Let a Thousand Nomoi Bloom? Four Problems with Robert Cover's Nomos and Narrative
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Thom Brooks
Robert Cover's well known article Nomos and Narrative is a passionately argued defense of a new way of applying narrative to the philosophy and understanding of law. In my article, I argue that there are four major problems which lie at the heart of Cover's analysis. Each problem addresses a major area of his overall view of law. I try to demonstrate that in each case, if the problem is real, Cover's view of law should be rejected. The primary difficulty is analytical and argumentative sloppiness in Cover's arguments. My conclusion is simple: Cover's view of law is both underdeveloped and theoretically unsafe. It falls victim to each of the four problems I identify. As a result, his philosophy of law should be rejected tout court.
©2011 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Article
- The English Question, the English Constitution, and the English Mind
- `It's About Power': Law in the Fictional Setting of a Quaker Meeting and in the Everyday Reality of `Buffy the Vampire Slayer'
- Two Nomoi and a Clash of Narratives: The Story of the United Kingdom and the European Union
- Robert Cover's 'Nomos and Narrative': The Court as Philosopher King or Pontius Pilate?
- Let a Thousand Nomoi Bloom? Four Problems with Robert Cover's Nomos and Narrative
Articles in the same Issue
- Article
- The English Question, the English Constitution, and the English Mind
- `It's About Power': Law in the Fictional Setting of a Quaker Meeting and in the Everyday Reality of `Buffy the Vampire Slayer'
- Two Nomoi and a Clash of Narratives: The Story of the United Kingdom and the European Union
- Robert Cover's 'Nomos and Narrative': The Court as Philosopher King or Pontius Pilate?
- Let a Thousand Nomoi Bloom? Four Problems with Robert Cover's Nomos and Narrative
