Law in Perspective: Ethics, Society and Critical Thinking

The principal aim of this book is to encourage critical, responsible and creative thinking about law as a system of ideas and as a social institution. It aims also to encourage exploration of the interrelations between legal methods, ideas and practices and those of other disciplines and institutions with which law continuously interacts. To this end, the book focuses on a range of powerful critical thinking tools, in the form of ideas and techniques drawn from logic, science, ethics and political and social theory. Effective application of these tools allows for an appreciation of law in its historical, philosophical, economic, political and social context. It provides a foundation for critical assessment of the value and significance of particular legal principles and practices, and for principled proposals for future legal development and reform.