Law Is a Moral Practice

Masterful. With clarity, humor, and insight, Scott Hershovitz declutters jurisprudence. Condemning the philosophical ‘original sin’ of reducing law to rules and the ‘obsession’ with separating law from morals, he shows that the embattled ideal of the rule of law is itself a part of a shared moral outlook. Law Is a Moral Practice resets a field and pries it open, making it newly accessible to non-specialists and ordinary people. -- Samuel Moyn, Yale Law School Scott Hershovitz has written an important defense of the view that law both reflects and informs what we owe each other morally. Eschewing the labels that have long encrusted discourse about law and morality, he offers a welcoming introduction for novices and a sophisticated argument for those already steeped in positivist-antipositivist debates. -- Leslie Kendrick, University of Virginia School of Law A major original contribution to jurisprudence and a delight to read. Scott Hershovitz explains abstruse claims and develops nuanced philosophical arguments in lucid prose that is eminently accessible to non-specialists, yet the discussion remains rigorous at all times. -- Nicos Stavropoulos, University of Oxford So much philosophical writing bludgeons the reader with arguments, objections, replies, and counter-arguments, ad nauseam. Law Is a Moral Practice takes another approach, persuading the reader with the elegance and power of its philosophical picture. It succeeds masterfully. -- Scott Shapiro, Yale University An outstanding contribution to its field. Hershovitz’s position is essential, and his argument for it is philosophically deep and often much funnier than it has any right to be. Best of all, he brings out the direct connections between philosophical jurisprudence and legal practice, giving his readers important insights into an essential human activity. -- Christopher Essert, University of Toronto