New Essays on the Nature of Legal Reasoning

Mark McBride is Assistant Professor and James Penner is Professor, both at the National University of Singapore.

This is the first book to bring together distinguished jurisprudential theorists, as well as up-and-coming scholars, to critically assess the nature of legal reasoning. The volume is divided into 3 parts:The first part, General Jurisprudence and Legal Reasoning, addresses issues at the intersection of general jurisprudence - those pertaining to the nature of law itself - and legal reasoning.The second part, Rules and Reasons, addresses two concepts central to two prominent types of theory of legal reasoning.The essays in the third and final part, Doctrine and Practice, delve into the mechanics of legal practice and doctrine, from a legal reasoning perspective.

Contributions from esteemed philosophers and more junior scholars

IntroductionMark McBride (National University of Singapore) and James Penner (National University of Singapore)PART IGENERAL JURISPRUDENCE AND LEGAL REASONING1. On the Relationship between Law and Legal ReasoningFred Schauer (University of Virginia, USA)2. The Law of the StreetBarbara Baum Levenbook (North Carolina State University, USA)3. Must Legal Reasons Be General?Fábio Perin Shecaira (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)4. The Factor Model and General JurisprudenceAdam Rigoni (Arizona State University, USA)PART IIRULES AND REASONS5. No ReasonsMark McBride (National University of Singapore)6. Revisiting the Reasons Account of PrecedentGrant Lamond (University of Oxford, UK)7. Grant Lamond's Account of Precedent: A Personal EncounterJohn Horty (University of Maryland, USA)8. How to Govern ConductLarry Alexander (University of San Diego, USA) and Emily Sherwin (Cornell University, USA)9. Working with a Body of Rules: On the Nature of Doctrinal Legal Disagreement in Judge-Made LawJames Penner (National University of Singapore)PART IIIDOCTRINE AND PRACTICE10. Thinking Like a Lawyer: An Introduction to Common Law MethodSundram Peter Soosay (Independent Scholar)11. How the Ideal Adversary System's Argumentative Structure Threatens DignityKatharina Stevens (University of Lethbridge, Canada) and Nicole Lockstadt (McMaster University, Canada)12. Lesser Evils, Mere Permissions and Justifying Reasons in LawRob Mullins (University of Queensland, Australia)13. First Among Equals: Abduction in Legal Argument from a Logocratic Point of ViewScott Brewer (Harvard University, USA)