Legal interpretation is familiar to lawyers, judges, and legal theorists. Public and private disputes of tremendous importance turn on questions of how to interpret legal texts. Yet there is deep and pervasive controversy over the proper theory or method of legal interpretation. Part of the reason for such controversy is that, perhaps surprisingly, there is no consensus with respect to the more fundamental issue of what legal interpretation is – in particular, what its constitutive aim is. Does legal interpretation, for example, seek the linguistic meaning of legal texts, the best resolution of disputes, or legal provisions’ contribution to the content of the law? Without progress on this foundational issue, progress on understanding the proper method of legal interpretation cannot be expected.