The author presents a two-tiered analysis that views postmodern legal thought as both a collective intellectual movement, and as the work of particular theorists, notably Friedrich Nietzsche, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Francois Lyotard, and Richard Rorty. He concludes that even though postmodern thought does not give rise to a normative theory of right that can be used as a framework for deciding cases, it can focus attention on genealogy and discourse, and can empower those who have been denied a voice in the legal system. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This discussion asserts that legal theory is being transformed by postmodern and critical social theory. The author argues for a familiarity with postmodern legal and social theory, as postmodernism could potentially fundamentally alter the legal meaning of agency, rationality, and intention.

The intellectual development of American legal thought has progressed remarkably quickly form the nation's founding through today. Stephen Feldman traces this development through the lens of broader intellectual movements and in this work applies the concepts of premodernism, modernism, and postmodernism to legal thought, using examples or significant cases from Supreme Court history. Comprehensive and accessible, this single volume provides an overview of the evolution of American legal thought up to the present.

This timely and assured book provides a unique guide to critical legal studies which is one of the most exciting developments within contemporary jurisprudence. It is the first book to systematically apply a critical philosophy to the substance of common law. The book develops a coruscating and interdisciplinary overview of the politics and cultural significance of the institutions of the law.

Kantianism, Postmodernism and Critical Legal Thought presents a challenging alternative theory of legal philosophy. The central thesis of the book suggests an accommodation between three of the most influential contemporary theories of law, Kantianism, postmodernism and critical legal thought. In doing so, it further suggests that the often perceived distance between these theories of law disguises a common intellectual foundation. This foundation lies in the work of Immanuel Kant. Kantianism, Postmodernism and Critical Legal Thought presents an intellectual history of critical legal thinking, beginning with Kant, and then proceeding through philosphers and legal theorists as diverse as Heidegger and Arendt, Foucault and Derrida, Rorty and Rawls, and Unger and Dworkin. Ultimately, it will be suggested that each of these philosophers is writing within a common intellectual tradition, and that by concentrating on the commonality of this tradition, contemporary legal theory can better appreciate the reconstructive potential of the critical legal project.

This title was first published in 2001. This discussion asserts that legal theory is being transformed by postmodern and critical social theory. The aim of the text is three-fold. Firstly, it sets out the work of four particular scholars of critical social theory, all of them Continental Europeans - Jurgen Habermas, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida and Jacques Lacan. Secondly, it seeks to demonstrate that although the work of Foucault, Derrida and Lacan is often juxtaposed to that of the arch (neo-)liberal social theorist Habermas, all four scholars of this small corpus share similar philosophical roots. To this end, it particularly refers to the original formation of critical theory by the early Frankfurt School of Critical Theory. Thirdly, it analyzes, with respect to Derrida and Habermas the two issues that opponents of the postmodern approach argues to be the Achilles' heel of postmodernism: does postmodernism introduce a pernicious relativism to judgement, making ethics and values a performative impossibility?

"Most modern legal theorists seek to limit their enquiries to a particular sort of law, on the assumption that law is necessarily restricted in its interactions with other social practices. margaret Davies deliberately - and provocatively - questions the usefulness of such 'positivist' dogmas, asserting that the law can and should be seen as multi-dimensional. Davies argues that the law is everywhere - in metaphysics, the social environment, language and the psyche. In a persuasive meeting of postmodern discourse, deconstruction, feminism and legal theory, Davies creates new ways of thinking about the law by creating links with other practices and disciplines where none previously existed. This is a powerful critique of the ideology and theory of law in the West, providing a much-needed link between conventional legal philosophy and modern movements in legal theory." --From back cover

Minda (law, Brooklyn Law School) surveys the current state of legal scholarship and activism, describing movements that focus on the effects of law on human lives. He outlines the origins of modern normative and conceptual jurisprudence, discusses movements of the 1980s, and analyzes postmodern jurisprudence. He demonstrates how the new forms of scholarly discourse at the end of this century have ruptured the modern styles of jurisprudence, and how those discourses themselves have been reshaped by a postmodern perspective. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

"This title was first published in 2001. This discussion asserts that legal theory is being transformed by postmodern and critical social theory. The aim of the text is three-fold. Firstly, it sets out the work of four particular scholars of critical social theory, all of them Continental Europeans - Jurgen Habermas, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida and Jacques Lacan. Secondly, it seeks to demonstrate that although the work of Foucault, Derrida and Lacan is often juxtaposed to that of the arch (neo-)liberal social theorist Habermas, all four scholars of this small corpus share similar philosophical roots. To this end, it particularly refers to the original formation of critical theory by the early Frankfurt School of Critical Theory. Thirdly, it analyzes, with respect to Derrida and Habermas the two issues that opponents of the postmodern approach argues to be the Achilles' heel of postmodernism: does postmodernism introduce a pernicious relativism to judgement, making ethics and values a performative impossibility? "--Provided by publisher.