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Locating Authority In Law, And Avoiding The Authoritarianism Of Textualism, Patrick Mckinley Brennan
Locating Authority In Law, And Avoiding The Authoritarianism Of Textualism, Patrick Mckinley Brennan
Patrick McKinley Brennan
Much modern jurisprudence attempts to move the locus of authority away from people with authority in order to locate it instead, for example, in rules or texts. This article argues that authority, wherever it exists, is a quality of the actions of persons. The article mounts this argument by showing how Justice Scalia’s textualism is the legal analogue of a largely discredited form of “Christian positivism,” one that leads to a form of authoritarianism. The article goes on to argue that authorianism can be avoided only by individuals’ and their communities’ becoming authoritative, including in the making and enforcement of …
What's The Matter With You Catholics? Soundings In Catholic Social Thought (Review Of Mary Ann Glendon, Traditions In Turmoil, 2006) (Invited), Patrick Mckinley Brennan
What's The Matter With You Catholics? Soundings In Catholic Social Thought (Review Of Mary Ann Glendon, Traditions In Turmoil, 2006) (Invited), Patrick Mckinley Brennan
Patrick McKinley Brennan
This review essay of Mary Ann Glendon’s Traditions in Turmoil (2006) explores such topics as tradition, moral discourse, human rights, subsidiarity, natural law, the common good, civil society, and constitutional and statutory interpretation. In doing so, it provides an introduction both to Catholic social thought and to the thought of Bernard Lonergan.