Legal Objectivity and the Illusion of Legal Principles

In this essay I approach the topic of legal objectivity by analyzing law\u27s possible relationships with morality, rules, standards, and principles. I argue that law\u27s function is to settle moral controversies, which renders problematic law\u27s incorporation of morality and points to the moral desirability of determinate rules, even though such rules will conflict with morality. I argue that legal rules can be objective. On the other hand, I deny that there are any norms that can play the role that so-called legal principles are said to play, whether in Dworkin\u27s account of them or in Alexy\u27s