New Essays on the Fish-Dworkin Debate

This book considers the seminal debate in contemporary jurisprudence, between Ronald Dworkin and Stanley Fish. It looks at the exchange between Dworkin and Fish, initiated in the 1980s, and analyses the role the exchange has played in the development of contemporary theories of interpretation, legal reasoning, and the nature of law.

The book encompasses 5 key themes of the debate, which led to some of the most intriguing aspects of Ronald Dworkin's legal and political philosophy - notably his interpretive theory of law and his account of moral objectivity. The collection brings together prominent legal theorists and one of the protagonists of the debate: Professor Stanley Fish.

Firstly the collection considers the debate in the context of metaphysics and interpretative justice. It goes on to look at the exchange through the prism of theory and practice before focusing on law as interpretative social practice, integrity in context, and theories of value and valuable aspects of law. Stanley Fish concludes the collection with a response to the contributors.