Understanding Jurisprudence

Understanding Jurisprudence Jurisprudence considers general philosophical and theoretical questions about the nature, purpose and operation of law as a whole. This book introduces students to contemporary debates in jurisprudence and encourages them to think in a theoretical and critical way about the nature of law, legal reasoning and adjudication. Wider issues of morality, politics and society are discussed with reference to legal cases and examples to provide as broad a perspective on the law as possible. Key features of this textbook include: ● ● ● ● introductions to each chapter analysis of how jurisprudential issues can arise in everyday life a wide range of cases to ground the theoretical discussion in-depth discussion of the relationship of law to force, morality and politics, as well as of rights, justice and feminist jurisprudence. The text provides a concise treatment of all the major topics typically covered in an undergraduate course on jurisprudence, and succinctly explains the arguments for and against the different approaches to the issues raised. Denise Meyerson is Professor of Law at Macquarie University, Sydney and Honorary Professor of Law at the University of Cape Town. Understanding Jurisprudence Denise Meyerson First published 2007 by Routledge-Cavendish 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge-Cavendish 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk. Routledge-Cavendish is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2007 Denise Meyerson All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-203-86787-4 Master e-book ISBN ISBN10: 1–85941–956–9 (pbk) ISBN13: 978–1–85941–956–4 (pbk) For Mike Contents Preface Table of cases ix xi Introduction 1 1 Law and force 9 2 Law and morality 33 3 Law and politics: mainstream theories 61 4 Law and politics: challenging the mainstream 89 5<