Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The purpose of this volume is to offer the reader a guide to the most important topics of current discussion in the closely related fields of philosophy of law and legal theory. Each of the chapters attempts to convey what is currently agreed upon with respect to its topic, what is in dispute, and the more prominent positions that have been taken in disputed areas. Each chapter also attempts to assess the importance of what is in dispute - the “stakes” - and the prospects of some resolution being reached. In some instances, matters of agreement and of disagreement may be found to rest upon what the author believes is some shared mistake. In others, the historical progress of dialogue is examined to diagnose the sources of dispute and prospects for resolution. In every instance, the author has had the option to take and defend a particular position - evenhandedly of course.At the outset, a remark is in order on the implied contrast between “philosophy of law” - on the one hand - and “legal theory” - on the other. The verbal distinction between the two has come about largely as a historical accident. The philosophy of law has - as its name implies - its base of operations within the study of philosophy, and therefore shares with philosophy certain traditional methods of inquiry and investigative priorities. The term “legal theory” tends to connote an enterprise having its operational ... log in or subscribe to read full text