Liability and Responsibility
Essays in Law and Morals

This thought-provoking volume will help to shed light on the underexplored ground that lies between law and morals.

R. G. Frey (Edited by), Christopher W. Morris (Edited by)

9780521392167, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 29 March 1991

444 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.9 cm, 0.82 kg

"...a strong collection containing a number of fine papers by well-respected authors...the book as a whole is a worthy collection deserving the attention of legal and moral philosophers interested in questions of liability." Canadian Philosophical Review

This collection of contemporary essays by a group of well-known philosophers and legal theorists covers various topics in the philosophy of law, focusing on issues concerning liability in contract, tort and criminal law. The book is divided into four sections. The first provides a conceptual overview of the issues at stake in a philosophical discussion of liability and responsibility. The second, third and fourth sections present, in turn, more detailed explorations of the roles of notions of liability and responsibility in contracts, torts and punishment. The collection not only presents some of the most challenging work in legal philosophy, but it also demonstrates the interdisciplinary character of the field of philosophy of law, with contributors taking into account recent developments in economics, political science and rational choice theory. This thought-provoking volume will help to shed light on the underexplored ground that lies between law and morals.

Preface
List of contributors
Introduction R. G. Frey and Christopher W. Morris
Part I. Responsibility: Some Conceptual Problems: 1. Can responsibility be diminished? Anthony Kenny
2. Intention and side-effects John Finnis
3. Attempting the impossible Alan R. White
Part II. Consent, Choice and Contracts: 4. Beyond foreseeability: consequential damages in the law of contract Richard A. Epstein
5. Rights and remedies in a consent theory of contract Randy E. Barnett
6. A bargaining theory approach to default provisions and disclosure rules in contract law Jules L. Coleman, Douglas D. Heckathorn and Steven M. Maser
Part III. Risk, Compensation and Torts: 7. Theories of compensation Robert E. Goodin
8. Liberty, community and corrective justice Ernest J. Weinrib
9. Risk, causation, and harm Glen O. Robinson
Part IV. Punishment: 10. Retributive hatred: an essay on criminal liability and the emotions Jeffrie G. Murphy
11. A new theory of retribution Jean Hampton
12. Punishment and self-defense George P. Fletcher.

Subject Areas: Jurisprudence & philosophy of law [LAB], Social & political philosophy [HPS]