
The Constitution of the Legal Relation
A Pragmatist Philosophy of Law
Alexander Somek(Author)
Hart Publishing
Will be published approx. on 22. January 2026
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-1-5099-7922-6 (ISBN)
Description
This book defends the relational approach to law from the perspective of human action.
The book begins by exploring how what we take to be law is constituted through the lens of either rational or reasonable conduct. Having examined reasonableness as the unifying theme of natural law theories, it then argues that the form and authority of law originate from resolving a moral antinomy that these theories failed to address. The reasonableness of law resides in the resultant structure and principles of relations in which rights are matched with obligations and powers with liabilities.
Rather than descending upon us from above in the form of directives, the law emerges from interactive efforts to cope with persistent moral disagreements. Ultimately, the relational approach views the legal rules governing our interactions as based on some common will. The book concludes that, unsurprisingly, modern constitutionalism is to be regarded as a thoroughly pragmatic and most defensible conception of the authority of law.
The book begins by exploring how what we take to be law is constituted through the lens of either rational or reasonable conduct. Having examined reasonableness as the unifying theme of natural law theories, it then argues that the form and authority of law originate from resolving a moral antinomy that these theories failed to address. The reasonableness of law resides in the resultant structure and principles of relations in which rights are matched with obligations and powers with liabilities.
Rather than descending upon us from above in the form of directives, the law emerges from interactive efforts to cope with persistent moral disagreements. Ultimately, the relational approach views the legal rules governing our interactions as based on some common will. The book concludes that, unsurprisingly, modern constitutionalism is to be regarded as a thoroughly pragmatic and most defensible conception of the authority of law.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
617 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5099-7922-6 (9781509979226)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
01/2026
1st Edition
Hart Publishing
€100.99
Available for download

E-Book
01/2026
1st Edition
Hart Publishing
€100.99
Available for download
Person
Alexander Somek is Professor of Legal Philosophy at the University of Vienna, Austria.
Content
1. Skepticism and Agreement
2. The Point of Legal Philosophy
3. The Rational Perspective on Overpowering Force
4. A Modest Primer on Reasonableness
5. Soul and the City
6. The Best and Most Feasible
7. Natural Law: Its Problem
8. Natural Law: Trajectories
9. The Enigma of Authority
10. Relational Approaches
11. The Enigma of Morality
12. The Indeterminacy of Law
2. The Point of Legal Philosophy
3. The Rational Perspective on Overpowering Force
4. A Modest Primer on Reasonableness
5. Soul and the City
6. The Best and Most Feasible
7. Natural Law: Its Problem
8. Natural Law: Trajectories
9. The Enigma of Authority
10. Relational Approaches
11. The Enigma of Morality
12. The Indeterminacy of Law