Droit et Semiotique: La Cohérence Narrative

Abstract

In this article, Professor André considers the nature of legal rules, their methods of creation and their interpretation and application. The role of modern narrative theory in answering these perennial questions is explored and two conclusions are reached: first, the classic explanations of legitimacy that underpin reasoning in the social sciences are increasingly losing ground; and, secondly, contemporary literary accounts based on the reasons for this loss of ground provide a strong challenge to narratives of coherence that are closely linked to Western culture. The existing model of knowledge does not correspond to the reality of contemporary society; the rules and principles that even today are still regarded as universal are seen by a large fraction of the human race as relative and cultural. Insights from narrative theory show that the perennial law questions must now be revisited with a new perspective.