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Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy pp 1–9Cite as

American Legal Realism

Introduction: Realisms

This entry offers an overview and analysis of American Legal Realism, the school of thought associated with a group of theorists, primarily American, whose most important contributions came in the 1930s. Jerome Frank (1930) and Karl Llewellyn (2011; Twining 2014) are probably the most well-known of the Realists, but the ranks of Realism also include Thurman Arnold, William O. Douglas, Leon Green, Joseph Hutcheson, Underhill Moore, Herman Oliphant, and Hessel Yntema, among others (Llewellyn 1931). Moreover, although American Legal Realism is situated historically with this group of thinkers, its basic claims have both contemporary adherents and continuing relevance.

At the outset, it is important to distinguish American Legal Realism from the various other perspectives and schools of thought that have also described themselves as “Realist.” Most significantly, American Legal Realism differs from various manifestations of philosophical Realism; indeed, Legal...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Virginia, Charlottsville, VA, USA

    Frederick Schauer

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  1. Frederick Schauer
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Correspondence to Frederick Schauer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for International & Comparative Law, University of Baltimore School of Law, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Mortimer Sellers

  2. Sozial- und Wirtschaftswissenschaften, University of Salzburg, Austria, Salzburg, Austria

    Stephan Kirste

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Philosophy, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

    Patricia Mindus Ph.D

  2. Department of Philosophy, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

    Sebastian Andres Reyes Molina

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Schauer, F. (2018). American Legal Realism. In: Sellers, M., Kirste, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6730-0_67-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6730-0_67-2

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  • Print ISBN: 978-94-007-6730-0

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    American Legal Realism – Theoretical Aspects
    Published:
    07 May 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6730-0_67-3

  2. Original

    American Legal Realism
    Published:
    12 October 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6730-0_67-2

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