Abstract
The issue that I wish to discuss is meaning in the law of contract. My point of departure is the question, “What is a hay baler?” The question, at first glance, may seem to be prosaic and its answer obvious. This question, however, arose in litigation, and did so in a particularly vexing way. It was vexing because it ensued that a machine does not necessarily have to be capable of baling hay in order for it to be, in the eyes of the law at least, a hay baler.
I would like to thanks Dean Randall Bezanson and Professor Judith McMorrow for their helpful comments on a draft of this presentation.
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Notes
This formulation is based on J. Calmari & J. Perillo, The Law of Contracts 135–36 (1987)
M. Horwitz, The Transformation of American Law, 1780 – 1860 (1977).
The Shopping Mall: Signs of Power, (1987) R. Kevelson, (ed.), Law and Semiotics: Volume 1, (New York: Plenum Publishing Co.) 65–108.
This discussion is based on Harris & Hoover, “Abduction and the New Riddle of Induction”, 63 The Monist 329 (1980).
Bill Watterson, “Calvin and Hobbes”, 2–10 May, 1988.
This discussion of narrativity, and the three examples describe, are taken from J. Culler, (1981), The Pursuit of Signs: Semiotics, Literature, Deconstruction, 169–187 (Hereinafter cited as “Culler”).
R. Unger, (1984), Passon: An Essay on Personality, 3–20.
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© 1988 Plenum Press, New York
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Brion, D.J. (1988). What is a Hay Baler?. In: Kevelson, R. (eds) Law and Semiotics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0771-6_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0771-6_4
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