Law and the Passions

<p>Engaging with the underlying social context in which emotions are a motivational</p><p>force, <em>Law and the Passions</em> provides a uniquely inclusive commentary on the significance</p><p>and influence of emotions in the history and continuing development of</p><p>legal judgment, policy formation, legal practice and legal dogma.</p><p>Although the emotionality of the law and the use of emotional tropes in legal</p><p>discourse has become an established focus in recent scholarship, the extent to</p><p>which emotion and the passions have informed decision-making, decision-avoidance</p><p>and legal reasoning – rather than as simply an adjunct – is still a matter for</p><p>critical analysis. As evidenced in a range of illustrative legal cases, emotions have</p><p>been instrumental in the evolution of key legal principles and have produced many</p><p>controversial judgments. Addressing the latent influence of fear, hate, love and</p><p>compassion, the book explores the mutability of law and its transformative power,</p><p>especially when faced with fluctuating social mores. The textual nature of law and</p><p>the impact of literary forms on legal actors are also critically examined to further</p><p>elucidate the idea of law-making as both rational and emotional, and significantly</p><p>as an essential activity of the empathic imagination. To this end, it is suggested</p><p>that critical scholarship on law, the passions and emotions not only advances our</p><p>understanding of the inner workings of law, it constitutes a fundamental part of</p><p>our moral reasoning, and has the capacity to articulate the conditions for a more</p><p>dynamic, adaptable, ethical and effective legal institution.</p><p>This interdisciplinary book will be of interest to scholars and students in the</p><p>fields of law and literature, legal theory, legal philosophy, law and the humanities,</p><p>legal aesthetics, sociology of law, politics, law and policy, human rights, general jurisprudence</p><p>and social justice, as well as cultural studies.</p>