Internal Point Of View Research Articles

The Test of Practice–An Essay

This essay starts in medias res, in the puzzling reappearance of the classical metaphor of Bildung as the transformation of man’s “first” animal nature into the “second” cultivated one. I call it the two-natures metaphor. I think it misrepresents children by prescribing form rather than asking what actually takes form in the child’s mind—in his/her relationship with adults. It made me wonder whether this mistake also lingers on in the current discourse on education. I then turn to aspects of John Dewey’s subtle and revolutionary critique of the classical theory of formation, but also to make the controversial point that he, too, seems to miss the importance of the child’s internal point of view. The importance of the subjective life of the child is suggested first by reinscribing Rousseau and Kant into the intersubjective theories of Hegel and Dewey; second, by reference to recent studies in developmental psychology that offer detailed and in-depth descriptions of our relationship with children. My basic point of departure is the existential encounters between children and adults, for example, as part of classroom practices. The title has a double connotation. It means that theory must be taken as the measure of practice. It means, too, that practice must work as the measure of theory. I will, in the main, try and pursue the last course.

Down the Methodological Rabbit Hole

This article surveys methodological matters that shape, drive, and plague Analytic Legal Philosophy. Section II briefly explicates conceptual analysis, analytic definitions, and family resemblance concepts. I also argue that central cases are used in more than one way. Section III then presents some (well- and lesser-known) criticisms of those concepts and methods, some of which are due to the lack of a shared paradigm regarding a counterexample’s impact. Section IV then briefly explains ‘meta-theoretical’ desiderata: norms by which to help construct, evaluate, and compare concepts and theories. I argue that, to date, legal philosophical appeals to such norms have not been as helpful as some suggest. Finally, Section V returns to the matter of concept selection by addressing whether legal theorising is an invariably ‘normative’ (in the sense of morally or politically evaluative) enterprise. I argue that certain ‘Normativist’ methodologies, such as Dworkin’s Constructive Interpretation and Finnis’ appeal to the central case of the internal point of view, are unnecessary.

Integration through Self-Standing European Private Law: Insights from the Internal Point of View to Harmonization in Energy Market

Integration through Self-Standing European Private Law: Insights from the Internal Point of View to Harmonization in Energy Market

Instituciones y costos de transacción

El objetivo fundamental por el cual las sociedades establecen arreglos institucionales es el de abaratar los costos de transacción. Para alcanzar dicha meta se han ensayado diferentes métodos de diseño que colocan el énfasis principalmente en los sistemas de incentivos dirigidos a estimular un comportamiento de obediencia de las reglas institucionales. Mostraremos por una parte que el punto de vista interno asumido por los usuarios en relación con las instituciones contribuye a bajar los costos de transacción, y por la otra que el mensaje valorativo de la autoridad normativa cumple un papel decisivo en la construcción de tal punto de vista.

Understanding international practices from the internal point of view

The article is written in response to a recent flurry of studies on international practices. In investigating this theme, International Relations scholars have drawn on diverse traditions in sociology, philosophy and organisational theory such as Bourdieu’s theory of practice, Dewey’s and James’ pragmatism, communities of practice approach and actor-network theory. One preliminary question presupposed by these investigations however is, what standpoint (if any) enables us to make sense of international practices? Our central thesis is that the proper understanding of practices – including international ones – requires the internal point of view (practice internalism). To make our case, we develop an analytic distinction between two basic standpoints: practice externalism, represented by Adler and Pouliot’s approach to international practices, and practice internalism, represented by Wittgensteinian philosopher Peter Winch. Following Winch, we argue that the practice of social science is externalist, and point to the limitations of an analysis of international practices predicated on externalist, social scientific premises.

‘Reality is for Those who Cannot Sustain the Dream’: Fantasies of Selfhood in Legal Texts

Confronting the law as a form of ideology is not an easy task, especially for lawyers very strongly attached to the internal point of view as part of their professional habitus. Despite this difficulty, the present paper aims at contributing to the ideological demistification of law by proposing to apply Slavoj Žižek’s critique of ideology to the legal field. In particular, the paper elaborates a specific methodology of subjecting legal texts to a critique of ideology by way of identifying the symptoms, i.e. points of breakdown of the ideological field which are simultaneously necessary for that field to achieve its closure. The paradox of symptoms is that they are inevitable for the ideological field, yet at the same time they undermine it, opening up a space for its critique. In this context, the aim of this paper is to confront the fundamental fantasies conveyed by legal ideology. The paper approaches ideological fantasies in strict connection with ideological interpellation, i.e. the process in which a human individual is transformed into a subject of ideology. Ideological interpellation of individuals into subjects is one of the chief operations of the law, which, in its current form, is based on the fundamental assumption that human beings are subjects of rights and duties. Directing the critique of ideology at legal texts aims at undermining the efficacy of the ideological grip held by the Symbolic order upon individuals by insisting on the classical Lacanian thesis that ‘the big Other does not exist’. On a practical level, critique of legal ideology performed by lawyers themselves can help to bring about a more reflexive approach to their participation in the principal practices of legal culture and can help to raise lawyers’ awareness regarding their role in society.

