The basic ideas of inferential semantics are that conceptual practice is a language game of giving and asking for reasons, that the meaning of a particular expression is elucidated in an inference, and that to master an expression so as to make it explicit is to master the inferential role of that expression in the relevant language game. According to this theory, the meaning of legal expres-sions is decided by the inferential role it plays in legal practice. As an activity of inquiry into the meaning of legal expressions, legal interpretation is neither a tracing back process of the preexisting meaning for legal text or original intention of the legislators, nor a creative activity according to spe-cific context. It is an inferential process seeking the best interpretation of the legal discourse, and the correctness of the best interpretive depends on the inferential rules of the interpretive practice, which derive from "the model of reciprocal recognition" behind the practice of legal interpretation. There-fore , legal interpretation is a practice regulated by rules, and the objectivity of the meaning of legal norms is determined by the normative structure of this practice.
Legal InterpretationInferential SemanticsPragmaticsInferentialismRobert B. Brandom
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