The Rhetoric of law
By: edited by Austin Sarat and Thomas R. Kearns.
Contributors: Sarat, Austin.; Kearns, Thomas R.
Series: The Amherst series in law, jurisprudence, and social thought
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Published: 1994
Place of publication: Ann Arbor
Language: eng
Number of pages: 341
Subjects: Law -- United States -- Language.; English language -- United States -- Rhetoric.
Description: Law is a profession of words. Simultaneously celebratory of great prose and dogmatically insistent on precise usage, law provides a stage for displays of linguistic mastery and persuasive argument. Yet such displays are not without substance: the words of law take on a seriousness virtually unparalleled in any other domain of human experience.

The Rhetoric of Law examines the words used in legal institutions and proceedings and explores both the literary aspect of legal life and the role of rhetoric in shaping the life of the law.

The essays in The Rhetoric of Law reflect the diverse influences of literary theory, feminism, and interpretive social science. Yet all call into question the rigid separation of rhetoric and justice that has characterized philosophical inquiry as far back as Plato. As a result, they open the way for a new understanding of law - an understanding that treats language as neither esoteric nor frivolous and views rhetoric as essential, to the pursuit of justice.

This volume provides a bracing reminder of the possibilities and problems of law, of its capacity to engage the best in human character, and of its vulnerability to cynical manipulation.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.