Law as a “Mystic Order”: A Critical Approach to Legal Hermeneutics from the Perspective of Mysticism

Abstract

This paper aims to challenge interpretivism as an inadequate approach to legal hermeneutics, offering a novel response to the issue through the lens of mysticism. We will follow the premise, developed by thinkers from the traditional philosophical canon such as Derrida, Schmitt and Gadamer (among others), that every act of legal interpretation contains an apophatic dimension. However, we will delve deeper into this notion from the perspective of mysticism itself (rather than deconstructionism or hermeneutics). That is, we will approach interpretivism from a perspective different from the one usually found in the legal-philosophical canon—namely, mysticism—with the aim of understanding and illuminating some of its dimensions. Specifically, we will explore the mystical idea that, while recognizing the dynamic and vital nature of existence is essential, it is even more fundamental to orient existential vitality toward truth through an act of concentration and will. This will allow us to justify that the concept of “mystic order”, which we formulate and develop in this paper, is useful in addressing the challenges of juridical hermeneutics, as it combines conceptual rigor in approaching law (hence “order”) with the vitality, immeasurability, ineffability, and dynamism inherent in concrete reality (the “mystical” aspect).