Description
Book SynopsisLegal Realism Revisited presents a comparison between two schools of American Legal theory – American Legal Realism and Critical Legal Studies – and argues that Legal Realism still holds the most promise for understanding and reforming law.
Trade Review"
Legal Realism Revisited is an ambitious book, which revisits the relationship between legal realism and critical legal studies in an interesting and provocative way. The discussion in the book is learned, thorough, and quite sophisticated." —Hanoch Dagan, Tel-Aviv University
"Discussions of American Legal Realism as a movement in legal thought are numerous, but seldom enlightening. Wouter de Been's
Legal Realism Revisited is a notable exception. His patient reconstruction of the topic is a model of the intellectual historian's craft. In particular, his discussion of the role of functionalism in realist writing clarifies many issues that earlier authors have left murky." -- John H. Schlegel * University at Buffalo Law School *
"Wouter de Been provides a thorough and sophisticated look at oft-neglected elements of legal realism and critical legal studies, details differences between the two movements, and offers a compelling argument for the continuing vitality of certain components of legal realism. The author displays an impressive mastery not only of the movements themselves, but also of underlying concepts drawn from history, sociology, law and philosophy." -- Adam Shajnfeld * Columbia *
Table of ContentsContents Preface 1. Tale of Two Movements A Twice Told Tale The Realism of Legal Realism Langdellian Orthodoxy The Realist Critique The Legacy of Legal Realism The Critical Legal Studies Movement: Realism meets Radicalism The Problem Historicism Social Science Language Method E Pluribus Unum 2. The Seeds of Time: Legal Realism and Legal History In the Footsteps of Oliver Wendell Holmes The Evolution of Evolutionary Theory: From Social Darwinism to Scientific Naturalism Oliver Wendell Holmes v. Herbert Spencer Scientific Naturalism Realist Legal History Conclusion 3. The Wealth of Historicism: Legal History in the Critical Mold Clio Unleashed The Problem with Functionalism and Adaptationism Conclusion 4. You Keep Samin= when You Ought to Be Changin=: The Realist Turn to Social Science The Llewellyn-Pound Exchange Realism in the Age of Relativity Functionalism Predictivism Instrumentalism The UCC Conclusion 5. Oh, the Tangled Webs We Weave: The CLS Critique of Social Science Social Science as Politics Critique of Science and Reason The Poverty of Functionalism Conclusion 6. Night of the Living Dead: Legal Realist Anti-Conceptualism Meaning as Reference Meaning in a Functionalist Framework Legal Realism and Language Conclusion 7. The World Well Lost: Variations on the Linguistic Theme A Portrait of Wittgenstein as a Radical Philosopher CLS and Post-Structuralism The Fragmentation of CLS Conclusion 8. These Boots Were Made For Walking: The Continued Relevance of Legal Realism The Revival of Pragmatism Pragmatism and History Pragmatism and Social Science Value-Free or Purposive Social Science Behaviorism v. Interpretivism Pragmatism and Language Paradigms Incommensurability Interpretation Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index
