Abstract

This essay is inspired by the publication of Volume 12 of the "Treatise of Legal Philosophy and General Jurisprudence", devoted to the analysis of the philosophy of twentieth-century law in civil law countries in order to offer a critical investigation of the evolution of the philosophy of law in these countries in the last decades. The specific relationship between natural law theory and legal positivism and the attempts to find a "third way" are at the centre of the author's interest in this essay and are proposed as key to the interpretation of Volume 12 of the Treatise. The author highlights how the flourishing studies on legal hermeneutics, legal reasoning, and legal argumentation have shifted the emphasis on the practical-applicative moment of law and on the rational justification of practical choices.