Download or read book Philosophical Dimensions Of The Constitution written by Diana T Meyers and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-06-18 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In theclosing decades of the eighteenth century, the newly independent colonies along the mid-Atlantic coast of North America commenced an unprecedented public debate concerning the principles of civil government. The debate culminated in 1787 with the Philadelphia convention where the United States Constitution was drafted and adopted. After rati

Download or read book Philosophical Foundations of Constitutional Law written by David Dyzenhaus and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Constitutional law has been and remains an area of intense philosophical interest, and yet the debate has taken place in a variety of different fields with very little to connect them. In a collection of essays bringing together scholars from several constitutional systems and disciplines, Philosophical Foundations of Constitutional Law unites the debate in a study of the philosophical issues at the very foundations of the idea of a constitution: why one might be necessary; what problems it must address; what problems constitutions usually address; and some of the issues raised by the administration of a constitutional regime. Although these issues of institutional design are of abiding importance, many of them have taken on new significance in the last few years as law-makers have been forced to return to first principles in order to justify novel practices and arrangements in their constitutional orders. Thus, questions of constitutional 'revolutions', challenges to the demands of the rule of law, and the separation of powers have taken on new and pressing importance. The essays in this volume address these questions, filling the gap in the philosophical analysis of constitutional law. The volume will provoke specialists in philosophy, politics, and law to develop new philosophically grounded analyses of constitutional law, and will be a valuable resource for graduate students in law, politics, and philosophy.

Download or read book Philosophy The Federalist and the Constitution written by Morton White and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1989-04-13 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here, Morton White presents the first synoptic view of the major philosophical ideas in The Federalist. Using the tools of philosophy and intellectual history, White extracts and examines the interlocking theory of knowledge, doctrine of normative ethics, psychology of motivation, and even metaphysics and theology, all of which were used in different degrees by the founding fathers in defense of the Constitution.

Download or read book The History Philosophy and Structure of the American Constitution written by Douglas W. Kmiec and published by . This book was released on 2014-07 with total page 525 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Philosophy of the American Constitution written by Paul Eidelberg and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Constitutionalism written by Larry Alexander and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2001-02-26 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A distinguished international team of legal theorists examine the issue of constitutionalism and pose such foundational questions as Why have a constitution? How do we know what the constitution of a country really is? How should a constitution be interpreted? Why should one generation feel bound by the constitution of an earlier one?The volume will be of particular importance to those in philosophy, law, political science and international relations interested in whether and what kinds of constitutions should be adopted in countries without them, and involved in debates about constitutional interpretation.

Download or read book Material Constitution written by Michael Cannon Rea and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 1997 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The only anthology available on material constitution, this book collects important recent work on well known puzzles in metaphysics and philosophy of mind. The extensive, clearly written introduction helps to make the essays accessible to a wide audience.

Download or read book Uncovering the Constitution s Moral Design written by Paul R. DeHart and published by University of Missouri Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The U.S. Constitution provides a framework for our laws, but what does it have to say about morality? Paul DeHart ferrets out that document's implicit moral assumptions as he revisits the notion that constitutions are more than merely practical institutional arrangements. In Uncovering the Constitution's Moral Design, he seeks to reveal, elaborate, and then evaluate the Constitution's normative framework to determine whether it is philosophically sound-and whether it makes moral assumptions that correspond to reality. Rejecting the standard approach of the intellectual historian, DeHart for the first time in constitutional theory applies the method of inference to the best explanation to ascertaining our Constitution's moral meaning. He distinguishes the Constitution's intention from the subjective intentions of the framers, teasing out presuppositions that the document makes about the nature of sovereignty, the common good, natural law, and natural rights. He then argues that the Constitution constrains popular sovereignty in a way that entails a real common good, transcendent of human willing and promotive of human well-being, but he points out that while the Constitution presupposes a real common good, it also implies a natural law that prescribes the common good. In critiquing previous attempts at describing and evaluating the Constitution's normative framework, DeHart demonstrates that the Constitution's moral framework corresponds largely to classical moral theory. He challenges the logical coherency of modern moral philosophy, normative positivism, and other theories that the Constitution has been argued to embody and offers a groundbreaking methodology that can be applied to uncovering the normative framework of other constitutions as well. This cogently argued study shows that the Constitution presupposes a natural law to which human law must conform, and it takes a major step in resolving current debates over the Constitution's normative framework while remaining detached from the social issues that divide today's political arena. Uncovering the Constitution's Moral Design is an original approach to the Constitution that marks a significant contribution to understanding the moral underpinnings of our form of government.

Download or read book Framed for Posterity written by Ralph Ketcham and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ketcham delves not only into the meaning of the documents but also into the connotations of the framers' vocabulary, the reasoning behind both accepted and rejected propositions, arguments for and against, and unstated assumptions. In his analysis, the fundamental or enduring principles are republicanism, liberty, public good, and federalism (as part of the broader doctrine of balance of powers).

Download or read book The Constitution of Equality written by Thomas Christiano and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2010-06-10 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the ethical basis of democracy? And what reasons do we have to go along with democratic decisions even when we disagree with them? And when do we have reason to say that we may justly ignore democratic decisions? These questions must be answered if we are to have answers to some of the most important questions facing our global community, which include whether there is a human right to democracy and whether we must attempt to spread democracy throughout the globe. This book provides a philosophical account of the moral foundations of democracy and of liberalism. It shows how democracy and basic liberal rights are grounded in the principle of public equality, which tells us that in the establishment of law and policy we must treat persons as equals in ways they can see are treating them as equals. The principle of public equality is shown to be the fundamental principle of social justice. This account enables us to understand the nature and roles of adversarial politics and public deliberation in political life. It gives an account of the grounds of the authority of democracy. It also shows when the authority of democracy runs out. The author shows how the violations of democratic and liberal rights are beyond the legitimate authority of democracy, how the creation of persistent minorities in a democratic society, and the failure to ensure a basic minimum for all persons weaken the legitimate authority of democracy.

