1.Introduction 1
2.The Social Functions of Courts 4
3.Foundational Principles 8
Objectivity 8
Support 9
Replicability 10
Responsiveness 12
4.Social Propositions 14
Moral Norms 14
Policies 26
Experiential Propositions 37
5.Standards for the Common Law 43
The Standards of Social Congruence and Systemic Consistency and the Model of Double Coherence 44
The Standard of Doctrinal Stability and the Real-World Model of the Common Law 47
6.Modes of Legal Reasoning 50
Reasoning from Precedent 50
Reasoning from Principle 76
Reasoning by Analogy 83
Reasoning from Doctrines Established in the Professional Literature 96
Reasoning from Hypotheticals 99
7.Overruling and Other Modes of Overturning 104
Overruling 104
Prospective Overruling 127
Transformation 132
Overriding 135
The Drawing of Inconsistent Distinctions 136
Noninterpretive Elements of the Common Law 140
8.The Theory of the Common Law 146
Text-based Theories of Law 146
Justification and the Content of the Law 151
The Generative Conception of the Common Law 154
Notes 163
Index 198