theory of law as integrity
E421709
The theory of law as integrity is Ronald Dworkin’s influential view that judges should interpret legal practice as expressing a coherent set of moral principles that justify the community’s legal and political decisions.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| theory of law as integrity canonical | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T4231404 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: theory of law as integrity Context triple: [Ronald Dworkin, knownFor, theory of law as integrity]
-
A.
An Introduction to the Philosophy of Law
An Introduction to the Philosophy of Law is a foundational legal-philosophical text by Roscoe Pound that systematically explores the nature, purposes, and methods of law within society.
-
B.
The Paradoxes of Legal Science
The Paradoxes of Legal Science is a 1928 jurisprudential treatise by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo that explores the philosophical tensions and logical contradictions within legal reasoning and doctrine.
-
C.
The Problems of Jurisprudence
The Problems of Jurisprudence is a influential book by legal scholar Richard Posner that critically examines and challenges traditional theories of law and legal reasoning.
-
D.
The Idea of Justice
The Idea of Justice is a philosophical work by Amartya Sen that critiques traditional theories of justice and proposes a comparative, realization-focused approach grounded in public reasoning and human capabilities.
-
E.
The System of Ethics
The System of Ethics is a foundational philosophical work by Johann Gottlieb Fichte that systematically develops his idealist moral philosophy and theory of human freedom.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: theory of law as integrity Target entity description: The theory of law as integrity is Ronald Dworkin’s influential view that judges should interpret legal practice as expressing a coherent set of moral principles that justify the community’s legal and political decisions.
-
A.
An Introduction to the Philosophy of Law
An Introduction to the Philosophy of Law is a foundational legal-philosophical text by Roscoe Pound that systematically explores the nature, purposes, and methods of law within society.
-
B.
The Paradoxes of Legal Science
The Paradoxes of Legal Science is a 1928 jurisprudential treatise by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo that explores the philosophical tensions and logical contradictions within legal reasoning and doctrine.
-
C.
The Problems of Jurisprudence
The Problems of Jurisprudence is a influential book by legal scholar Richard Posner that critically examines and challenges traditional theories of law and legal reasoning.
-
D.
The Idea of Justice
The Idea of Justice is a philosophical work by Amartya Sen that critiques traditional theories of justice and proposes a comparative, realization-focused approach grounded in public reasoning and human capabilities.
-
E.
The System of Ethics
The System of Ethics is a foundational philosophical work by Johann Gottlieb Fichte that systematically develops his idealist moral philosophy and theory of human freedom.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
interpretivist theory of law
ⓘ
legal theory ⓘ normative theory of law ⓘ theory of adjudication ⓘ |
| aimsAt |
justification of state coercion through principled reasoning
ⓘ
moral coherence of the legal system ⓘ |
| appliesTo |
constitutional law
ⓘ
judicial decision-making ⓘ statutory interpretation ⓘ |
| author | Ronald Dworkin ⓘ |
| centralClaim |
judges should interpret legal practice as expressing a coherent set of moral principles
ⓘ
law is an interpretive concept that combines fit with moral justification ⓘ legal rights and duties depend on the best moral interpretation of existing legal practices ⓘ |
| contrastsWith |
purely outcome-oriented pragmatism
ⓘ
rule-based formalism ⓘ |
| coreConcept |
Judge Hercules
ⓘ
constructive interpretation ⓘ fit and justification ⓘ integrity in law ⓘ rights as trumps ⓘ |
| criticizedFor |
blurring the boundary between law and morality
ⓘ
demanding too much agreement on moral principles ⓘ idealizing judicial capacities through the figure of Judge Hercules ⓘ |
| domain |
jurisprudence
ⓘ
philosophy of law ⓘ |
| influenced |
contemporary debates in jurisprudence
ⓘ
human rights adjudication theory ⓘ theories of constitutional interpretation ⓘ |
| influencedBy |
Anglo-American common law tradition
ⓘ
linked to:
English law
interpretivism in philosophy ⓘ liberal political philosophy ⓘ |
| introducedIn | Law's Empire ⓘ |
| method | interpretation of legal materials as part of a single coherent scheme of justice and fairness ⓘ |
| opposesView |
conventionalism about law
ⓘ
legal positivism ⓘ legal pragmatism ⓘ |
| relatedWork | Law's Empire ⓘ |
| requires |
coherence among legal principles applied in adjudication
ⓘ
consistency in the treatment of persons by the legal system ⓘ interpretation of legal practice in its best moral light ⓘ |
| viewOnDemocracy | democratic legitimacy is enhanced when government acts with integrity in applying coherent principles ⓘ |
| viewOnJudging |
hard cases should be decided by the interpretation that best fits and justifies the legal system as a whole
ⓘ
judges must justify legal decisions by appealing to moral principles embedded in legal practice ⓘ |
| viewOnLaw |
law includes principles as well as rules
ⓘ
legal propositions are true if they follow from the principles that best justify the institutional history of a community ⓘ |
| viewOnRights | individuals have pre-interpretive legal rights that judges must discover and articulate ⓘ |
| yearIntroduced | 1986 ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: theory of law as integrity Description of subject: The theory of law as integrity is Ronald Dworkin’s influential view that judges should interpret legal practice as expressing a coherent set of moral principles that justify the community’s legal and political decisions.
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.