Rules perform a moral function by restating moral principles in
concrete terms, so as to reduce the uncertainty, error, and
controversy that result when individuals follow their own
unconstrained moral judgment. Although reason dictates that we must
follow rules to avoid destructive error and controversy, rules--and
hence laws--are imperfect, and reason also dictates that we ought
not follow them when we believe they produce the wrong result in a
particular case. In "The Rule of Rules" Larry Alexander and Emily
Sherwin examine this dilemma.
Once the importance of this moral and practical conflict is
acknowledged, the authors argue, authoritative rules become the
central problems of jurisprudence. The inevitable gap between rules
and background morality cannot be bridged, they claim, although
many contemporary jurisprudential schools of thought are misguided
attempts to do so. Alexander and Sherwin work through this dilemma,
which lies at the heart of such ongoing jurisprudential
controversies as how judges should reason in deciding cases, what
effect should be given to legal precedent, and what status, if any,
should be accorded to "legal principles." In the end, their
rigorous discussion sheds light on such topics as the nature of
interpretation, the ancient dispute among legal theorists over
natural law versus positivism, the obligation to obey law,
constitutionalism, and the relation between law and coercion.
Those interested in jurisprudence, legal theory, and political
philosophy will benefit from the edifying discussion in "The Rule
of Rules.
"
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