This book considers the seminal debate in jurisprudence between Ronald Dworkin and Stanley Fish. It looks at the exchange between Dworkin and Fish, initiated in the 1980s, and analyses the role the exchange has played in the development of contemporary theories of interpretation, legal reasoning, and the nature of law. The book encompasses 4 key themes of the debate between these authors: legal theory and its critical role, interpretation and critical constraints, pragmatism and interpretive communities, and some general implications of the debate for issues like the nature of legal theory and the possibility of objectivity. The collection brings together prominent legal theorists and one of the protagonists of the debate: Professor Stanley Fish, who concludes the collection with an interview in which he discusses the main topics discussed in the collection.

This book considers the seminal debate in jurisprudence between Ronald Dworkin and Stanley Fish. It looks at the exchange between Dworkin and Fish, initiated in the 1980s, and analyses the role the exchange has played in the development of contemporary theories of interpretation, legal reasoning, and the nature of law. The book encompasses 4 key themes of the debate between these authors: legal theory and its critical role, interpretation and critical constraints, pragmatism and interpretive communities, and some general implications of the debate for issues like the nature of legal theory and the possibility of objectivity. The collection brings together prominent legal theorists and one of the protagonists of the debate: Professor Stanley Fish, who concludes the collection with an interview in which he discusses the main topics discussed in the collection.

This book uses literary examples to make the case for understanding law and the legal system through the lens of philosophical pragmatism. For pragmatists, experience is everything; they argue against understanding the world through any abstraction, maintaining that it is simply too complicated to fit into categories or theories. Legal pragmatism is the application of this philosophy to the making of law, the practice of law, and the practice of judging. This book maintains that the best way to understand legal pragmatism is not through bare theoretical exegesis but through literature: that is, through stories that cast light on various pragmatic aspects of law. Engaging a range of literary sources, including works by Seamus Heaney, Hilary Mantel, Harper Lee, and Ian McEwan, the book makes a compelling case for the contemporary relevance of pragmatism. This book will appeal to legal theorists, law and literature/humanities scholars, readers of literary criticism, and those with interests in pragmatist philosophy.

Dr. Anthony Thiselton s thorough approach to the growing discipline of hermeneutics takes account of a comprehensive range of theoretical models of reading and interpretation. He evaluates both the foundations on which they rest and their practical implications for Old and New Testament reading. Building on his earlier influential work, The Two Horizons, Dr. Thiselton examines theories of texts, semiotics and literature, the legacy of Patristic and Reformation hermeneutics, and the use of socio-critical theory, liberation theology, and Marxist, feminist, and black hermeneutics, and discusses every major hermeneutical theorist. This exhaustive and rigorous critique will prove valuable to anyone undertaking advanced research in hermeneutics, including teachers and students of theology and language or literary theory."

This book questions traditional methods of legal interpretation and challenges the position that objective interpretation of law is possible. Legal interpretation, the author avers, is unavoidably subjective. Benson suggests that ?plain meaning,? ?purpose,? ?intent,? ?structure,? ?strict construction,? ?precedent,? and other legal mysticisms are merely pieces manipulated in a game. Those interested in legal process, legal writing, constitutional law, statutory interpretation, and jurisprudence will find his arguments provocative and engaging. Whether one is a lawyer, judge, journalist, or informed citizen, this look at the on-going battle about whether judges and lawyers ?find the law? or ?make the law? will be a stimulating read.

William E. Scheuerman is the author of "Between the Norm and the Exception: The Frankfurt School and the Rule of Law".

Excerpts from criticism of the works of novelists, poets, playwrights, and other creative writers, 1900-1960.