, are inseparable. For Viola, the focal significance of diritto is that of a social practice constituted by the participants' interpretation of the practice itself, in recognizing it as a value that should be pursued. The conclusion of this study is that, notwithstanding certain obvious objections to Viola; namely, the inconsistency in his thinking by calling himself a jusnaturalist while, at the same time, defending certain theses close to relativism, his understanding of practical reasoning as prudence and the need for casuistry as a legal method are genuine contributions to the debate on natural law.

Keywords : Prudence; practical reasonableness; hermeneutic circle; social practice; interpretation; natural law.

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