A Short Introduction to Judging and to Legal Reasoning

This Short Introduction looks at judging and reasoning from three perspectives: what legal reasoning has been; what legal reasoning is from the view of judges and jurists; and what legal reasoning is from the view of a social science epistemologist or humanities specialist. Geoffrey Samuel begins by identifying the main institutional focal points of legal reasoning (ius, regula iuris, Interpretatio, utilitas and actiones). While examining legal reasoning from both an internal and external viewpoint, the book simultaneously incorporates theory and scholarship from a range of other disciplines including social science and film studies. The author also includes a discussion of fiction theory, schemes of intelligibility, and other epistemological issues as well as standard reasoning devices such as induction, deduction and analogy. Combining cases and materials with original text, this unique, concise format is designed to be accessible for students who are starting out on their law programmes, as well as providing insights for students and researchers who would like to examine judging and legal reasoning in more depth.

Contents: Preface Introduction 1. What Judging and Legal Reasoning Have Been 2. Judging and Legal Reasoning Today (`Official Portrait') (1) 3. Judging and Legal Reasoning Today (`Official Portrait') (2) 4. The `Unofficial Portrait' 5. The Relationship Between the Official and Unofficial Portraits (1) 6. The Relationship Between the Official and Unofficial Portraits (2) Conclusions Index