Natural-Law Doctrine of Lon L. Fuller in the Context of Postclassical Understanding of Law

Introduction. The article deals with the specifics of the formation of postclassical natural law thought in the Anglo-American philosophy of law of the mid-twentieth century. The early theoretical heritage of Lon L. Fuller is examined through the optics of postclassical understanding: the critique of the methodological framework of classical legal positivism and the author’s attempt to propose an integrative approach that overcomes the distinction between morality and law are analysed. Methodology and materials. The research is carried out within the framework of the conceptual scheme “classics-postclassics” used to interpret the styles of legal thinking. The methods of hermeneutic analysis, historical-philosophical reconstruction and comparative approach were used. The analysis is centred on L. L. Fuller’s early texts published in the 1940s–1950s. Results. It is demonstrated that Fuller’s ideas — criticism of Hume’s “guillotine”, emphasis on the purpose of law, the project of eunomics — stylistically correspond to the postclassical type of rationality. Fuller’s philosophy of law project proposes a restoration of the connection between description and evaluation in law, and connects moral normativity to social reality. Interpreting Fuller within a postclassical paradigm allows to rethink his contribution to debates on the nature of law, legitimacy and justice. Conclusion. The article demonstrates the heuristic utility of the concept of postclassical legal understanding for analysing Anglo-American philosophy of law. The approach provides a deeper interpretation of key theoretical works of the past and reveals new connections between the history of legal thought and contemporary issues in the philosophy of law.