A Life of H. L. A. Hart: The Nightmare and the Noble Dream by Nicola Lacey (PDF)

Description

H.L.A. Hart was the pre-eminent legal philosopher of the twentieth century. As a scholar he single-handedly reinvented the philosophy of law and revolutionized our understanding of law as a social institution. Hart’s approach to legal philosophy was at once disarmingly simple and breathtakingly ambitious, combining the insights of the Utilitarian tradition and the new linguistic philosophy of J.L. Austin and Ludwig Wittgenstein. He sought to elucidate a concept of law that would be of relevance to all forms of law, wherever or whenever they arose. This book is both an intellectual and a psychological biography, following his life from modest origins as the son of Jewish tailor parents in Yorkshire to worldwide fame as the most influential English-speaking legal theorist of the post-War era. It traces his successive metamorphoses; from Yorkshire schoolboy to Oxford scholar, successful barrister, intelligence officer, philosopher, and, finally, Professor of Jurisprudence at Oxford. Nicola Lacey draws upon Hart’s previously unpublished diaries and letters to reveal a complex interior life. Outwardly successful, Hart was in fact tormented by doubts about his intellectual abilities, his sexual identity and his capacity to form close relationships. Her biography also sheds fascinating light on the origins of his ideas, and assesses his overall contribution to the philosophy of law. Above all, it is a chronicle of a life which made an impact far greater than many of us realize.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “A brilliant mix of tightly reported intimate biography and expert intellectual assessment.”–Carlin Romano, The Chronicle of Higher Education”This fascinating and touching biographys secret lies in a unique intergenerational encounter that turned into a rich, albeit posthumous, human relationship between one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant legal philosophers and a younger fellow jurisprude who is most probably one of the most perceptive feminist legal theorists of her generation.”–German Law Journal”Nicola Lacey’s biography of H.L.A. Hart offers a wonderful sense of what it was like to be an English legal academic in the post-war years, of how work and life might have interacted to produce serious scholarship.”–John Henry Schlegel, State University of New York at Buffalo”The fascinating biography of a complex and brilliant man. Lacey’s account vividly recreates the postwar Oxford climate in philosophy and jurisprudence, and paints Hart’s life inside and outside the university with sensitivity, wit, and authority.”–Simon Blackburn, Professor of Philosophy, University of Cambridge”And the wonderful thing is Professor Lacey never sells Hart s ideas short, never underestimates the content of his work both as a jurist and as a public intellectual even while she brings his family, his circle of friends, and his personality to life. We end up learning as much about secondary rules in the law as we learn about wartime espionage and the lucid prose of this biography makes them both into an enjoyable and profitable experience.”–Jeremy Waldron, Maurice and Hilda Friedman Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Law and Philosophy, Columbia University”A fine piece of work and a good read. Lacey has left absolutely no stones unturned in her search for the writing of this life. The end product is as good as a biography of a distinguished as can beand one that provides a fascinating window into the world of the Oxford dons back in what now seems their golden age.” A.W. Brian Simpson, Michigan Law Review About the Author Nicola Lacey is Professor of Criminal Law and Legal Theory at the London School of Economics and Adjunct Professor of Social and Political Theory at the Research School of Social Sciences of the Australian National University. She is a Fellow of the British Academy.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐H.L.A. Hart was the greatest legal philosopher of the 20th century. For readers interested in jurisprudence, just about anything written by him or about him is worth reading. “A Life of H.L.A Hart” definitely falls into this category.The book draws on Hart’s copious letters, diaires, and notebooks to reconstruct his life in intimate detail. We learn about his anxieties, his homosexuality, and his tortured marriage. We read about his cluttered offices and his love of literature and nature. We learn about his Jewish “outsider” background and his need to be accepted in Oxford’s stuffy conservative society. We read excerpts from letters written during his travels in Europe, New Zealand, the U.S., and India. We learn that he was ambivalent about fatherhood yet devoted to his children, especially to his autistic youngest son. We even learn how media allegations that Hart’s wife spied for the Soviet Union in the 1930s and ’40s brought on a late-life nervous breakdown that was treated with electro-shock therapy.Hart seems to have led a life of perpetual torment. In spite of his intellectual prowess, academic success, and great capacity for friendship, he was riddled with self-doubt and insecurity. And even though he loved his wife, their marriage was a lifelong source of heartache and sexual frustration (for both of them). If a successful biography opens a window on the inner emotional life of its subject, then “A Life of H.L.A Hart” is a major success.But while the book teaches us much about Hart the man, it leaves Hart the thinker and lawyer strangely underdeveloped. In particular, it tells us little about the technical content of Hart’s legal philosophy, which revolutionized jurisprudence and influenced an entire generation of younger legal philosophers including Ronald Dworkin, Joseph Raz and John Finnis. Similarly, we learn little about Hart’s non-Oxford professional life. He worked as a London barrister and served with MI5 before joining Oxford’s faculty in mid-life, and later served on official bodies such as the monopolies commission. These experiences are given short shrift even though they are interesting in their own right and surely shaped Hart’s view of law and policy.Bottomline: I loved “A Life of H.L.A. Hart.” It’s a psychological pageturner, and I devoured much of it on a long plane flight. But then I’ve read “The Concept of Law” (Hart’s masterwork) four times and was able to fill in the intellectual gaps in “Life.” Unfortunately, the author apparently was content to mine the trove of Hart’s personal papers without doing broader research into the events and circumstances of his life and career. I’m not sure whether anyone not already a fan of Hart would get more than 100 pages into this book.

