Abstract
I have not yet worked out a complete philosophy of law, and the partial philosophy I do have is addressed merely to law in developed western societies, especially in the United States and Great Britain. I am ultimately striving for an overall synthesis that takes due account of the major contributions of the four great branches of legal theory: natural law thought, positivism, instrumentalist theory, and historical jurisprudence. I do not classify the totality of my own work as representative of any one of these branches, though I have published books and articles in which I attempt to contribute to various aspects of the first three2.
The author wishes to record his indebtedness to his secretary, Mrs. Pamela Finnigan, and to his research assistants: Theodore McCutcheon, Cornell Law School Class of 1998, Shelley Detwiller, Cornell Law School Class of 1999; and Darian Ibrahim, Cornell Law School Class of 1999.
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Bibliographical Information
I. Books
(with D. N. MacCormick) Interpreting Precedents. A Comparative Study, Aldershot, 1997.
Essays on the Nature of Law and Legal Reasoning,Berlin, 1992.
American Legal Theory,New York, 1992.
(with P. Atiya) Form and Substance in Anglo-American Law,Oxford, 19912.
(with D. N. MacCormick), Interpreting Statutes. A Comparative Study. Aldershot, 1991.
(with K. Clermont) Law: Its Nature, Functions and Limits,St. Paul, 19863.
Lon L. Fuller,London, 1984.
Pragmatischer Instrumentalismus,Freiburg, 1983.
Instrumentalism and American Legal Theory,Ithaca/London, 1982.
More Essays in Legal Philosophy,Oxford, 1971 (as editor)
Essays in Legal Philosophy,Oxford, 1968 (as editor).
II. Articles
How Law is Formal and Why It Matters?“, 82 Cornell L. Review,101 (1997).
Rudolf von Jhering’s Influence on American Legal Theory. A Selective Account“ in Jhering’s Rechtsdenken, O. Behrends (ed.), Göttingen, 1996, 61–76.
H. L. A. Hart’s The Concept of Law. Estimations, Reflections and a Personal Memorial“, 45 J. Legal Ed., 587 (1995).
The Juristic Study of Law’s Formal Character“, Ratio Juris,1995, 237–247.
The Formal Character of Law. Criteria of Validity for Contracts“, 9 J. Contract Law, 29 (1995).
The Formal Character of Law“, Rechtstheorie,1994, 125–162.
Der Formale Charakter des Rechts II“, A.R.S.P.,1994, 66–84.
A Formal Theory of the Rule of Law“, Ratio Juris,1993, 127–142.
with G. Marshall) “The Argument from Ordinary Meaning in Statutory Interpretation”, 43 No. Ireland Law Q., 213 (1992).
The Formal Character of Law“, 51 Cambridge L.J.,242 (1992).
On Analysing and Characterising the General Style of a Legal System as Formal or as Substantive“, Rechtstheorie,1992, 27–34.
Statues and Contracts as Founts of Formal Reasoning“ in Essays for Patrick Atiya,P. Cane, and S. Stapleton, (eds.), Oxford, 1991, 71–85.
Theory, Formality and Practical Legal Criticism“, 106 Law Quarterly Rev. 407 (1990).
The Ideal Socio-Legal Order. Its Rule of Law Dimension“, Ratio Juris, 1988, 154–161.
Form and Substance in Legal Reasoning“ in Essays in Honour of Torstein Eckhof,,S. Evju (ed.), 1986, 452–470.
On Identifying and Reconstructing a General Legal Theory: Some Thoughts Prompted by Professor Moore’s Critique“, 69 Cornell L. Rev., 1014 (1984).
Pragmatic Instrumentalism and American Legal Theory. A Summary Statement“, Rechtstheorie, 1982, 257–268.
Pragmatic Instrumentalism in the Twentieth Century American Legal Thought. A Synthesis and Critique of Our Dominant Theory about Law and Its Use“, 66 Cornell L. Rev., 861 (1981).
Professor Fuller’s Jurisprudence and America’s Dominant Philosophy of Law“, 92 Harvard L. Rev.,433 (1978).
Two Types of Substantive Reasons. The Core of a Theory of Common Law Justification“, 53 Cornell L. Rev., 707 (1978).
Naive Instrumentalism and the Law“ in Law, Morality and Society. Essays in Honour of H. L. A. Hart,P. Hacker and J. Raz (eds.), Oxford, 1977, 119–131.
Evaluating and Improving Legal Processes. A Plea for Process Values“, 60 Cornell L. Rev., 1, (1974).
The Technique Element in Law“, 59 Calif. L. Rev.,733 (1971).
The New Analytical Jurists“, 41 New York U.L.Rev.,861 (1966).
Professor H. L. A. Hart’s Concept of Law“, Duke L.J., 629 (1963).
H. L. A. Hart on Justice“, 591 of Philosophy,497 (1962).
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Summers, R.S. (1999). My Philosophy of Law. In: Wintgens, L.J. (eds) The Law in Philosophical Perspectives. Law and Philosophy Library, vol 41. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9317-5_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9317-5_8
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