Download or read book The Living Constitution written by David A. Strauss and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-05-19 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia once remarked that the theory of an evolving, "living" Constitution effectively "rendered the Constitution useless." He wanted a "dead Constitution," he joked, arguing it must be interpreted as the framers originally understood it. In The Living Constitution, leading constitutional scholar David Strauss forcefully argues against the claims of Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Robert Bork, and other "originalists," explaining in clear, jargon-free English how the Constitution can sensibly evolve, without falling into the anything-goes flexibility caricatured by opponents. The living Constitution is not an out-of-touch liberal theory, Strauss further shows, but a mainstream tradition of American jurisprudence--a common-law approach to the Constitution, rooted in the written document but also based on precedent. Each generation has contributed precedents that guide and confine judicial rulings, yet allow us to meet the demands of today, not force us to follow the commands of the long-dead Founders. Strauss explores how judicial decisions adapted the Constitution's text (and contradicted original intent) to produce some of our most profound accomplishments: the end of racial segregation, the expansion of women's rights, and the freedom of speech. By contrast, originalism suffers from fatal flaws: the impossibility of truly divining original intent, the difficulty of adapting eighteenth-century understandings to the modern world, and the pointlessness of chaining ourselves to decisions made centuries ago. David Strauss is one of our leading authorities on Constitutional law--one with practical knowledge as well, having served as Assistant Solicitor General of the United States and argued eighteen cases before the United States Supreme Court. Now he offers a profound new understanding of how the Constitution can remain vital to life in the twenty-first century.

Download or read book The History Philosophy and Structure of the American Constitution written by Douglas Kmiec and published by . This book was released on 2014-07 with total page 574 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: View or download the free 2015 Online Supplement for this product. The Fourth Edition of The History, Philosophy, and Structure of the American Constitution is designed for a two- or three-semester-hour course on the historical and philosophical antecedents as well as the case law of the separation of powers and federalism. It links the "roots" of the American government to its structural design. The book is designed to meet the needs of professors of political science, government, history, and public policy by supplying a casebook that is at once accessible to study by virtue of generous chapter overviews, skillful case selection and editing, and extended introductions and following notes and questions. In addition, out of abundant respect for the rich intellectual tradition that exists within the university, this book fully reflects that Supreme Court cases emerge from history, and history itself reflects centuries of political and philosophical understanding. This book is supplemented annually. A Teacher's Manual is available to professors. This book also is available in a three-hole punched, alternative loose-leaf version printed on 8.5 x 11 inch paper with wider margins and with the same pagination as the hardbound book.

Download or read book The Philosophy of the American Constitution written by Paul Eidelberg and published by . This book was released on with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Unfinished Constitution written by John Arthur and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book We Hold These Truths written by Mortimer Jerome Adler and published by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers. This book was released on 1987 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A discussion of the ideas behind the U.S. Constitution and how they have been interpreted both in the past and at present.

Download or read book What Should Constitutions Do written by Ellen Frankel Paul and published by . This book was released on 2014-05-14 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ""In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men," James Madison wrote, "the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself."1 The task of a constitution is to solve this difficulty by setting out the structure of the government and establishing its powers and limits. But how extensive should those powers be, and where should their limits lie? What are the legitimate functions of government, and what is their proper justification? Should a nation's constitution aim at securing the general welfare of its citizens, and, if so, how is the general welfare to be defined? What protections should a constitution afford to individual rights, and how should these rights be specified? The essays in this volume--written by prominent philosophers, political scientists, and legal scholars--address these questions and explore related issues. Some essays examine the basic purposes of constitutions and their status as fundamental law. Some deal with specific constitutional provisions: they ask, for example, which branches of government should have the authority to conduct foreign policy, or how the judiciary should be organized, or what role a preamble should play in a nation's founding document. Other essays explore questions of constitutional design: they consider the advantages of a federal system of government, or the challenges of designing a constitution for a pluralistic society--or they ask what form of constitution best promotes personal liberty and economic prosperity"--

Download or read book A Theory of Liberty written by H. N. Hirsch and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-11-21 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1992. A Theory of Liberty seeks to change the way we think about the American constitution. The focus of the book is the legal status of minority groups in the United States a topic at the top of the current political agenda. Arguing that minority rights were vitally important to the founding fathers, H. N. Hirsch presents an original and provocative look at issues such as affirmative action, abortion, and the rights of children, lesbians and gay men, mental patients, and the physically disabled. In an analysis which blends history, philosophy, law, and social science, Hirsch attacks both liberals who hide from history and conservatives who push for "original intent." He argues that we can remain faithful to the most basic intent of the founding fathers without losing our ability to reinterpret the Constitution against the backdrop of contemporary social "facts." Hirsch exposes the errors and hypocrisy of the current Supreme Court majority, and argues that the Constitution’s liberty can and should be interpreted to protect the rights of minority groups. Timely and controversial, this title offers a challenging look at some of America’s most basic ideological commitments, and will appeal to anyone concerned with the current state of American law or the treatment of minority groups.