Can the arguments of lawyers be rationally persuasive even if logically inconclusive? If not what becomes of the supposed security of living under the rule of law? This book answers these issues by offering a theory of legal reasoning and interpretation that addresses central problems in understanding the nature of law and the value of legality.

Neil MacCormick was formerly the Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations (1972-2008) at the University of Edinburgh. he was appointed Queen's Counsel (QC) honoris causa, England and Wales in 1999 and was knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2001 in recognition of services to scholarship in Law. He is the holder of the Royal Medal for Humanities and Social Sciences, Royal Society of Edinburgh 2004. From 1999-2004 he served as Member of the European Parliament.

• 1: Prologue: Institutional Theory and the Lawmaker's Perspective


• 2: The Rule of Law and the Arguable Character of Law


• 3: On the Legal Syllogism


• 4: Defending Deductivism


• 5: Universals and Particulars


• 6: Judging by Consequences


• 7: Arguing about Interpretation


• 8: Using Precedents


• 9: Being Reasonable


• 10: Coherence, Principles, and Analogies


• 11: Legal Narratives


• 12: Arguing Defeasibly


• 13: Judging Mistakenly?