From a Realist Point of View

Reviews / Votes

[A] very good book, indeed and... a significant milestone in contemporary general jurisprudence. * Riccardo Guastini, Emeritus Professor of the Philosophy of Law and Director of the Tarello Institute for Philosophy of Law, University of Genoa, Italy * Brian Leiter stands today as both the foremost exponent of the American realist tradition and the preeminent scholar of legal realism in its broader theoretical landscape. This volume constitutes not merely a defence of realism, but an erudite and systematically reasoned vindication of its core claims-crafted in such a way as to challenge and potentially persuade even those jurists and legal theorists who have long remained outside the realist paradigm. By situating realism in critical and sustained engagement with the canonical figures of modern jurisprudence-from Kelsen to Ross, to Hart, to Dworkin-it succeeds in securing for the realist project a more rigorous, durable, and philosophically coherent foundation. A great book! * Michel Troper, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Paris-Nanterre, France * In this outstanding collection, Leiter widens and deepens his naturalistic approach to problems in law, politics, and morality. He insistently asks: How do things here really work? His answers are always illuminating and, at times, uncomfortable. With analytic precision and forensic insight, Leiter hauls us before the bar of realism, shreds our moralizing defences, and sends us down to the hard labour of 'discursive hygiene'. Read these essays and see if you remain confident of your innocence. I doubt it. A terrific book. * Leslie Green, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy of Law, University of Oxford, UK * Written by the most sophisticated living legal realist, From a Realist Point of View provides a deeply compelling reinterpretation of realist thought... Leiter is also an eminent legal philosopher and the signal contribution of this book lies in its articulation and defense of a philosophically robust vision of realist thought that is Leiter's own, interlaced with incisive treatment of core questions in general jurisprudence, moral philosophy, and political theory. * Paul B. Miller, Robert and Marion Short Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame, USA * A masterful, wide-ranging, and original book. It combines jurisprudence, political theory, metaethics, and the history of philosophy with rare clarity, and dissolves the moralising myths and pieties that cloud those disciplines. Brian Leiter's unique achievement is to show, with force and care, how philosophical naturalism, legal realism, and political realism belong together, and why that matters to understand how law and politics work in the real world. Incisive, fearless, and indispensable * Enzo Rossi, Associate Professor of Political Theory, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands * The book is a brilliant synthesis, recapitulation, and further advancement of the ideas that Leiter has been defending in his last 15 years of intense philosophical work... Leiter's book is well-argued, always sustained by a detailed, inventive and thought-provoking analysis, and it will no doubt encourage new patterns of inquiry in legal and moral philosophy. Anyone interested in contemporary legal theory will benefit from this book's careful review of many important jurisprudential topics, and from its subtle arguments advancing the author's own philosophical proposal. * Giorgio Pino, Professor of Philosophy of Law, Roma Tre University, Italy * This collection of essays showcases Brian Leiter at the top of his game... With characteristic rigor, clarity, and wit, Leiter deconstructs moralistic fantasies and elaborates considerably on the research programme first defended in Naturalizing Jurisprudence. Along the way, legal realism receives its most sophisticated philosophical defense to date. * Dimitrios Tsarapatsanis, Senior Lecture in Law, University of York, UK *