British Academy: The UK's National Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences
The Legacy of H. L. A. Hart: Legal, Moral and Political Philosophy
A British Academy Symposium
27-28 July 2007
Churchill College, Cambridge
Convenors: Professor Matthew Kramer, Cambridge University,
and Dr. Claire Grant, University of London
This major international Symposium marks the centenary of the birth of H.L.A. Hart (1907-1992) and is organized by the Cambridge Forum for Legal and Political Philosophy, with the generous sponsorship of the British Academy. Herbert Lionel Adolphus Hart, who was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1962, was the most important legal philosopher of the twentieth century and also one of the leading political philosophers. Bringing new philosophical rigour to the methods of analytic jurisprudence, he moved the philosophy of law to the fore in legal academe, and he exercised a significant influence on several key debates of his day (including those on abortion, criminal punishment, and homosexuality). His most famous book, The Concept of Law, published in 1961, continues to sell thousands of copies worldwide. Hart’s ideas have had an immense and enduring influence on legal, political, and moral philosophy throughout the English-speaking world and beyond. This Symposium marks the centenary of his birth with an exploration of his intellectual legacy. The Symposium is the first scholarly gathering to encompass the entire range of Hart’s work, with seven panels that cumulatively cover all the main facets of his philosophical thought:
- Legal positivism and general jurisprudence (including Bentham)
- Criminal responsibility and punishment
- Causation in the law
- Rights
- Toleration and the regulation of sexual activities
- Justice
All the speakers at the Symposium, several of whom commenced their research careers under Hart’s supervision, are of international eminence. Accordingly this event will interest a broad array of delegates from various areas of philosophy, law, and politics.
Sponsors
The British Academy | University of Cambridge Faculty of Law | The Aristotelian Society | The Analysis Trust