Jurisprudence

Jurisprudence: Themes and Concepts offers an original introduction to, and critical analysis of, the central themes studied in jurisprudence courses.

The book is organised in three parts: Part I sets out the key elements of modern law and their relation to political, economic, and social conditions. Part II presents competing accounts of the nature of legal validity, legality, legal reasoning, and justice. Both parts feature corresponding tutorial questions. Part III contains advanced topics including chapters on legal pluralism, law and disciplinary power, and law and the Anthropocene. Every chapter gives guidance on further reading. This fourth edition has been fully revised and updated to take into account the latest developments in jurisprudential scholarship. Additional material is included in the coverage of social law, colonialism, critical race theory, the challenges of digital technology, and the emergence of new legal subjects.

Accessible, interdisciplinary and socially informed, Jurisprudence: Themes and Concepts is essential reading for all students of jurisprudence and legal philosophy.

Table of Contents

Introduction Part 1: Law and Modernity 1.The Differentiation of Society and the Autonomy of Law 2. Social Contract Theory 3. Law and the Rise of the Market System 4. Law and the Political 5. Law and the SocialTutorials for Part 1 Part 2: Legality, Legal Reasoning, and Justice 6. Legality and Validity 7. Legal Reasoning I: Formalism and Rule-Scepticism 8. Legal Reasoning II: the turn to interpretation 9. The Politics of Legal Reasoning 10. Justice Tutorials for Part 2 Part 3: Advanced Topics 11. Trials, facts and narratives 12. Functional differentiation and the autopoiesis of law 13. Legal Institutionalism 14. Legal Pluralism15.Displacing the juridical: Foucault on power and discipline16. Law and the anthropocene