ABSTRACT
A common answer is that philosophy deals with conceptual issues. In our everyday involvement with the law we take for granted a general conception of what law is – a grasp of what sets law and the practice of law apart from other institutions and activities. When someone appeals to the law to settle a dispute, for example, they know for all practical purposes what the implication of the situation is without having to reflect on what concepts like ‘law’ and ‘legal’ mean. Similarly, lawyers practise their areas of law for the most part without thinking about very general questions such as what sets law apart from other areas of life like politics, religion, art and morality. They manage by relying on an intuitive or unreflective grasp of what makes an issue a legal issue as opposed, say, to a moral, religious or political issue. The area of knowledge and expertise on which lawyers consciously draw in practising their profession does not normally include reflection on the very general concepts and principles that define their profession.
