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As I explain in the introduction, this is the third in aseries of collections of my previously published essays in legal theory. All of the essays here but three have been revised for this volume. I now wish to record my gratitude and indebtedness to various persons. I am most indebted and grateful to my wife, Dorothy Kopp Summers, to whom I dedicate this book. I also wish to re cord my gratitude for his interest and patience to Hendrik-Jan van Leusen of Kluwer Academic Publishers. He strongly encouraged me to put this collection together, and without his efforts, it certainly would not have appeared in this timely fashion. I also wish to thank his successor, Sabine Wesseldijk, for assistance. In the course of my academic career, I have benefitted greatly from the many Comell Law School students serving as my research assistants. I have also been privileged to have the fine aid of many Comell Law School secretaries and administrative assistants. Foremost here is Mrs. Pamela Finnigan who has so ably seen this collection put together from start to finish.
List of contents
General Theory of Law.- H.L.A. Hart's the Concept of Law.- Rudolf von Jhering's Influence on American Legal Theory.- Law as a Type of "Machine" Technology.- On Identifying and Reconstructing a General Legal Theory.- My Philosophy of Law.- Form in Law.- The Formal Character of Law.- A Formal Theory of the Rule of Law.- The Formal Character of Law - Statutory Rules.- Legal Reasoning.- Interpreting Statutes and Precedents - Two Comparative Studies.- The Argument from Ordinary Meaning in Statutory Interpretation.- Interpreting Statutes - Should Courts Consider Materials of Legislative History?.- Formal Legal Truth and Substantive Truth in Judicial Fact-Finding.- Contract Theory.- The Conceptualization of Good Faith in American Contract Law.- Substantive Justification in Contract Cases - the Primacy of Rightness Reasons.- Critique of Economic Analysis of Law.- Economics and the Autonomy of Law, Legal Analysis and Legal Theory.- Economists' Reasons for Common Law Decisions.
About the author
William G. McRoberts Research Professor of Law, Cornell Law School, and Arthur L. Goodhart Visiting Professor of Legal Science, Cambridge University, 1991-92. B.S. 1955, University of Oregon; LL.B. 1959, Harvard Law School; Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa, University of Helsinki, 1990; Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa, University of Göttingen, 1994
