Jurisprudence, Legal Education, Sociology - General & Miscellaneous, Political Activism & Social Action, Social Sciences - General & Miscellaneous

Law As a Social Institution

Name: Law As a Social Institution
Author: Hamish Ross
ISBN: 9781841132303

by Hamish Ross

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Overview

This book develops the rudiments of a sociological perspective on state law and legal theory. It outlines a distinctive approach to theoretical enquiry that offers an improved understanding of law as a social and institutional phenomenon. The book draws upon Max Weber's sociological and juristic writings as a context in which to explore themes arising or selectively developed from a critical reassessment of key aspects of H.L.A. Hart's theory of law. The discussion initially centers around three problematical areas or "Gordian Knots" - essentially weaknesses in the analytical nucleus of The Concept of Law, matters of misplaced emphasis and other elements that, it is argued, have obscured fundamental aspects of a perceived social reality. Using the critique as a point of departure, the book explores key issues that Hart merely touched upon or seemingly passed over: the role of the (sociologically inclined) jurist, the defensibility of an "institutional insider's" perspective, the institutional behavioral dimension of the legal world, and the relational and social power dynamics of law-affected human behavior.

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Bringing a sociological perspective to state law and legal theory, this book uses Weber's work as the foundation for a critical reassessment of Hart's theory of law. It presents three central problems in the theory of law<-->the problem of perspective, the problem of reductionism, and the tendency to obscure relativity. These are addressed from the standpoint of a critical legal positivism. Ross teaches law at the Napier University School of Law in Edinburgh. Distributed by ISBS. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)