Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 5 of 5
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Fairness Model Of Legal Institutions, James M. Donovan
The Fairness Model Of Legal Institutions, James M. Donovan
Law Faculty Books and Chapters
If any group is to endure over time, individual frustrations, while inevitable, must be usually experienced as acceptable, or at least tolerable. Failing that, little would prevent the losers in these conflicts from leaving or revolting, which would be cumulatively debilitating to the group. As opposed to holding law’s job to impose order and police infringers, the second approach suggests that finding the balance between group and individual desires is the ‘major difficulty of all law—the problem of really getting a fresh start in relations between litigants after disposition of a trouble-case. This is the problem not only of keeping …
Reciprocity As A Species Of Fairness: Completing Malinowski’S Theory Of Law, James M. Donovan
Reciprocity As A Species Of Fairness: Completing Malinowski’S Theory Of Law, James M. Donovan
Law Faculty Books and Chapters
The present essay seeks to recast Malinowski’s arguments grounding law in the social phenomena of reciprocity in light of current information. Reciprocity is argued to be a higher order construct built out of more basic influences, the most relevant of which are the inherent fairness evaluations humans perform in contexts of distributive justice. Deconstructing Malinowski’s claims into these elemental components preserves the original insight that explains the civil law in terms of social reciprocity. More importantly, this analysis generates a description for the criminal law in these same terms, something Malinowski himself was unable to achieve. The outcome realizes his …
Introduction, James M. Donovan
Introduction, James M. Donovan
Law Faculty Books and Chapters
The Chosen People, John Allegro’s attempt to uncover the historical sources for the world’s enduring anti-Semitism, bears the marks of his wish to appeal to two disparate readerships. Allegro’s fluent command of the relevant primary literature is more than sufficient reason for his arguments to be taken seriously. He knows whereof he speaks. He spins the details, however, into a story more akin to a gripping potboiler of palace intrigue and political machination than to a dry recitation of long-forgotten events. Relying upon in-text citations, Allegro was scolded by reviewers for eschewing the fully footnoted scholarly apparatus usually found …
Legal Anthropology: An Introduction, James M. Donovan
Legal Anthropology: An Introduction, James M. Donovan
Law Faculty Books and Chapters
LEGAL ANTHROPOLOGY: AN INTRODUCTION offers an initial overview of the challenging debates surrounding the cross-cultural analysis of legal systems. Equal parts review and criticism, the author outlines the historical landmarks in the development of the discipline, identifying both strengths and weaknesses of each stage and contribution. LEGAL ANTHROPOLOGY suggests that future progress can be made by treating as the distinguishing feature of law the perceived fairness of structural inequalities of social systems, rather than the traditional emphasis upon sanction or dispute resolution.
Defining Religion, James M. Donovan
Defining Religion, James M. Donovan
Law Faculty Books and Chapters
The charge of this essay was to review definitional trends of "religion." Four major types were discussed: content, behavior, mental, and functional. While each type has considerations that suggest its relevance, all are incomplete when examined in isolation. Consequently, two approaches combining these types were briefly discussed: conjunctive and generative. Judging the former inferior to the latter, it was suggested that only the functional definitions are capable of being truly generative. The most inclusive definition of religion, therefore, will be one that is generative functional. Clues as to what such a definition might look like are found first in the …