Phenomenology of Law

Abstract

Law is what is done. More precisely, law is what it is possible to do. A law is what one does: in these circumstances, these are the things to do. All of what it is possible for me to do is who I am. I am constituted by law, by laws. But those laws vary in their centrality to who I am. That I have two legs is more central to who I am than that I can play chess; that I can play chess is more central to who I am than that I know the meaning of ‘thalassemia.’ I would still be who I am if I was legless or never learned how to play chess or never learned the meaning of ‘thalassemia.’ The unity of who I am is not affected by laws; it is guaranteed by law. Laws are how I try to represent law, but their attempts inevitably fall short.