Knowing What the Law Is

This book provides a selective and somewhat cheeky account of prominent positions in legal theory such as American legal realism modern legal positivism sociological systems theory institutionalism and critical legal studies. It presents a relational approach to law and a new perspective on legal sources.<br/><br/>The book explores topics of legal theory in a playful manner. It is written and composed in a way that refutes the widespread prejudice that legal theory is a dreary subject with a cast of characters that occasionally interact in order to illustrate the claims of the book.<br/><br/>Legal experts claim to know what the law is. Legal theory-or jurisprudence-explores whether such claims are warranted. The discipline first emerged at the turn of the 20th century when the self-confidence of both legal scholarship and judicial craftsmanship became severely shattered but the crisis continues to this day.