Epistemology and Method in Law: (Applied Legal Philosophy)

This book seeks to question the widely held assumption in Europe that to have knowledge of law is simply to have knowledge of rules. There is a knowledge dimension beyond the symbolic which reaches right into the way facts are perceived, constructed and deconstructed. In support of this thesis the book examines, generally, the question of what it is to have knowledge of law; and this examination embraces not just the conceptual foundations, methods, taxonomy and theories used by jurists. It also examines the epistemological schemes used by social scientists in general in order to show that such schemes are closely related to the schemes of intelligibility used by lawyers and judges.

Table of Contents:
Contents: The scope of legal epistemology; Scientia Iuris; Methodologies in law; Institutions and concepts; Facts and law; Taxonomy in law; Theories of liability; Schemes of intelligibility in Social Science; Concluding remarks; Bibliography; Index.

Review :
'Epistemology - the structure of legal thinking and legal knowledge - is an essential, but challenging aspect of the study of law. Concepts, categories and relationships shape our understanding of rules and of facts in law. In Epistemology and Method in Law, Geoffrey Samuel makes the topic accessible both to theorists and non-theorists alike. He engages with some abstract literature, but then uses many concrete illustrations drawn from a range of European legal systems to enable ordinary lawyers to assess their implications. The work is extensive, lucid and thought-provoking. The book will be read with profit by a wide range of legal scholars and advanced students.' Professor John Bell, University of Cambridge, UK 'Professor Geoffrey Samuel's learned examination of legal reasoning represents a most important contribution to jurisprudential studies. Building on his encyclopaedic mastery of English case-law, the author deploys an impressive range of historical, philosophical, and comparative arguments to sustain his central thesis that knowledge of law cannot be reduced to knowledge of rules. Professor Samuel's timely and challenging book is sure to get the very wide readership it undoubtedly deserves.' Professor Pierre Legrand, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France