The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory

by Martin P. Golding (Editor)

The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory is a handy guide to the state of play in contemporary philosophy of law and legal theory.

Genres: Philosophy

355 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2004

Reviews

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first opened this book and was eager to delve into this wealth of untouched information, I just as quickly became intimidated and frustrated! It was confusing, I didn't know what was being discusses, I was unused to philosophical terminology and the legal lingo, and I had to go back and forth between the text and a dictionary. In short, it was pretty rough. But fortunately these were just the growing pains. It took me a while to get used to the text--especially the way philosophers seem to be repetitive and dance circles around the same topic. I learned the key to reading dense philosophy rich texts like this is to read through it quickly once and then go back again to understand the details and highlight. You can't get too caught up in each sentence the first time around. At least that's how it worked for me.
This was honestly a nightmare at first, but once I built up my brain muscles, each consecutive chapter became easier and easier to get through, understand, and apply effectively. Each chapter is written by a different author, and some are more accessible and conversation-like with examples and a guiding narrator's voice, whereas others are dense, boring, and then you are still unsure if the points the author was making. However this is a great resource for understanding the intricacies of the thought behind the law and even the history of our philosophical influences that pertain to the law.
It was a tough challenge all in all, but I certainly worked my brain muscles more than I thought possible by being forced to understand difficult concepts and think critically. Now I feel like any other intimidating book I come across would be downhill in comparison, which is quite exciting and I am interested in getting my feet wet with more philosophical readings! :) also, I was reading this for a class called "philosophy of law and society" and did not think it would be relevant to my life in any way, but I was surprised that I found the topics relevant in EVERY way. I would recommend this for anyone who wants to understand the law and how this institution is a tool of society and our place in this scheme as well. For me, it raised lots of questions about why the world works the way it does and the complications that arise when we try to create order with our system of law.
I give this book only 4 stars because it's not super accessible, though a very thorough text. It has an introduction but each chapter is an essay written by a different author so this format creates some inconsistencies with terminology and the way certain concepts are explained, and there are no explanations for the simple legal ideas that the authors presume you already know.