On the History of the Idea of Law

by Shirley Robin Letwin

On the History of the Idea of Law traces the development of the philosophical theory of law from its first appearance in Plato's writings to today. Shirley Letwin finds important and positive insights and tensions in the theories of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Hobbes as well as confusion and serious errors introduced by Cicero, Aquinas, Bentham, and Marx. She harnesses the insights of H.L.A. Hart and especially Michael Oakeshott to mount a devastating attack on the late twentieth-century theories of Ronald Dworkin, the Critical Legal Studies movement, and feminist jurisprudence.

Genres: Law

Hardcover

First published October 11, 2005

Reviews

[David McGrogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important, but little-known, work of critical jurisprudence, essentially arguing against almost all developments in legal theory since the 1920s. It elaborates beautifully on Michael Oakeshott's sketch of a concept of the rule of law, and in doing so makes an ambitious effort to square the circle of freedom versus justice that has preoccupied legal thinkers since Plato. Along the way it also manages to readably summarise more or less the entire history of legal philosophy in the West. If only all academic monographs were this interesting and readable and attempted to grapple with such big themes.