Philosophy, Political Morality and History: Explaining the Enduring Resonance of the Hart-Fuller Debate 1

... Philosophy, Political Morality and History: Explaining the Enduring Resonance of the Hart-Fuller Debate Nicola Lacey, Professor of Criminal Law and Legal Theory, London School of Economics Revisiting the Hart-Fuller debate, it is worth reflecting on the remarkable fact that it still speaks to us so powerfully today.1 In an increasingly professionalized academic world driven by the imperatives of 'research production', we have become accustomed to regard articles and even books as of ephemeral significance. Even in philosophy, where a recognition of the classic status of certain texts appears to have survived to a greater extent than in many other disciplines, instances of papers, let alone debates, thought to be of sufficient significance to justify a conference (indeed, in this case, at least three conferences, to my knowledge) half a century after their initial publication are exceptionally rare. Admirers of Hart will of course be keeping their eyes peeled for announcements of

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