Understanding Jurisprudence

Written with students in mind, Professor Raymond Wacks brings legal theory to life through his lucid and entertaining style. The author has crafted a manageable guide, balancing concise introductions to the key theorists and core issues such as punishment and rights without ignoring the subtleties of the subject. Seminal quotes from leading scholars are included to help students recognise the impact of their work, while extensive further reading suggestions at the end of each chapter invite students to explore the broad range of literature available on central topics. Each chapter concludes with a series of critical questions designed to encourage reader to think analytically about the law and the key debates which surround it. This book is accompanied by online resources which includes multiple-choice questions with instant feedback to give students the chance to test their understanding.Key Features of this Edition:An extremely readable and interesting account for all law students, offering the ideal support for a legal theory module, as well as providing valuable context for the study of law in generalWritten by an experienced academic and author, the text explains complex ideas with clarity, without avoiding the subtleties of the subjectExposes students to a broad range of key theorists and concepts, along with issues such as punishment and rights which are treated thematicallyFeatures extracts and extensive further reading to introduce and explain the central scholarly works, ideas, and commentaries which shape legal theory, providing the ideal base for further studySelf-test questions appear at the end of chapters and multiple-choice questions are hosted online to help students test their command of jurisprudenceNew to this Edition:Includes expanded chapters on rights, obedience to law, theories of justice, and feminist theoriesDiscussions of the rule of law, global justice, virtue ethics, human and animal rights, the economic analysis of law, and postmodernist theories have been revisedSuggested further reading lists and questions at the end of each chapter have been updated to reflect changes in the chapters