The Rule of Rules

by Alexander, Larry; Sherwin, Emily

• ISBN13: 9780822327363
• ISBN10: 0822327368
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-10-01
• Publisher: Duke Univ Pr

Summary

"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

Author Biography

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

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction	1	(10)
PART I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF LAW
Disagreement, Uncertainty, and Authoritative Settlement	11	(15)
Settlement Requisites and the Nature of Authoritative Rules	26	(11)
Hierarchies of Rules	37	(16)
PART II. ACTING UNDER RULES
The Problem of Rules	53	(43)
Interpretation of Rules	96	(29)
PART III. ISSUES OF LEGAL REASONING
Reasoning by Analogy	125	(11)
Reasoning in Light of Precedent	136	(21)
Reasoning from Legal Principles	157	(26)
PART IV. THE SETTLEMENT FUNCTION AND JURISPRUDENTIAL DEBATES
Legal Positivism and Natural Law	183	(29)
Lex, Rules, and Some Miscellaneous Problems of Jurisprudence	212	(13)
Notes	225	(46)
Index	271