Philosophy and the Criminal Law Principle and Critique [Hardcover]

Five legal theorists discuss a range of questions on the nature of the philosophy of criminal law.Five pre-eminent legal theorists tackle a range of fundamental questions on the nature of the philosophy of criminal law. Their essays explore the extent to which and the ways in which our systems of criminal law can be seen as rational and principled. The essays discuss some of the principles by which, it is often thought, a system of law should be structured, and they ask whether our own systems are genuinely principled or riven by basic contradictions, reflecting deeper political and social conflicts.Five pre-eminent legal theorists tackle a range of fundamental questions on the nature of the philosophy of criminal law. Their essays explore the extent to which and the ways in which our systems of criminal law can be seen as rational and principled. The essays discuss some of the principles by which, it is often thought, a system of law should be structured, and they ask whether our own systems are genuinely principled or riven by basic contradictions, reflecting deeper political and social conflicts.Five preeminent legal theorists tackle a range of fundamental questions on the nature of the philosophy of criminal law. Their essays explore the extent to which and the ways in which our systems of criminal law can be seen as rational and principled. The essays discuss some of the principles by which, it is often thought, a system of law should be structured, and they ask whether our own systems are genuinely principled or riven by basic contradictions, reflecting deeper political and social conflicts.Introduction Antony Duff; 1. Contingency, coherence and conceptualism: reflections on the encounter between 'critique' and 'the philosophy of the criminal law' Nicola Lacey; 2. Does criminal liability require an act? Douglas Husak; 3. 'Simulacra of morality?' Beyond the ideal/actual antinomies of criminal justice Alan Norrie; 4. Principle and contradiction in the criminalCž