Cardozo Law Review
Abstract
What makes Francis Lieber's Legal and Political Hermeneutics intriguing is this early study's aim to unite two major traditions: that of American legal theory and that of German hermeneutic philosophy. On the face of it, these two powerful strains in the history of ideas should, each in its own right, clamor for such a convergence. Where indeed could a theory of interpretation find more fruitful material for application than in a sophisticated legal system, guided by a preponderant written constitution, evolving under the aegis of a Supreme Court that is eminently a hermeneutic institution? And where, conversely, could one hope to find an ongoing tradition that should more urgently call for a foundational general philosophy of understanding? Thus it must have seemed to the Berlin student, Lieber, when he came to the United States in 1827.
Keywords
Hermeneutics, War, Civil War, Legal History
Disciplines
Law | Legal History
Recommended Citation
Wolfgang Holdheim,
A Hermeneutic Thinker,
16
Cardozo L. Rev.
2153
(1995).
Available at:
https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/clr/vol16/iss6/7