Moral Foundations of American Law: Faith, Virtue and Mores
“This excellent book is about Western morality as it interacts with law. It is not contrasting the moral foundations of American law with other value systems. Rather the authors examine the history and great diversity of Western thought, the substance of moral ideas. They range from the ancients to the new old order of the New World. Hazard and Pinto see the various voices articulating moral, political and legal thought as “pregnant with future relevance” for practical decision-making. Thus their approach is not relativistic, but mindful of alternatives and historical context. Hazard and Pinto have written a most thoughtful and stimulating study.”
Gerhard Casper, Professor of Law, Emeritus and President Emeritus of Stanford University

“Beginning with the reality and challenge of modern Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Hazard and Pinto demonstrate the relationships and differences among law, morals, and politics. Hazard, a legal ethicist and scholar, and Pinto, a biblical historian, are a unique team. Their succinct and vital work draws from the wisdom of the ancients and the evolution of modern thought. Anyone concerned with the living law must understand its moral roots to sense when the old growth should be pruned and the new nurtured in light of evolving principles of liberty, equality, and morality.”
Michael Traynor, President Emeritus of the American Law Institute

“This is an unstuffy and lively account of fundamental values in American, and indeed Western, public and civic life. The whole historical background is presented both clearly and comprehensively. This attractively succinct book deserves to be read by all who are interested in our public life. The writing is so incisive and compelling that I read this book in a single sitting.”
Neil H. Andrews, Professor of Civil Justice and Private Law, University of Cambridge

“In this concise meditation on the relationship between law and morality, Dr. Pinto and Professor Hazard – one of our leading thinkers on law and the legal profession and himself the embodiment of Aristotelian “practical wisdom” (arête) – take us on a most engaging tour of our intellectual and moral heritage, helping us to understand the moral foundations of our modern legal system and the language of the law. I commend this book to any interested reader and particularly to non-lawyers who may not have considered how deeply and mysteriously intertwined our legal rules are with religious belief and historical origins.”
David F. Levi, Dean and Professor of Law, Duke University School of Law


‘A book to ponder, in which in less than 200 pages, Hazard and Pinto show us everything that American political and legal thinking owes to the authors of a continent whose European immigrants dreamed of achieving a utopia.
A.J. Bullier in Revue de droit international et de droit comparé (2013) 648’

1114831995
Moral Foundations of American Law: Faith, Virtue and Mores
“This excellent book is about Western morality as it interacts with law. It is not contrasting the moral foundations of American law with other value systems. Rather the authors examine the history and great diversity of Western thought, the substance of moral ideas. They range from the ancients to the new old order of the New World. Hazard and Pinto see the various voices articulating moral, political and legal thought as “pregnant with future relevance” for practical decision-making. Thus their approach is not relativistic, but mindful of alternatives and historical context. Hazard and Pinto have written a most thoughtful and stimulating study.”
Gerhard Casper, Professor of Law, Emeritus and President Emeritus of Stanford University

“Beginning with the reality and challenge of modern Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Hazard and Pinto demonstrate the relationships and differences among law, morals, and politics. Hazard, a legal ethicist and scholar, and Pinto, a biblical historian, are a unique team. Their succinct and vital work draws from the wisdom of the ancients and the evolution of modern thought. Anyone concerned with the living law must understand its moral roots to sense when the old growth should be pruned and the new nurtured in light of evolving principles of liberty, equality, and morality.”
Michael Traynor, President Emeritus of the American Law Institute

“This is an unstuffy and lively account of fundamental values in American, and indeed Western, public and civic life. The whole historical background is presented both clearly and comprehensively. This attractively succinct book deserves to be read by all who are interested in our public life. The writing is so incisive and compelling that I read this book in a single sitting.”
Neil H. Andrews, Professor of Civil Justice and Private Law, University of Cambridge

“In this concise meditation on the relationship between law and morality, Dr. Pinto and Professor Hazard – one of our leading thinkers on law and the legal profession and himself the embodiment of Aristotelian “practical wisdom” (arête) – take us on a most engaging tour of our intellectual and moral heritage, helping us to understand the moral foundations of our modern legal system and the language of the law. I commend this book to any interested reader and particularly to non-lawyers who may not have considered how deeply and mysteriously intertwined our legal rules are with religious belief and historical origins.”
David F. Levi, Dean and Professor of Law, Duke University School of Law


