1. Critical Legal Studies and argumentation theory
- Author
-
Dale A. Herbeck
- Subjects
Legal research ,Linguistics and Language ,Philosophy ,Legal realism ,Legal positivism ,Legal formalism ,Sociology ,Empirical legal studies ,Legal profession ,Critical legal studies ,Epistemology ,Legal psychology - Abstract
Critical Legal Studies poses a direct and expressed challenge to the basic tenets of American legal education and scholarship. Critical Legal Studies postulates that law is not a scientific exercise involving the application of objective principles, but rather a creative process involving the selection of conflicting rules which has the effect of reinforcing the existing political order. In an effort to explain the contribution of Critical Legal Studies to argumentation theory, this essay briefly discusses the role of legal reasoning in the American legal system, describes and critiques Legal Positivism, lays the intellectual foundation for Critical Legal Studies, and considers the implications that this conception of jurisprudence has for argumentation theory.
- Published
- 1995
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