Abstract

[Law and autobiographical literature: an infinite return to «legal experience»] The essay reflects on the relationship between law and a particular field of literature, the autobiographical one, to investigate its long-neglected links. Moving fromg the theory of Capograssi on «legal experience», the core content of the essay is that there is a physiological relationship between legal reflection and the narration of experiences, and that today the ability to open up to the autobiographical perspective is one of the main opportunities for legal credibility. Indeed, in autobiographical literature, law and life are forced to dialogue, especially when the autobiographical register is used by scholars, and the questions that emerge recall the more delicate issues that underlie contemporary legal thought and constitutionalism. Autobiographical literature can bring the law back to its most authentic being, that is “legal experience”. By emancipating the story of experiences from the private dimension and turning it into public reasoning, it offers precious horizons for verifying the state of health of democracy and its rules.