‘A book to ponder, in which in less than 200 pages, Hazard and Pinto show us everything that American political and legal thinking owes to the authors of a continent whose European immigrants dreamed of achieving a utopia.
A.J. Bullier in Revue de droit international et de droit comparé (2013) 648’

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Moral Foundations of American Law: Faith, Virtue and Mores

Moral Foundations of American Law: Faith, Virtue and Mores

Moral Foundations of American Law: Faith, Virtue and Mores

Moral Foundations of American Law: Faith, Virtue and Mores

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Overview

“This excellent book is about Western morality as it interacts with law. It is not contrasting the moral foundations of American law with other value systems. Rather the authors examine the history and great diversity of Western thought, the substance of moral ideas. They range from the ancients to the new old order of the New World. Hazard and Pinto see the various voices articulating moral, political and legal thought as “pregnant with future relevance” for practical decision-making. Thus their approach is not relativistic, but mindful of alternatives and historical context. Hazard and Pinto have written a most thoughtful and stimulating study.”
Gerhard Casper, Professor of Law, Emeritus and President Emeritus of Stanford University

“Beginning with the reality and challenge of modern Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Hazard and Pinto demonstrate the relationships and differences among law, morals, and politics. Hazard, a legal ethicist and scholar, and Pinto, a biblical historian, are a unique team. Their succinct and vital work draws from the wisdom of the ancients and the evolution of modern thought. Anyone concerned with the living law must understand its moral roots to sense when the old growth should be pruned and the new nurtured in light of evolving principles of liberty, equality, and morality.”
Michael Traynor, President Emeritus of the American Law Institute

“This is an unstuffy and lively account of fundamental values in American, and indeed Western, public and civic life. The whole historical background is presented both clearly and comprehensively. This attractively succinct book deserves to be read by all who are interested in our public life. The writing is so incisive and compelling that I read this book in a single sitting.”
Neil H. Andrews, Professor of Civil Justice and Private Law, University of Cambridge

“In this concise meditation on the relationship between law and morality, Dr. Pinto and Professor Hazard – one of our leading thinkers on law and the legal profession and himself the embodiment of Aristotelian “practical wisdom” (arête) – take us on a most engaging tour of our intellectual and moral heritage, helping us to understand the moral foundations of our modern legal system and the language of the law. I commend this book to any interested reader and particularly to non-lawyers who may not have considered how deeply and mysteriously intertwined our legal rules are with religious belief and historical origins.”
David F. Levi, Dean and Professor of Law, Duke University School of Law


‘A book to ponder, in which in less than 200 pages, Hazard and Pinto show us everything that American political and legal thinking owes to the authors of a continent whose European immigrants dreamed of achieving a utopia.
A.J. Bullier in Revue de droit international et de droit comparé (2013) 648’


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781780681443
Publisher: Intersentia
Publication date: 03/20/2013
Edition description: First Edition
Pages: 188
Product dimensions: 5.71(w) x 8.66(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Geoffrey Hazard (LL.B., Columbia, 1954, B.A.; Swarthmore, 1953; M.A., Yale University 1971; LL.D., Gonzaga University, 1985; LL.D., University of San Diego, 1985; LL.D., Swarthmore College, 1988; LL.D., Illinois Institute of Technology, 1990; LL.D., Nova University, 1992; LL.D., Republica Italiana (faculta di Urbino), 1998) is Emeritus Professor of Law at University of Pennsylvania. He is Miller Professor of Law, University of California Hastings College of the Law; Sterling Professor of Law Emeritus; Professor of Law at Yale University ( 1971-94) and Director Emeritus of the American Law Institute (1984-1999). He is member of the California State Bar and Pennsylvania Bar.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

