Modern Jurisprudence: A Philosophical Guide

by Sean Coyle

This book provides a concise and accessible guide to modern jurisprudence, offering an examination of the major theories and systematic discussion of themes such as legality and justice. It gives readers a better understanding of the rival viewpoints by exploring the historical developments which give modern thinking its distinctive shape, and placing law in its political context. A key feature of the book is that readers are not simply presented with opposing theories, but are guided through the rival standpoints on the basis of a coherent line of reflection from which an overall sense of the subject can be gained. Chapters on Hart, Fuller, Rawls, Dworkin and Finnis take the reader systematically through the terrain of modern legal philosophy, tracing the issues back to fundamental questions of philosophy, and indicating lines of criticism that build to a fresh and original perspective on the subject.

280 pages, Paperback

First published March 26, 2014

Reviews

[Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars. The quality of both the arguments and the writing vary quite a bit between chapters, but even at its worst, this book still provides interesting insights. At its best, it shows a clear historical and conceptual flow, introducing the pre-Modern roots of the main currents of Anglo-American legal thought and their contemporary developments.

[Lukas op de Beke · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main distinction Coyle tries to hold up, sometimes rather strenuously, throughout the book is the one between "protestant" (starting with Hobbes) and Aristotelian/Thomist jurisprudence. His chapters on Hart, Finnis and Fuller (it's no wonder his preference lies with the latter two) are well worth reading, yet when he discusses Rawls and Dworkin and also in his final chapter in which he tries to bring the many strands of thought together again in a coherent fashion, his writing borders on the unintelligible: the many distinctions between types, levels, forms, theories and ideas of justice or fairness and their mutual relationships can be mind-boggling.