According to Manuel Atienza (2013, p. 31), Neil MacCormick is one of the representatives of the standard theory of legal argumentation.
MacCormick began to develop his theory in the book “Legal Reasoning and Legal Theory” (1978). However, in responding to the book’s criticisms, he wrote articles in which he modified his initial theoretical assumptions.
Thus, in the book “Rhetoric and the Rule of Law” (2005), he presented a modified version of his theory of legal argumentation. However, the definitive version was presented in the book “Practical Reason in Law and Morality” (2008).
In several of the future posts, I will examine how MacCormick’s theory of legal argumentation developed in these three books.
I will examine not the original editions, but the reprints from 2003, 2010, and 2011, respectively.
Bibliographic references
ATIENZA, Manuel. Curso de Argumentación Jurídica. 1st. ed. Madrid: Editorial Trotta, 2013 (Reprinted 2018).
MACCORMICK, Neil. Legal Reasoning and Legal Theory. 1st. ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1978 (Reprinted 2003).
MACCORMICK, Neil. Practical Reason in Law and Morality. 1st. ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008 (Reprinted 2011).
MACCORMICK, Neil. Rhetoric and the Rule of Law: A Theory of Legal Reasoning. 1st. ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005 (Reprinted 2010).