Abstract

Maksymilian Del Mar’s Artefacts of Legal Inquiry. Some reflections This contribution explores Maksymilian Del Mar’s Artefacts of Legal Inquiry by posing several questions and an objection. First, I celebrate the role that Del Mar awards for hesitation and experimentation in adjudication, but I question, at the same time, whether it can backfire regarding the accountability to which judges and legislators are subjected. Next, I wonder about the author’s position with regards to the dangers of affective participation in the law, as well as regarding the obstacles to true listening in adjudication. Then, I address Del Mar’s proposal to use of ‘figures’ in legal inquiry, and ask whether that can somehow imply that we, in turn, approach the defendants’ character in problematic ways. Finally, this contribution ends with an objection to Del Mar’s approach to the cognitive theory of language, and specifically with respect to metaphors, in legal studies.