What is it about?
it's a big pleasure to share my recent article (English)that explores one of the most crucial debates in contemporary legal philosophy: the dilemmas of the bio-legal turn and the need for a “vital phenomenology of law.” Published in Opinión Jurídica, the piece examines how traditional legal frameworks struggle to address the complex realities of human life, dignity, and vulnerability. It argues for a renewed perspective one that understands law not as an abstract system of norms but as a practice rooted in lived experience and the conditions that shape our existence. This reflection opens the door to more humane, responsive, and interdisciplinary approaches to law. Open access here
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Why is it important?
This article matters because it engages a pressing question at the heart of contemporary legal philosophy: how can law meaningfully respond to the complexity of human life? By examining the bio-legal turn, the piece shows that traditional legal frameworks often fall short when confronted with issues of vulnerability, embodiment, and dignity. Its call for a “vital phenomenology of law” offers a transformative alternative—one that understands legal norms through lived experience and the concrete conditions that shape human existence
Perspectives
The article introduces several new perspectives to contemporary legal philosophy. First, it reframes the current bio-legal debates by showing that questions of life, vulnerability, and embodiment cannot be adequately addressed through traditional normative frameworks. Instead of treating law as a purely abstract system, it advances the perspective of a “vital phenomenology of law,” emphasizing the lived, affective, and material conditions that shape legal experience
PhD EDWIN RUBIO MEDINA
Universidade de Coimbra
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Dilemmas of the Bio-legal Turn and the Commitment to a Vital Phenomenology of Law, Opinión Jurídica, December 2025, Universidad de Medellin,
DOI: 10.22395/ojum.a4519.
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