Positivism, relativism, and pluralism: the relation between epistemology and democracy in Hans Kelsen's thought

Abstract

Hans Kelsen was one of the main authors of the twentieth century. However, because it is tied to positivism (a philosophical model considered exhausted), his ideas have been subjected to undue criticism or treated as content of historical value alone. The present discussion aims to revive the importance of Kelsen’s thought and challenge the criticism that his theory would have emptied the legal thinking of the ability to think critically about law. To do so, it is necessary to undo the misconception that Kelsen would only be concerned with formal and methodological issues and how his political convictions stem from his positivist foundations. It can be said that the proposal of a pure theory led Kelsen to ethical relativism, but this led him to pluralism and the conception of democracy as protection of minorities. This conclusion follows from the analysis proposed here in three stages: Kelsen's approach to the Vienna Circle thinking, showing the reasons for its relativism; the linkage of this conception of science to its defense of relativism and this as part of the concept of democracy.