January 2022.
Alec Thompson
Research Paper, Cambridge Legal Theory Discussion Group
PDF‘History of science without philosophy is blind, philosophy of science without history of science is empty.’ Can the same be said about legal history and legal philosophy? This paper argues legal history inevitably incorporates legal philosophy, though the way it does so is complex and has produced a disciplinary division between ‘internal’ and ‘external’ legal history. Internalists are legal positivists whilst externalists are not, or at least have doubts about the objectivity of legal reasoning. A more explicit consideration of these philosophical assumptions is needed for reconciliation between the two groups. Equally, the relevance of philosophy to history goes the other direction: some historical findings are more compatible with philosophies of law than others.