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A Theory of Justice: Published in 1971, it shifted the landscape of normative legal arguments by introducing principles grounded in fairness.
Two Principles of Justice:
- Liberty Principle: Each person has an equal right to basic liberties, which are compatible with similar liberties for others.
- Difference Principle: Social and economic inequalities should be arranged to benefit the least advantaged members of society.
Key Concepts Introduced:
- Original Position: A hypothetical scenario where individuals choose principles of justice without knowledge of their own social status.
- Veil of Ignorance: A method of determining the morality of issues by considering them from an unbiased standpoint, free from personal interests.
- Reflective Equilibrium: The process of adjusting beliefs about justice and ethical values through careful reflection and examination of principles.

Law as Integrity: Dworkin introduced the notion that law should be interpreted based on principles of morality and fairness rather than solely on rules.
Concepts of "Fit" and "Justification":
- Fit: Legal interpretations should align with established legal practices and precedents.
- Justification: Advocated for the best moral justification when multiple interpretations could fit the law, emphasizing that law should reflect community values.

Lack of Resolution: Theoretical debates during this period yielded no clear victors, leading to fragmentation within the field.
Emergence of Antitheoretical Movements:
- Shift from normative to positive law, focusing on empirical studies and economic analysis.
- Rise of contextual approaches including feminist legal theory and critical race theory, emphasizing the social contexts of law and its effects on marginalized groups.
Pragmatism's Rise: Legal pragmatism emerged, prioritizing the practical application of laws over theoretical abstraction.

Purpose: Aimed at first-year law students to help them understand legal pragmatism and its significance within legal theory.

Philosophical Pragmatism: Associated with philosophers such as Charles Sanders Pierce, William James, and John Dewey, emphasizing practical rather than absolute notions of truth.
- William James's Perspective: Truth is not static but is seen as helpful/unhelpful based on its practical applications.

Practical Judgment: Stresses that legal reasoning should consider practical implications rather than solely relying on theoretical ideals.
Particularism: Advocates for specific judgments about individual cases to take precedence over general theories; emphasizes the importance of real-world contexts.
Antitheory: Rejects overly simplistic 'top-down' legal theories, focusing instead on concrete, contextual judgments that take into account the nuances of each situation.

Legal Pluralism: Argues that no single legal theory should dominate; judges should draw from multiple perspectives based on the specific legal issues they encounter.
Constitutional Pluralism: Introduced by Robert Bobbitt, where norms are validated through a variety of legal discursive modalities, allowing for diverse interpretations.

Caution Against Inconsistency: Highlights potential misuse where pragmatism could be leveraged to sidestep substantive objections (termed "sloppy pragmatism").
True Pragmatism: Should connect to broader metatheoretical frameworks rather than permitting inconsistency in legal reasoning.

Ambiguity of Pragmatism: Both philosophical and legal pragmatism represent various related ideas and approaches rather than being strictly defined positions, reflecting the complexity of legal thought and practical application.