David Ingram's Law: Key Concepts in Philosophy captures virtually the entire realm of modern thought that forms the philosophical basis for civilized society structured on the basis of constitutions and laws. Wonderfully researched and beautifully articulated, Ingram's volume covers an entire spectrum of dimensions that ranges from economic, political, international, ethical, and other aspects relating to modern society. This book is highly recommended for a general reader, for an introductory course on Law and Philosophy, or for the serious scholar. The book contains seven chapters that are further subdivided into various categories including, "1. What is Law", "2. Law and Morality", "3. Constitutional law: Structure, interpretation, and foundation", "4. Crime and Punishment", "5. Blind justice: Race, gender, sex and the limits of legal coercion", "6. Private law and the limits of economic rationality", "7. Conclusion: The rule of law as ideology – Marxist, Deconstructionist, and CLS challenges".

In Chapter One law is defined or lacks definition by drawing the reader's attention to three specific case studies dealing with Nazi Germany, the Nuremburg Trials following World War II and the American Invasion of Iraq. Ingram's does a fantastic job of bringing parameters to the study of law and questions law's legitimacy. This chapter raises many unanswered questions as to what makes law legitimate both domestically and on the international level and what moral or ethical values should be considered when evaluating it. A natural extension for legal discussion on morality and ethics follows in chapter two where morality is questioned or measured in its relationship to law. Interestingly, Ingram wonderfully details man's attempt to regulate and incorporate moral and ethical questions through codified laws. This chapter lays a good foundation for the rest of the book by asking the central question to the establishment of almost all codified law, constitutions, judicial decisions, and legal precedent both domestically and internationally. Against whose values of right and wrong and of ethical principles should laws be evaluated? The remainder of the book discusses various dimensions and how they measure up against this premise. Ingram builds an argument that culminates in the final chapter that argues that laws are best adapted, developed, and evaluated through various ideological questions and critiques that challenge certain dimensions of it and most often bring about a balance in its overall development and application. This book is highly recommended for the novice or the advanced scholar.

© 2007 Steven Napier

Steven Napier received his MA in Political Science from Marshall University in December, 2005. Currently he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Educational Studies at the University of Cincinnati with a concentration in educational and political theory.

Categories: Psychoanalysis