Law's 'Inherent Moral Risk' and the Two-Way Relationship between Law and Habits

By focusing on the qualitative difference between the habits that are capable of generating a legal system and the habits that this system’s “division of normative labour” can facilitate, this paper throws new light on the concern at the root of Hart’s claim that law is inherently morally risky. Hart’s great insight in this respect has been muddled by his attempt to encapsulate the reflexive element inherent in the internal point of view in a (weak) notion of “acceptance”. This paper argues that the key risk inherent in the “division of normative labour” enabled by law’s institutional structure consists in the fostering of habits that have lost their adaptability and thus their ability to support legal practice.

Motor imagery, perspective taking and gender differences: a VVIQ2-based study

Scientific literature highlighted gender differences in spatial orientation. In particular, men and women differ in terms of the navigational processes they use in daily life. Scientific literature highlighted that women use analytical strategies while men tend to use holistic strategies. Furthermore, studies exploring gender differences in self-reported dream perspectives reported that women dream mainly in first person and men mainly in third person. This work used Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire-2 to verify if gender differences in perspective taking last also in motor imagery practice. The aim of VVIQ2 questionnaire is to determine the vividness of movement imagery. In the VVIQ2, the image can be obtained watching oneself while performing the movement from an external point of view (External Visual Imagery), or from an internal point of view, as if you were looking out through your own eyes while performing the movement (Internal Visual Imagery). The Questionnaire was administered to students of Sports Sciences Degree from University of Salerno.

An Inside Job: Engaging with Indigenous Legal Traditions through Stories

There has been a growing momentum toward a greater recognition and explicit use of Indigenous laws in the past several years. According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report, the revitalization and recognition of Indigenous laws are essential to reconciliation in Canada. How, then, do we go about doing this? In this article, we introduce one method, which we believe has great potential for working respectfully and productively with Indigenous laws today. We engage with Indigenous legal traditions by carefully and consciously applying adapted common law tools, such as legal analysis and synthesis, to existing and often publicly available Indigenous resources: stories, narratives, and oral histories. By bringing common pedagogical approaches from many Indigenous legal traditions together with standard common law legal education, we hope to help people learn Indigenous laws from an internal point of view. We share experiences that reveal that this method holds great potential as a pedagogical bridge “into” respectful engagement with Indigenous laws and legal thought, within and across Indigenous, academic, and professional communities. In conclusion, we argue that, while this method is a useful tool, it is not intended to supplant existing learning and teaching methods, but rather to supplement them. In practice, we have seen that this method can be complementary to learning deeply through other means. There are many methods to engage with Indigenous laws, and there needs to be critical reflection and conversations about them all.

THE BECOMING-OTHER OF LAW: PRELIMINARIES FOR A CITIZEN'S CONCEPTUALIZATION OF LAW

The author’s hypothesis is that modern legal theories view law solely from the standpoint of ruling class or, in Hartian language, from the external point of view. Why? In sume because legal philosophers have implicitly accepted law as the exclusive domain of government and partisan politics. This approach, however, has been disrupted by poststructuralist political developments, which serve as a powerful impetus to modify prevailing concepts. This analysis begins with Benjamin Arditi’s idea regarding what he calls “the becoming other of politics,” an argument to radically change how the law is conceived. It then examines a very particular point of the theory proposed by the legal philosopher Herbert Hart, who distinguishes between the “external” and “internal” points of view with respect to how the rules of a legal system may be described or evaluated. In effect, Hart distinguishes between: (i) the external aspect, which is the independently observable fact that people tend to obey rules with regularity; and (ii) the internal aspect, which is the obligation felt by most individuals to follow the rules. It is from this latter “internal sense” that the law acquires its normative quality. Unfortunately, Hart only applies the internal point of view to government officials, in effect rendering his thesis inconsistent. The article ends with a brief analysis of Dworkin’s Herculean judge theory, arguing that Dworkin also gets trapped between the paradigm of government and partisan politics.

Bobbio y el positivismo

The paper critically examines Bobbio's famous disctinction between legal positivism as a method, a theory and an ideology. The author first highlights certain problems of the distinction itself and then focuses on Bobbio's self-determined position within it. Delving on Bobbio's analysis of the concepts of basic norm and rule of recognition, he demonstrates how Bobbio's later rejection of these two concepts implies acceptance of positivistic legal theory and ideology – despite the fact that he explicitly rejected them in the first place. The reason for this Bobbio's slip is found in his absorbtion in the positivist legal culture which is permeated with the internal point of view on the law. The author suggests rejecting Bobbio's tripartite disctinction of legal positivism and proposes instead to view this as a set of seldom indvisible standpoints forming a specific legal culture.

