MY PHILOSOPHY OF LAW - POUND

“The law must be stable, but it must not stand still” judges must decide in a way that supports societal
growth. He contended for “sociological jurisprudence” as opposed to “mechanical jurisprudence”
(POUND)

Pound argues for a very practical / pragmatic approach to law by asserting that it allows free will to
obtain maximum happiness for itself while reconciling happiness for all (CITE ROUSSEAU’S SOCIAL
CONTRACT)

For Pound one key element of law is to “adjust relations and order conduct” within a “politically
organized society”. He contends that the law does not create interests but recognize and limit these
interests within defined framework to achieve “adjust relations and order conduct”.

Pound refutes absolutist view of law consisting of fixed and rigid rules. He considers law based on
predictable principles and processes but not absolute rules. (EX ABOLITION OF DEATH PENALTY)

LOGIC IN THE LAW – GROSSI AND ROTOLO

deontic logic is “[. . . ] essentially concerned with the representation and analysis of reasoning about a
fundamental distinction that arises naturally in law: the distinction between what ideally is the case on
the one hand, and what actually is the case on the other.”

One key idea of most logical accounts of the law is that legal reasoning is defeasible, namely, that we
may have reasons to abandon certain legal conclusions even though there was no apparent mistake in
previously supporting them. Defeasibility in legal norms breaks down into the following issues:

1. conflicts – incompatible legal effects

2. exclusionary norms – some norms provide one way to explicitly undercut other norms

3. contributory reasons -