Abstract

This paper defends that, in his general theory of interpretation, Emilio Betti builds on an ontological structure of human understanding that is inadequate. Notably, it justifies that, while Betti acknowledges specific existential structures of the human being (such as historicity), his desire for objectivity in interpretation causes him to employ an epistemological subject-object dichotomy typical of the scientistic positivism he tried to overcome with his work. The road map to try to justify the above starts by exploring Betti’s structure of knowledge, then reviews what he tells us about representative forms and canons of interpretation, and finally specifies the problems and insufficiencies of this Italian jurist’s thinking.