Arguing About Law by Andrew Altman
Using the rule of law as its main theme, this text shows how abstract questions and concepts of legal philosophy are connected to concrete legal, political, and social issues. The text addresses several modern controversies and challenges students to consider both sides of an argument, using sound, reasoned thinking.
Introduction1. The Rule of Law. The Impeachment of a President. Arbitrary Government and the Rule of Law. Corruption. Vengeance. Liberty and Prosperity. Hobbes and Austin: The Sovereign as Above the Law. The Crooked Timber of Humanity. Substantive v. Legal Justice. The Independent Counsel Controversy. Political Trials. The Impeachment Trial. 2. Law and Morality. Judgment at Nuremberg. Natural Law Theory: Overview. Traditional Natural Law Theory: Background. Aquinas's Theory of Law. Assessing Aquinas. Fuller and Fidelity to Law. Dworkin's Interpretive Theory. Legal Positivism: Overview. Austin's Theory of Law. Hart: Law as Primary and Secondary Rules. Summary: Natural Law and Positivism. 3. The Constitution. Popular Government and the Rule of Law. The "Troublesome" Provisions. The Supreme Court and Judicial Review. Judicial Review and the Rule of Law. Judicial Review and Democracy. Constitutional Interpretation: Implicit Rights? Framer's Intent. Original Understanding. Dworkin and the Constitution. Criticisms of Dworkin. High Crimes and Misdemeanors. Summary. 4. Private Law: Torts, Contracts, and Property. The Functions of Private Law. The Traditional Public-Private Distinction. Criticisms of the Public-Private Distinction. The Traditional Contract-Tort Distinction. Criticisms of the Contract-Tort Distinction. Defenses of the Contract-Tort Distinction. Assessing Traditionalism. Subjective and Objective Approaches in Tort Law. The Duty to Aid. Summary. 5. Criminal Law. Torts and Crimes. A Utilitarian Approach. A Retributivist Approach. The Therapeutic Model. Amount of Punishment. Mens Rea v. Strict Liability. The Limits of Criminal Law: The Public-Private Distinction. Summary. 6. Law and Economics. The Economic Analysis of Law. Economic Rationality. Economic Efficiency. The Efficiency of the Common Law. The Coase Theorem. An Efficiency Explanation of the Common Law. The Scientific Status of Law and Economics. The Evaluation of Law: Should Law Maximize Wealth? Political Disagreement in Law and Economics. Is Efficiency a Neutral Value? The Value of Efficiency. 7. Feminism and The Law. Feminism v. the Traditional View of Women. Types of Feminism. The Question of Patriarchy. The Question of Privacy: A Radical View. Abortion Rights: Beyond Privacy to Liberty. Abortion Rights: A Liberal View. Abortion Rights: The Liberal or Radical Approach? The Difference Debate. Pornography: Free Speech and Women's Rights. Pornography on Trial: American Booksellers v. Hudnut. Patriarchy Revisited. Conclusion. 8. Race and the Law. Race in America. Affirmative Action in Education. Race and Crime. Discrimination and Disparate Impact. Summary. 9. Critical Legal Studies. The Crits: An Introduction. Legal Reasoning: A Mainstream Account. Legal Reasoning: The Attack Begins. Legal Reasoning: The Crits Attack. Law, Liberty, and Liberalism. The Mainstream v. The Crits. Conclusion. Index.
Claire Finkelstein is the Algernon Biddle Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania, and a co-Director of Penn's Institute for Law and Philosophy. She writes in the areas of criminal law theory, moral and political philosophy, philosophy of law, international
law, and rational choice theory. A particular focus of her work is bringing philosophical rational choice theory to bear on legal theory, and she is particularly interested in tracing the implications of Hobbes' political theory for substantive legal questions. Recently she has also been writing on
the moral and legal aspects of government-sponsored torture as part of the U.S. national security program. In 2008 Finkelstein was a Siemens Fellow at the American Academy in Berlin, during which time she presented papers in Berlin, Leipzig, and Heidelberg. She is currently working on her book,
Contractarian Legal Theory, and is the editor of Hobbes on Law (Ashgate, 2005). Jens Ohlin's research and teaching interests are focused on criminal law theory, public international law, and international criminal law. He is the author, with George Fletcher, of Defending Humanity: When Force is Justified and Why (Oxford University Press, 2008), which offers a new account of
international self-defense through a comparative analysis of the rules of self-defense in criminal law. His scholarly work has appeared in top law reviews and journals, including the Columbia Law Review, Cornell Law Review, Harvard International Law Journal, American Journal of International Law,
and several OUP edited volumes. His current research focuses on the normative application of criminal law concepts in international criminal law, especially with regard to genocide, torture, joint criminal enterprise and co-perpetration, as well as the philosophical foundations of collective
criminal action. Andrew Altman is Professor of Philosophy at Georgia State University and Director of Research of the Jean Beer Blumenfeld Center for Ethics. Previously, he taught at George Washington University and Bowling Green State University. Professor Altman was a Liberal Arts Fellow in Law at the Harvard Law
School and has published extensively in legal and political philosophy. His publications include the books, Critical Legal Studies: A Liberal Critique (Princeton U.P.), Arguing About Law: An Introduction to Legal Philosophy (Wadsworth) and A Liberal Theory of International Justice (co-authored with
Christopher H. Wellman; O.U.P.) His articles have appeared in Philosophy and Public Affairs and Ethics, among other leading philosophy journals.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780534543525 |
| ISBN 10 | 0534543529 |
| Title | Arguing About Law |
| Author | Andrew Altman |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Cengage Learning, Inc |
| Year published | 2000-04-12 |
| Number of pages | 282 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |