The Law of Signatures

Hancher, Michael
1992
Thumbnail Image

View/Download File

1992 Hancher, The Law of Signatures.pdf (1.09 MB)

Persistent link to this item

http://hdl.handle.net/11299/181554
Statistics
View Statistics

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Title

The Law of Signatures

Authors

Published Date

1992

Publisher

Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.

Type

Book chapter
Conference Paper

Abstract

In criticizing J. L. Austin's theory of speech acts, Jacques Derrida and Jonathan Culler have argued, in part, that Austin misunderstands how signatures function. They claim that he ignores the essentially formal and "iterable" structure of a signature -- a structure that betrays the absence of any subjective consciousness on the part of the signer. I argue that their concept of iterability does not fully apply to this case. Rather, legal practice in England and the United States countenances a wide range of variation for signatures, variation that is consistent with and legitimized by Austinian assumptions about personal agency. The fact that the legal situation is somewhat different in France may explain the structure of Derrida's argument.

Keywords

Description

Based on a paper presented at the Fourth International Colloquium on Law and Semiotics, Pennsylvania State University–Berks, Reading, PA, 1988. Posted by permission of Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.

Related to

Replaces

License

Collections

Michael Hancher

Series/Report Number

Funding information

Isbn identifier

Doi identifier

Previously Published Citation

“The Law of Signatures.” Law and Aesthetics. Ed. Roberta Kevelson. New Studies in Aesthetics 11. New York: Peter Lang, 1992. 227–43.

Suggested citation

Hancher, Michael. (1992). The Law of Signatures. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/181554.

Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.