Resumo

AGUILERA GARCIA, Edgar R.. Jordi Ferrer and the Rationalist Approach to Legal Proof: a Critical Assessment. Isonomía [online]. 2016, n.44, pp.163-189. ISSN 1405-0218.

The paper aims to provide an overview of Jordi Ferrer's main contributions to the so called rationalist approach to legal proof, and to critically assess one aspect of his thought, which is the limited role that the author seems to attribute to epistemology within the general debate about the most appropriate standards of proof for the legal domain and particularly for the criminal law. The author holds that while it is adequate that the decision about standards of proof be taken by the people's representatives, this does not prevent (legal) epistemology from influencing the decision-making process by way of advancing arguments, making observations and suggesting methodologies which can make it make it a more informed and rational decision. Larry Laudan's legal epistemology project is introduced to exemplify this position.

Palavras-chave : legal proof; rationalist approach; error-reduction; formal truth; legal epistemology; standards of proof; error-distribution.