José Victorino Lastarria

philosopher of history and legal scholar a historical perspective

Abstract

This article explores various aspects of José Victorino Lastarria`s intellectual output, especially the use he makes of history in his historical-legal and public la w works, by analyzing the main law books he wrote. It ist thus concluded that his legal works made use of history in a balanced and objective way, within the framework of a method that included the philosophy of law, political science and positive law. Based on this análisis, it is concluded that Lastarria`s great contribution was to interpret the chilean constitutional law of his time in accordance with nineteen-century liberalism, giving a new content to the constitutional norms in force at that time.