The late Neil MacCormick was Regius Professor of Public Law at Edinburgh University since 1972 where he served various terms as Dean of the Faculty of Law, Provost of the Faculty Group of Law and Social Sciences, and Vice-Principal (International). His previous posts were at Balliol College (Fellow and Tutor in Jurisprudence 1967-72) and St Andrew's University (Lecturer in Jurisprudence, Queen's College Dundee, 1965-7)
From 1999 to 2004 he served as Member of the European Parliament (Scotland, Scottish National Party/European Free Alliance), and had the unusual experience of participating in the Constitutional Convention that drafted the currently derailed constitution for Europe.
In 2007, Neil MacCormick was elected President of the 'IVR', the International association for the Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy. This marks his rare international distinction as a leader in philosophy of law World-wide.

• Preface


• Table of cases


• Introduction


• 1: Incentives and Reasons


• 2: Values and Human Nature


• 3: Right and Wrong


• 4: Questions of Trust


• 5: Autonomy and Reason


• 6: Obedience, Freedom and Engagement - or Utility?


• 7: Society, Property, and Commerce


• 8: On Justice


• 9: Using Freedom Well


• 10: Judging: Legal Cases and Moral Questions


• 11: Practical Reason, Law, and State


• Index

This book offers a clear account of the philosophy of practical reason in ethics and legal theory. It explains how reasons relate to actions, the nature of values and their relation to reasons, and the relation of morality to legal reasoning. It provides an ideal introduction to these issues for students of moral philosophy and jurisprudence.