Beyond the Constitution [Paperback]

Hadley Arkes (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0691025541 | ISBN-13: 978-0691025544 | Publication Date: September 8, 1992

Hadley Arkes argues that it is necessary to move "beyond the Constitution," to the principles that stood antecedent to the text, if we are to understand the text and apply the Constitution to the cases that arise every day in our law.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The most illuminating reconsideration of natural rights jurisprudence produced in many years. -- Gary J. Jacobsohn, American Political Science Review



Arkes brilliantly reexamines the jurisprudence of natural rights.... He deftly chews up and spits out Ely, Dworkin, and Tribe with erudition, vision, and a witty style. His ideas are highly controversial, stimulating, and often very attractive. They are full of common sense. This is a beautifully written book, full of flashes of insight, sometimes provoking thunderous laughter. -- Appellate Practice Journal

From the Back Cover

"No thinker today brings greater intellectual verve and subtlety to delineating the connections between law and moral judgment than Hadley Arkes."--Richard John Neuhaus, President, Institute for Religion and Public Life

"The most significant work on the Constitution in the decade since John Ely's Democracy and Distrust . . . .Beyond the Constitution is 'must' reading."--Gerard V. Bradley, University of Illinois, College of Law

"That whose soul is brevity has been bestowed on Hadley Arkes in abundance . . . . [The] founding fathers would recognize in Arkes a kindred spirit. Here erudition and common sense are combined and bad arguments get what they deserve. One is reminded of Aristotle's definition of wit--well-bred insolence."--Ralph McInerny, University of Notre Dame

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (September 8, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691025541
• ISBN-13: 978-0691025544
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #288,939 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, November 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Beyond the Constitution (Paperback)

Hadley Arkes is, simply put, a national treasure and one of the great thinkers in America today. This illuminating look at constitutional law builds upon the good professor's previous writings on natural law. Simply put, Arkes rejects the notion that all of the answers to constitutional issues can be found in the text of that document. Instead, we must move to the principles that stood antecedent to its adoption. Professor Arkes feels that judges have lost the ability or willingness to engage in this task, which has led to an odd result: both liberal and conservative jurists alike now advocate an extreme form of moral relativism. The liberals advocate judicial activism to overturn legislation based on the fact that government cannot favor one view of right and wrong, while conservatives argue for judicial restraint on the basis that what is "right" is what the majority thinks at that time. It suffices to say that Arkes is hostile to both views, believing that right and wrong can be determined through reason. This leads to some very interesting discussions on such areas such as federalism and the wisdom of the Bill of Rights. Like all of Arkes's work, the writing is accessible to even those who are relatively new to the area of law and philosophy and never lacking in cleverness.