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Holmes's 'Path Of The Law' As Non-Analytic Jurisprudence, Dan Priel
Holmes's 'Path Of The Law' As Non-Analytic Jurisprudence, Dan Priel
Dan Priel
Despite being widely read and the source of numerous oft-cited aphorisms “The Path of the Law” remains elusive. To put the matter starkly: What is its thesis? Does it have one? How can we reconcile its matter-of-factly opening pages and its almost mystical conclusion? For some this was just proof that Holmes was a superficial and contradictory thinker; for others it suggested that “Path” should be read a series of interesting insights and arresting phrases, and nothing more. In this essay I suggest reading Holmes’s famous speech as an essay with a thesis about, well, the path of the law. …