Law and Social Justice in Society (LSJS)
Vol. 1 No. 1 (2026): January-June

Justice, Truth, and Legal Rationality: A Leibnizian Perspective on Modern Jurisprudence

Charles Berebon (Rivers State University, Nigeria)



Article Info

Publish Date
24 Dec 2025

Abstract

This essay examines the relevance of Leibniz's philosophy of law for modern jurisprudence, emphasising his contributions to legal reasoning, justice, and truth. Leibniz's distinction between necessary and contingent truths, his theory of legal proof, and his multi-level approach to law—integrating strict law, equity, and morality—offer valuable insights into contemporary legal thought. His vision of a characteristic universalis, a logical system for structuring legal reasoning, anticipates modern formal methods in law. A comparison with Ronald Dworkin's legal philosophy highlights their shared commitment to objective legal principles and the integration of morality into law. While Leibniz employs formal logic and conceptual analysis, Dworkin's approach focuses on interpretive reasoning. By bridging these perspectives, this essay argues for synthesising analytical jurisprudence and natural law, demonstrating how Leibniz's ideas can help unify legal reasoning across different legal traditions and contribute to the pursuit of justice.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

lsjs

Publisher

Subject

Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice

Description

Law and Social Justice in Society (LSJS) focuses on law and social studies theory and practice. It publishes articles by Indonesian and foreign authors dealing with current national and international law, legal philosophy, legal history and other law-related social science disciplines. It also ...