⭐I agree entirely with the previous reviewers that this was a well written and informative biography of a very humble, very private intellectual. If not for N Lacey, the legion of Hart followers who do not know him personally would guess that he was not only brilliant, but also a kind and wonderful human being. Now, thanks to the book, there can be little doubt that he was indeed so. However, I suspect that the third line from the top of page 349 might be incomplete. It seems to be an editorial oversight that should be rectified in reprints or a second edition.

⭐One copy was perfect the other wasn’t.

⭐Brilliant and engaging biography. Superb work.

⭐Let me begin by saying that I have no connection at all to the author of this book (I feel such disclaimers are needed on Amazon.com). I picked up this book because, as a law professor, I wanted a bit of biographical background on H.L.A. Hart, perhaps the most important legal philosopher of the 20th century. Hart’s writings are dense and hard even for experts to understand — so I expected his biography to be equally dry. I am very happy to say that this book is virtually a page turner. The Da Vinci code it’s not, but it is something more valuable — a fascinating look at a very, very complex individual. (…) I found the book particularly engaging because of my interest in legal philosophy, ordinary language philosophy, and Ronald Dworkin. Non-academics might find the author’s discussion of these difficult subjects hard to follow and frustrating. However, the author does not obsess about these difficult matters and on the whole handles these technical subjects with grace and a soft touch. I would recommend the book to any person who is interested in the private life of a public philosopher. For those with an interest in legal philosophy and particularly modern positivism, this book is a “must read.” Nicola Lacey — Bravo!

⭐I was recommended this book when writing my undergraduate dissertation a year and a half ago, and I found it a very interesting, indepth, and well researched. Rather than focusing on his professional life, Lacey, has gone right back to his childhood and the history of his parents, which provides a good background context to the adult life of H.L.A. Hart. Also, when writing about his work, specifically “The Concept of Law” Lacey has covered all aspects including other forms of interpretation and why he was used other philosophers e.g. Wittgenstein and “Philosophical Investigations.” This book helped me not only understand more clearly Hart’s work but also how future interpretations and wrtings could be achieved. It is also both funny and sad in places, and does reviel areas of Hart’s life that would have been rather difficult if made public during his career.A good read and excellent source of reference for anyone interested in law or philosophy.

⭐Excellent by all accounts.

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