Law as the Continuation of God by Other Means
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7526550 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Pierre Schlag (0000-0001-8946-7077, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1997 |
| Volume | 85 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 427-427 |
| Publication date | 1997-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | California Law Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0008-1221 • E-ISSN: 1942-6542 |
| Publisher | UC Berkeley School of Law (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.2307/3481073 |
| OpenAlex | W4236636335 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 1 |
Even if one ascribes the rise of an orientation to its usefulness, one cannot conclude that it necessarily serves the ends of use.It may survive from conditions for which it was fit into conditions for which it is unfit (cultural lag)....The members of a group specifically charged with upholding a given orientation may be said to perform a priesthood function....The function is mainly performed by our college professors, journalists, public relations counselors ... many of whom will usually fume at the hypocrisy of the medieval Church while excusing their own position on the grounds of necessity.'This essay explores a certain form of reasoning very popular in American jurisprudence.This is the kind of reasoning through which the legal thinker attempts to establish the existence of something fervently desired. 2 This something could be any of a number of things: the rule of law, objectivity in interpretation, the autonomy of the individual self, progressive legal change-just about anything.What is essential about this thing-and I will call it a desirable X for short-is that its existence is indeed profoundly desired.Typically, legal thinkers respond to such desires in a professional manner.That is to say, they respond by doing what they are good atnamely, constructing arguments.Specifically, they construct arguments to secure the existence of their own particular desirable X.It is the formal structure of these legal arguments that is in question here.My claim is that these legal arguments bear an uncanny and disturbing similarity to various proofs of God.Specifically, they resemble the cosmological proof, the argument from design, and the ontological
Continuation · Political science · Computer Science · Evolving Legal Systems and Governance · Law · Multicultural Socio-Legal Studies · Philosophy · Religious Freedom and Discrimination
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,36 |
| Citation span | 2015 - 2026 (12) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |