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Coherence is a quality that is accorded to a scientific theory or any other collection of linguistic sentences, assertions, or propositions. The definition of coherence yet turns out to be problematic. Robert Alexy and Aleksander Peczenik define coherence in quantified terms, i.e. "… the more/longer/greater (…), the more coherent the theory", which, however, misses the point. Yet, coherence is an inherently constructive phenomenon that cannot be captured by quantified criteria. Ronald Dworkin's idea of law as integrity, though on the right track with its emphasis on the qualitative side of the issue, is not entirely satisfactory either, since his analysis is burdened with sky-soaringly abstract metaphors, like the chain novel metaphor, courts taken as the capitals and judges as the princes of the law's empire, and Judge Hercules, or "a lawyer of superhuman skill, learning, patience, and acumen", will serve as a model for the more human judges. A more analytical approach is therefore needed. The Duhem-Quine Thesis that underscores the inherently holistic and underdetermined character of a scientific theory, is extended to the domain of legal analysis and legal argumentation. Dworkin's notion of law, in specific, is judged in light of the Duhem-Quine Thesis. A (re)definition of coherence is then given in terms of the mutual match, reciprocal support, common alignment, absence of dissonance, and/or shared congruence of a set of sentences that make up a scientific theory or other discourse formation, to the effect that they collectively make sense when inserted in, and read as part of, the same narrative structure or pattern. The narrative structure in a collection of sentences consists of a set of successive choices made in the logico-conceptual space that consists of the syntagmatic and paradigmatic dimensions of language. Syntagmatic relations are based on a sequence or combination of signs, as brought into effect in their linear succession in the flow of speech (parole). Paradigmatic relations, in turn, are based on the ever-present possibility of effecting a selection among the mutually exclusive signs, where one sign can be substituted, or replaced, by another with an equivalent or parallel value in a language taken as a momentary system of signs (langue).

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-1872-2_3

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