The Rule of Rules: Morality, Rules, and the Dilemmas of Law - Hardcover

Alexander, Larry; Sherwin, Emily

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0822327368 ISBN 13: 9780822327363

Publisher: Duke University Press Books, 2001

Synopsis

Rules perform a moral function by restating moral principles in concrete terms, so as to reduce the uncertainty, error, and controversy that result when individuals follow their own unconstrained moral judgment. Although reason dictates that we must follow rules to avoid destructive error and controversy, rules—and hence laws—are imperfect, and reason also dictates that we ought not follow them when we believe they produce the wrong result in a particular case. In The Rule of Rules Larry Alexander and Emily Sherwin examine this dilemma.
Once the importance of this moral and practical conflict is acknowledged, the authors argue, authoritative rules become the central problems of jurisprudence. The inevitable gap between rules and background morality cannot be bridged, they claim, although many contemporary jurisprudential schools of thought are misguided attempts to do so. Alexander and Sherwin work through this dilemma, which lies at the heart of such ongoing jurisprudential controversies as how judges should reason in deciding cases, what effect should be given to legal precedent, and what status, if any, should be accorded to “legal principles.” In the end, their rigorous discussion sheds light on such topics as the nature of interpretation, the ancient dispute among legal theorists over natural law versus positivism, the obligation to obey law, constitutionalism, and the relation between law and coercion.
Those interested in jurisprudence, legal theory, and political philosophy will benefit from the edifying discussion in The Rule of Rules.

About this title

About the Author

Larry Alexander is Warren Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of San Diego.

Emily Sherwin is Professor of Law at the University of San Diego.

From the Back Cover

"This book not only substantially advances our understanding of the nature of rules themselves, but is by some margin the best treatment there is of the relationship between rules and law. In an era in which context, flexibility, and discretion are often uncritically celebrated, this book throws down the gauntlet for a rule-based understanding of law. No one who is interested in the nature of legal reasoning and legal decision-making can afford to ignore this book, and no one who is skeptical about the importance of rules to law can avoid the challenges that Alexander and Sherwin present."--Frederick Schauer, Harvard University

Edition details

• Publisher: Duke University Press Books
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0822327368
• ISBN 13: 9780822327363
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288