... the meaning of the word "law". It has nothing to say about divine law, mathematical or logical laws, laws of nature, nor many others. "Law" is not ambiguous, and The Concept of Law does not explain one of its meanings. When used in legal contexts "law" bears the same meaning as in other contexts which suggests that a definitive term is unnecessary for this essay. Those who offer explanations of the concept of law usually do mean, as Hart did, to explain the nature of a familiar social institution. The concept of law, therefore, cannot be manifestly defined. It can be elucidated, but only as a social phenomenon. Concepts, as objects of philosophical study, as the target of conceptual analysis or elucidation, are a philosophical creation.3 As a result, the nature of an institution understood by our concept of law makes the inquiry parochial rather than universal. There is no ...

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