Lawcraft : riflessioni sparse di epistemologia giuridica a partire da Mafiacraft

Abstract

Mafiacraft poses two interrelated questions: “What is the Mafia?” and “How do you know what the Mafia is?”. Answering these questions is made difficult by the fact that the Mafia is a “silent organization.” This implies that it is represented through the words of the “anti-mafia.” This essay highlights some similarities between the questions Mafiacraft answers, and the similar questions posed by legal epistemology. Generally, both the mafia and the law can be considered interpretive concepts. Ronald Dworkin defines as interpretive those concepts that a) are linked to social practices, b) express the value or values around which those practices have been constituted, and c) bear strong and completely irreducible differences of opinions on particular cases. The conclusion, not particularly original, is that every description of concepts of this kind contributes to constructing its object.