What is Morality Good For? 2

Morality as a Source of Law 2

Foundations of Western Morality 3

Morality and Epistemology 4

Learning Morality 5

Changes in Morality 7

Public Discussion 8

Part I Matters of Principle

Chapter 2 Modern Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings 13

The Bork Nomination 15

"Political Issues" 16

Justice Lewis Powell 18

The Political Situation in the Bork Nomination 20

The Bork Hearings 22

Principle and Democracy 23

Chapter 3 A Matter of Principle 25

Principle, Rule and Ad Hoc Decision 25

But What, Exactly, is a Principle? 26

Conflicting Principles 27

"Neutral Principles" 28

Future Relevance 31

Suppressed Principles: Casuistry 32

Chapter 4 Ethics and Epistemology 35

The Courage to Decide 37

"Transparency" 39

Chapter 5 Portfolios of Principles 41

Complexity of Our Moral Traditions 41

The Democratic Ethos 43

Part II The Wisdom of the Ancients

Chapter 6 Judaism and Early Christianity 49

The Hebrew Bible 49

"God Created the Heaven and the Earth" 49

Covenant, Code and Contract 50

Community Law 51

Proverbs and "Cases" 51

Written Word 52

The Matter of Property 52

Judges 53

Interpretation 54

Early Christianity 55

Christian Attitude Toward Property 57

Radical Moral Philosophy? 57

Concepts of Christianity 58

Concepts of Community 60

Eternal Life, Eternal Responsibility 60

Chapter 7 Greek Thought and Roman Practice 61

Plato 62

Aristotle 64

Ethics 64

Proportionality 65

Telos and Rationality 66

Acquiring Virtue: Practice 66

Rhetoric 67

Roman Reception of Greek Thought 68

Cicero 69

Seneca 70

Part III The Church Triumphant

Chapter 8 Roman Empire 75

The Roman Church 76

St. Jerome and St. Augustine 78

Multiple Ills 80

Chapter 9 "Honeymoon" for Theology and Philosophy 83

Charlemagne 83

Proto-Nations, Papal Monarchy 85

Canon Law and Roman Law 87

Triumphalism Asserted and Resisted 88

Summa Theologica 90

Catholicism Defined 93

Part IV Revolution in Moral and Political Thought

Chapter 10 The Renaissance 97

"The" Renaissance 97

The Medieval Christian Mentalité 97

The English Bill of Rights 99

"Humanism" 102

Printing 103

The Crisis in Christianity 104

Problematic Faith 105

Chapter 11 Voices of Humanism 107

William of Ockham 107

Dante 108

Bartolus of Saxoferrato 109

Bartolomé de Las Casas 109

Montaigne 110

Erasmus 111

Machiavelli 111

Thomas More 113

Foundations of Modern Political Thought 113

Chapter 12 Old Order Imperfectly Restored 117

The Counter Reformation 117

Transformation of Christendom 118

The English Restorations 121

The Sugar Islands: Slavery 122

Foundations of the Old Order 122

Part V New Order

Chapter 13 Old Order in the New World 127

The Cycle of English Repression 128

God's Kingdom Redefined 130

Localism 130

Enlightenment Philosophy 131

"Free" Land 133

Free Enterprise 134

Coming of the Revolutionary War 136

Chapter 14 American Constitutions 137

The Geopolitical Situation 137

Localism 138

The Louisiana Purchase 139

Constitutional Development 140

The Declaration of Independence 140

New State Constitutions 141

The Articles of Confederation 143

Chapter 15 The Constitution of the United States 145

The Founding Fathers 145

The Labors of the Convention 146

Religion 146

The Difficult Issues 147

Slavery 147

Legislative Powers: "Necessary and Proper" 148

Executive Power 149

Judicial Power 149

The American Bill of Rights 150

Trial by Jury 151

The "Third Branch" 152

The Constitution Interpreted 153

Chapter 16 The Short Life of Virtue Politics 157

The Retirement of George Washington 157

Partisanship 158

Foreign Relations 159

Federal Agenda in the First Decades 160

The Slavery Issue 161

The Success of the Early Republic 161

Political Philosophy 162

The Role of the Federal Government 163

Chapter 17 "All Men Are Created Equal" 165

Morality and Status 165

Women 166

African-Americans 167

Property 169

Chapter 18 The Life of American Law 171

The Enduring Constitution 171

Local Religion 172

Equality and Freedom 173

Then and Now 174

Before the Civil War: De Tocqueville's America 174

The Civil War 176

Democracy? 178

Index 181

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