Introduction to the Philosophy of Law

Roscoe Pound ranks as one of the most prominent legal scholars in the development of American jurisprudence.

In An Introduction to the Philosophy of Law he shows how philosophy has been a powerful instrument throughout the history of law. The function of legal philosophy, writes Pound, is to rationally formulate a general theory of law which conforms to the interests, the general security first and foremost, of society.

Marshall DeRosa writes in his new introduction that in the light of twentieth-century judicial politics, Roscoe Pound's philosophy of law has prevailed to a significant extent. This book's relevance to appreciating the development of the American legal system in all its complexities - including liability law, contract law, and property law - is in itself notable.

But, in terms of understanding the twentieth-century development of the American rule of law, An Introduction to the Philosophy of Law is indispensable. It will make an invaluable addition to the personal libraries of legal theorists, philosophers, political scientists, and historians of American law.

• Issued as a Yale paperback in 1959 and reprinted thereafter
• Revised Hardback edition published in 1954
• Original published in 1922