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Jurisprudence

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Legal History

Wouter H. de Been

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Full-Text Articles in Jurisprudence

What Piece Of Work Is Man: Frans De Waal And Pragmatist Naturalism, Wouter H. De Been, Sanne Taekema Dec 2011

What Piece Of Work Is Man: Frans De Waal And Pragmatist Naturalism, Wouter H. De Been, Sanne Taekema

Wouter H. de Been

Frans de Waal has questioned a central premise of liberal theory, i.e. that human beings are primarily defined by selfishness and rationality. This premise does not conform to what we know from research about our primate origins - namely that primates are gregarious and guided by sympathy and empathy. De Waal argues we should return to Adam Smith’s moral theory and his focus on sympathy and empathy. We believe a return to pragmatism would be more appropriate. Pragmatism largely conforms to the view of human nature that De Waal’s research now supports. We argue that pragmatism can provide a more …


American Legal Realism: Sound And Fury Signifying Nothing?, Wouter H. De Been Jan 2011

American Legal Realism: Sound And Fury Signifying Nothing?, Wouter H. De Been

Wouter H. de Been

No abstract provided.