Songs without music : aesthetic dimensions of law and justice / Desmond Manderson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Manderson, Desmond.

Series:

Philosophy, social theory, and the rule of law ; 7.

Philosophy, social theory, and the rule of law ; 7

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Law and aesthetics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (318 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley, Calif. : University of California Press, c2000.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

In this pathbreaking and provocative analysis of the aesthetics of law, the historian, legal theorist, and musician Desmond Manderson argues that by treating a text, legal or otherwise, as if it were merely a sequence of logical propositions, readers miss its formal and symbolic meanings. Creatively using music as a model, he demonstrates that law is not a sterile, rational structure, but a cultural form to be valued and enhanced through rhetoric and metaphors, form, images, and symbols. To further develop this argument, the book is divided into chapters, each of which is based on a different musical form. Law, for Manderson, should strive for neither coherence nor integrity. Rather, it is imperfectly realized, constantly reinterpreted, and always in flux. Songs without Music is written in an original, engaging, and often humorous style, and exhibits a deep knowledge of both law and music. It successfully traverses several disciplines and builds an original and persuasive argument for a legal aesthetic. The book will appeal to a broad readership in law, political theory, literary criticism, and cultural studies.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments

Prelude: Senses and Symbols in Aesthetic Experience

Fugue: A Prospectus for the Aesthetic Dimension

Motet: Statutes and Music-An Aesthetic Methodology

Requiem: Green Death-Aesthetic Interpretations and Influences in the Death Penalty

Variations on a Theme: Metaphors of the Boundary and the Boundaries of Metaphor

Quartet for the End of Time: Legal Theory Against the Law

Quodlibet: Just Aesthetics and the Aesthetics of Justice

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [265]-297) and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN:

9786612758737

9781282758735

128275873X

9780520922211

0520922212

9781597349062

1597349062

OCLC:

475931355