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Norm Enactment and Performative Contradictions
Author(s) -
ROTOLO ANTONINO,
ROVERSI CORRADO
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
ratio juris
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.344
H-Index - 10
eISSN - 1467-9337
pISSN - 0952-1917
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9337.2009.00435.x
Subject(s) - performative utterance , correctness , norm (philosophy) , normative , argumentative , liveness , epistemology , sociology , speech act , linguistics , equivalence (formal languages) , computer science , philosophy , algorithm , theoretical computer science
In this paper we investigate the role of performative contradictions in legal discourse. First of all we identify the argumentative roles of performative contradictions and two possible interpretations of them. With this done, we show that one use of performative contradictions can be fruitfully applied in analysing normative speech acts implementing norm enactment, namely, those speech acts that are designed to produce new legal norms. We conclude the paper by showing that our analysis provides strong support for Robert Alexy's claim‐to‐correctness thesis, according to which speech acts of the norm‐enacting kind raise a claim to correctness.