Bounty Hunter Reward System: A Necessary Management Evil? – A Case Study of Sri Lanka Customs

Making successful management reforms and employing modern change management techniques requires striking a balance between employee satisfaction and operational performance. In this endeavour, Sri Lanka Customs has found that the incentive of rewards takes the centre stage between operational performance and employee satisfaction. This case study dissects various elements involved in a 150-year old, ‘pay half the catch’ customs rewards scheme that was approved by the Parliament, but has yet to be exposed to the outside modern world. Is Customs an enforcer, collector, protector or a facilitator? Is reward an indispensable feature or a management evil? Is the enforcer role compromised due to the exorbitance of the reward money? Does the facilitator role make a hole in the enforcer role? What are the criticisms? Does the interest in rewards result in increasing harassment of importers and exporters? Could there be reforms? Both the internal point of view of the employees and the external point of view of the stakeholders are surveyed in this exploratory case study to begin the discussion on reforms. Could this live example help other Customs administrations to rethink or to reformulate their theories on enforcement and incentives? These are matters discussed by a Customs officer who has worked for more than thirty years in this organization as an investigator and an inquiry officer.

Technological Innovation of Small and Medium Enterprises in Kosovo: Challenges and Barriers

The ability to innovate, is the main challenge in the fast changing global markets, to maintain a stable economic development in the long term. The ICT can carry strategic incentives to adjust the economic structure and to modify the economic model of a country. This process can build a resource-saving and a environmentally friendly society. The technological innovation can improve the international competitiveness of the economy and the overall employment rate of young generations. The rapid development of SMEs has become a major force to support economic growth of Kosovo. However, small and medium enterprises in transitional economies are not always trusting technological innovation. Several businesses due to multiple internal and external environmental factors, show a low level of confidence over technological innovation. In fact, from an internal point of view, the management can be afraid of security issues, like leak of strategic information, or moreover company secrets. The typical example can be the reluctance to adopt cloud technology platforms to improve the management tasks and operations. Meanwhile the external threat can be an overturn of the management style that threatens positions and hierarchy within the organization. This paper aims to analyze some key factors that prevent the spread of technological enhancement in small and medium enterprises in Kosovo. Some typical case studies will be analyzed and further policy recommendations will be suggested. Keywords: SME, ICT, confidence, success, transition economy.

Rule of Law Political Legitimacy and Civil Disobedience in China: A Reply

In responding to the commentaries of Professors Zhu and Pils on my article and the plenum more generally, it is important to clarify the purpose of my piece and the use of certain ideas from Lon Fuller and H.L.A. Hart in order to avoid some basic misunderstandings. My goal was to explain the context for the plenum, highlighting the key issues that have arisen during the last 35 years since legal reforms began, and the reasons why the CCP felt a plenum on rule of law was needed at this juncture in the reform process. I suggested there were three main goals. Professor Zhu rightfully calls attention to a potentially significant fourth goal: to enhance the role of the constitution. I invoked the notions of the inner morality of law and internal point of view to help explain one of the goals of the plenum: to promote the norms and practices of a rule of law culture for officials and citizens alike. In her commentary, Professor Pils uses Fuller and Hart for a different purpose: to raise questions regardingregime legitimacy and the relationship between law and morality, and more specifically to raise the issue of the authority of the law and the obligation to obey it. This is a perfectly legitimate use of Fuller and Hart, and these are important issues. As such, they deserve a

Legal Realism and its Discontents

AbstractThis article provides a brief overview of legal realism and sketches out its implications for international law, using international environmental law as an example. Although the ‘new’ legal realism is not especially new, its anti-formalist, pragmatic perspective still offers important insights about the international legal process, and serves as a useful counterpoint to a new variety of formalism, which continues to resist the social scientific study of international law. Among its distinctive elements, legal realism views international law instrumentally, is empirical in orientation, and focuses on the processes by which international law is developed, implemented, and enforced, rather than limiting itself to international law doctrine. The fear of critics is that, by de-emphasizing the internal point of view and the concept of legal validity, legal realism deprives international law of the very features that make it a distinctive enterprise.

