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Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

1997

Adaptive systems

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Law

Thinking Of Environmental Law As A Complex Adaptive System: How To Clean Up The Environment By Making A Mess Of Environmental Law, J.B. Ruhl Jan 1997

Thinking Of Environmental Law As A Complex Adaptive System: How To Clean Up The Environment By Making A Mess Of Environmental Law, J.B. Ruhl

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This article is the fourth in my series of articles exploring the application of complex adaptive systems (CAS) theory to legal systems. It applies the model built in the three prior installments (in the Duke, Vanderbilt, and UC-Davis law reviews) to the specific context of environmental law. The work describes the subject matter of environmental law as a CAS and explains why environmental law thus must "think like a complex adaptive system" in order to accomplish its objectives.


The Arrow Of The Law In Modern Administrative States: Using Complexity Theory To Reveal The Diminishing Returns And Increasing Risks The Burgeoning Of Law Poses To Society, J.B. Ruhl, Harold J. Ruhl Jr. Jan 1997

The Arrow Of The Law In Modern Administrative States: Using Complexity Theory To Reveal The Diminishing Returns And Increasing Risks The Burgeoning Of Law Poses To Society, J.B. Ruhl, Harold J. Ruhl Jr.

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This article is the third in my series of articles exploring the application of complex adaptive systems (CAS) theory to legal systems. Building on the model outlined in the first two installments (in the Duke and Vanderbilt law reviews), this work examines the "arrow" or direction of the legal system in the context of the administrative state. Drawing from diverse work such as Burke's study of history's nonlinearity and Tainter's classic study of the collapse of complex civilizations, we argue that the administrative state is becoming too resource intensive and burdened by a proliferation of rules.