The Legacy of H.L.A. Hart

This book is the product of a major British Academy Symposium held in 2007 to mark the centenary of the birth of H.L.A. Hart, the most important legal philosopher and one of the most important political philosophers of the twentieth century. The book brings together contributions from seventeen of the world's foremost legal and political philosophers who explore the many subjects in which Hart produced influential work. Each essay engages in an original analysis of philosophical problems that were tackled by Hart, some essays including extended critical discussions of his major works: The Concept of Law, Punishment and Responsibility, Causation in the Law and Law, Liberty and Morality. All the main topics of Hart's philosophical writings are featured: general jurisprudence and legal positivism; criminal responsibility and punishment; theories of rights; toleration and liberty; theories of justice; and causation in the law.

Matthew Kramer is Professor of Legal & Political Philosophy, University of Cambridge; Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge; and Director of Cambridge Forum for Legal & Political Philosophy
Claire Grant is Reader in Social and Political Philosophy at the University of Warwick
Ben Colburn is University Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Cambridge
Antony Hatzistavrouis Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Hull

- Introduction - Part I: General Legal Philosophy - 1: John Finnis: On Hart's Ways: Law as Reason and as Fact - 2: David Lyons: The Legal Entrenchment of Illegality - 3: Sir Neil MacCormick: Jurisprudence after Hart - 4: Gerald Postema: The Social Foundations of Sovereignty - 5: Jeremy Waldron: Hart and the Rule of Law - 6: W.J. Waluchow: Legality, Morality, and the Guidance Function of Law - Part II: Criminal Responsibility and Punishment - 7: Antony Duff: Responsibility and Liability - 8: John Gardner: Hart on Responsibility - Part III: Causation in the Law - 9: Judith Jarvis Thomson: Some Reflections on Causation in the Law - 10: Richard Wright: The Nightmare and the Noble Dream: Causation and Responsibility - Part IV: Theories of Justice - 11: Brad Hooker: Justice, Fairness, and Hart - 12: Philip Pettit: Liberty and Liberties - Part V: Theories of Rights - 13: Cécile Fabre: Rights and Non-existence - 14: Hillel Steiner: Are There Still Any Natural Rights? - 15: Leif Wenar: The Nature of the Claim - Part VI: Toleration and Liberty - 16: Leslie Green: Tolerance and Understanding - 17: Susan Mendus: Private Faces in Public Places - 18: Alan Ryan: Liberty, Privacy, and Cruelty