Acting within and Outside an Institution

There is an influential, and in a sense paradigmatic view in legal philosophy according to which being a participant in a legal system entails adopting a specific internal point of view. This conception, which traces back to H.L.A. Hart, connects our participation in a given legal practice with the acceptance of, and abidance to, a given system of rules. I will call this the Rule-conception of institutional action. I want to argue that this conception, if taken alone, severely limits our capability to explain different kinds of action made in a given institutional domain. In my view, that conception must be enriched in order to have a full explanatory potential, particularly because the very idea of being internal or external to a given institution is much more fuzzy and shaded than it can appear at first sight. The structure of this paper is as follows. In Section 2 I will argue that, if we complement the Rule conception of institutional action with a pragmatic analysis, a broader and more shaded phenomenology will emerge than that shown by the binary external/internal distinction. For this purpose, I will resort to a simple example of institutional action drawn from chess, and I will apply the analytical framework of speech acts theory — what I consider a paradigm of pragmatic analysis of language — to this example. In this way, I will arrive at a distinction among seven different kinds of institutional agents in terms of different degrees of internality and externality with respect to the institutional practice. Then, in Section 3, I will apply this analysis to a legal example drawn from criminal procedure, showing that the external/internal distinction can be shaded also in the legal domain. Finally, I will draw some conclusions.

Legitimacy, Authority, and Validity of Law: An Integrated Approach to Legal Positivism and the Methodology of Welfare-Grundnorm

This paper examines why legal positivism has not only been customarily contested by non-positivist jurists, but is also internally fraught with theoretical inconsistencies due to its vulnerability in theorizing the nature of law. The first section of this paper investigates the issue of theoretical inconsistencies endured by mainstream positivism, and argues that these inconsistencies are the offshoot of deficiencies caused by ignoring the need of an integrative approach to the explanation of the nature of law. By mainly focusing on the Hartian concept of the internal point of view, and the Razian idea of authority, the first part of this paper shows how the Hartian and Razian theories are inadequate and unsatisfactory in offering a comprehensive explanation of the nature of law, and addresses the gaps persisted by the mainstream positivism in the explanation of the nature of law. The second part of this paper explains the integrated approach to law. The integrated approach employed by this paper explicates the nature of law as built upon the inseparable association of three fundamental conceptual features of law: legitimacy, authority, and validity. The aim of this paper is not to tender any suggestion to discard positivism, but to further explore and strengthen legal positivism. Thus, the second part of this paper defends positivism in the form of an integrative approach to law. The third part offers a methodology of welfare-grundnorm to foster the integrated approach to law, especially by addressing some epistemic questions regarding transmutation of normative standards into positive standards that are critical to the conceptual account of legitimacy and validity. The final part summarizes the main propositions of this paper.

The optimal selection of internal communication tools during change in organisations

In order to effectively implement their goals, vision, and mission, organisations have at their disposal a wide range of internal communication tools from which to choose. The challenge does not lie in the use of all possible and available internal communication tools, but in the selection of those that will facilitate the most effective communication in accordance with the organisational culture. Hence, the optimal selection of internal communication tools is even more important during change, when employees are much more sensitive to the information they receive. This article tackles these questions and provides fresh empirical data on the selection of internal communication tools for use during change from a professional internal communicator's point of view. It also provides insight into internal communication tools that are considered crucial for the near future. The data evaluated and analysed were gathered on the basis of research carried out in 2012 among 71 professional internal communicators of large and medium-sized companies.

Burn-up calculation of different thorium-based fuel matrixes in a thermal research reactor using MCNPX 2.6 code

Abstract Decrease of the economically accessible uranium resources and the inherent proliferation resistance of thorium fuel motivate its application in nuclear power systems. Estimation of the nuclear reactor’s neutronic parameters during different operational situations is of key importance for the safe operation of nuclear reactors. In the present research, thorium oxide fuel burn-up calculations for a demonstrative model of a heavy water- -cooled reactor have been performed using MCNPX 2.6 code. Neutronic parameters for three different thorium fuel matrices loaded separately in the modelled thermal core have been investigated. 233U, 235U and 239Pu isotopes have been used as fissile element in the thorium oxide fuel, separately. Burn-up of three different fuels has been calculated at 1 MW constant power. 135X and 149Sm concentration variations have been studied in the modelled core during 165 days burn-up. Burn-up of thorium oxide enriched with 233U resulted in the least 149Sm and 135Xe productions and net fissile production of 233U after 165 days. The negative fuel, coolant and void reactivity of the used fuel assures safe operation of the modelled thermal core containing (233U-Th) O2 matrix. Furthermore, utilisation of thorium breeder fuel demonstrates several advantages, such as good neutronic economy, 233U production and less production of long-lived α emitter high radiotoxic wastes in biological internal exposure point of view

Releyendo a Hart

El autor repasa las ideas centrales de The Concept of Law de H. Hart tratando de evaluar su originalidad y novedad y de discutir su corrección. De esta manera, se discuten las nociones hartianas de regla social, punto de vista interno y externo, obligación, reglas primarias y secundarias y regla de reconocimiento, así como la teoría de Hart de la interpretación jurídica y su crítica al realismo.