In contrast to many contemporary approaches to law Hegel's legal theory is not reductionist. he provides us with a rich and sharply focused image of the inner workings of legal relationships in the context of the abstract right, while also stressing the limitations of the abstract right, by situating it in the broader landscape of which itis but a part. Thus, although Hegel's integration of the individual, abstract right, civil society, and the collective processes of the state raises many vexing problems of its own. it furnishes a useful and in many respects attractive holistic alternative to the reductionist approaches that have dominated recent Anglo-American jurisprudence.
Hegel and Legal Theory brings together a series of essays and inquiries into Hegel's philosophy as it applies to legal questions. The essays concentrate on the significance of legal rights to the development of personality, the status of contract and property in Hegel's philosophy and various aspects of constitutional law. The editors are all law professors who have attempted to cross the line between law and philosophy in their work and are committed to the idea that Hegel is the future source of great energy.