Böcker av Frederick Schauer

How do we know what we think we know? The answer is evidence, but evidence is no simple thing. What counts as evidence in a scientific context or private dispute may not stand up in court. Frederick Schauer combines perspectives from law, statistics, psychology, and philosophy to assess the nature of evidence in the era of "fake news."

Many legal theorists maintain that laws are effective because we internalize them, obeying even when not compelled to do so. In a comprehensive reassessment of the role of force in law, Frederick Schauer disagrees, demonstrating that coercion, more than internalized thinking and behaving, distinguishes law from society's other rules.

When the law makes decisions about groups based on averages, the public benefit can be enormous. On the other hand, profiling and stereotyping may lead to injustice. As Schauer argues, there is good profiling and bad profiling. If we can effectively determine which is which, we stand to gain, not lose, a measure of justice.

Aimed at law students and upper-level undergraduates, this primer on legal reasoning is also an original exposition of basic legal concepts that scholars and lawyers will find stimulating. Schauer's analysis of what makes legal reasoning special will be a valuable guide for students and a challenge to a wide range of current academic theories.