HART, H. L. A.

Punishment and the Elimination of Responsibility.

London, Athlone Press, 1962. 8vo. Uncut in the original printed wrappers. Faint fading and a few nicks to extremities of wrappers. Otherwise very fine and clean. 32 pp.

First printing of Hart's famous Hobhouse lecture in which he is rejecting many traditional theories regarding punishment and responsibility, such as that punishment should be "retributive" or "denunciatory".
The legal philosopher Herbert Lionel Adolphus Hart (1907-1992) is famous for his immensely influential contributions to legal philosophy, including his theory of legal positivism, which is developed on the basis of analytic philosophy. By using the tools of analytic philosophy and philosophy of language, clearly inspired by philosophers like Wittgenstein, in his attempts to solve the problems of legal theory, Hart came to revolutionize the way that jurisprudence and philosophy of law is conducted in especially America and Great Britain, and as such, his work is considered the main reason why English-language theory of law is now accepted as a natural part of philosophy.

Order-nr.: 47733