ABSTRACT
Ronald Dworkin has argued that such an account of the concept of law is, in important ways, mistaken because law encompasses "standards that do not function as rules, but operate differently as principles, policies, and other sorts of standards." The point is to limit permissible human activity in a general way so as to attain a greater general good that would otherwise be unattainable. The point of law is reflected in the strategies of players, in the reasons and justifications which are given. H. L. A. Hart's analysis of law is an analysis in terms of rules. Dworkin's objections to Hart's theory are framed as objections to positivism. Dworkin identifies the stronger position with positivism. The analysis or study of meanings of legal concepts is an important study to be distinguished from historical inquiries, sociological inquiries, and the critical appraisal of law in terms of morals, social aims and functions.
