Hart and the “Point” of the Internal Point of View

Abstract

 This work reconstructs some central aspects of Hart’s distinction between internal and external points of view, emphasizing the meaning and purpose of the distinction in Jurisprudence. For this, it contextualizes Hart’s proposal within “the revolution in the philosophy of ordinary language”, showing its connections with the works of Wittgenstein and Winch. This reconstruction seeks to respond to the criticism according to which Hart’s internal point of view is unstable and because of that it cannot explain the meaning of actions in law.