Analytical Philosophies of ‘Custom’: Georg Henrik von Wright and Bruno Celano

Abstract

In the tradition of analytical philosophy of norms, the subject of custom has received limited attention. This paper seeks to address whether the term ‘custom’ denotes a univocal phenomenon or encompasses various normative phenomena due to its polysemy. To this end, this paper examines the prospectives offered by the Finnish philosopher Georg Henrik von Wright and the Italian philosopher of law Bruno Celano. These two analyses offer distinct responses to the question: What do we refer to when we say, ‘custom’? Overall, this paper contends that a redefinition of the nature of customs could not be separated from a preliminary analysis of the uses and the meaning of the term ‘custom’, representing a methodological rephrasing of the research at hand.