Homo Juridicus: On the Anthropological Function of the Law
A provocative investigation of how law shapes everyday life

In this groundbreaking work, French legal scholar Alain Supiot examines the relationship of society to legal discourse.

He argues that the law is how justice is implmented in secular society, but it is not simply a technique to be manipulated at will: it is also an expression of the core beliefs of the West. We must recognize its universalizing, dogmatic nature and become receptive to other interpretations from non-Western cultures to help us avoid the clash of civilizations.

In Homo Juridicus, Supiot deconstructs the illusion of a world that has become “flat” and undifferentiated, regulated only by supposed “laws” of science and the economy, and peopled by contract-makers driven only by the calculation of their individual interests. Such a liberal perspective is nothing but the flipside of the notion of the withering away of law and the state, promoted this time not under the banner of the struggle between classes, but rather in the name of the free competition between sovereign individuals.

Supiot’s exploration of the development of the legal subject—the individual as formed through a dense web of contracts and laws—is set to become a classic work of social theory.
1100872362
Homo Juridicus: On the Anthropological Function of the Law
A provocative investigation of how law shapes everyday life

In this groundbreaking work, French legal scholar Alain Supiot examines the relationship of society to legal discourse.

He argues that the law is how justice is implmented in secular society, but it is not simply a technique to be manipulated at will: it is also an expression of the core beliefs of the West. We must recognize its universalizing, dogmatic nature and become receptive to other interpretations from non-Western cultures to help us avoid the clash of civilizations.

In Homo Juridicus, Supiot deconstructs the illusion of a world that has become “flat” and undifferentiated, regulated only by supposed “laws” of science and the economy, and peopled by contract-makers driven only by the calculation of their individual interests. Such a liberal perspective is nothing but the flipside of the notion of the withering away of law and the state, promoted this time not under the banner of the struggle between classes, but rather in the name of the free competition between sovereign individuals.

Supiot’s exploration of the development of the legal subject—the individual as formed through a dense web of contracts and laws—is set to become a classic work of social theory.
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Homo Juridicus: On the Anthropological Function of the Law

Homo Juridicus: On the Anthropological Function of the Law

Homo Juridicus: On the Anthropological Function of the Law

Homo Juridicus: On the Anthropological Function of the Law

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Overview

A provocative investigation of how law shapes everyday life

In this groundbreaking work, French legal scholar Alain Supiot examines the relationship of society to legal discourse.

He argues that the law is how justice is implmented in secular society, but it is not simply a technique to be manipulated at will: it is also an expression of the core beliefs of the West. We must recognize its universalizing, dogmatic nature and become receptive to other interpretations from non-Western cultures to help us avoid the clash of civilizations.

In Homo Juridicus, Supiot deconstructs the illusion of a world that has become “flat” and undifferentiated, regulated only by supposed “laws” of science and the economy, and peopled by contract-makers driven only by the calculation of their individual interests. Such a liberal perspective is nothing but the flipside of the notion of the withering away of law and the state, promoted this time not under the banner of the struggle between classes, but rather in the name of the free competition between sovereign individuals.

Supiot’s exploration of the development of the legal subject—the individual as formed through a dense web of contracts and laws—is set to become a classic work of social theory.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781786630629
Publisher: Verso Books
Publication date: 04/25/2017
Sold by: Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format: eBook
Pages: 272
File size: 471 KB

About the Author

Alain Supiot is Professor at the Collège de France. His previous books include Beyond Employment: Changes in Work, The Future of Labour Law in Europe, and The Spirit of Philadelphia.

Table of Contents

Prologue vii

Part 1 Legal Dogma: Our Founding Beliefs 1

1 The Human Being as imago Dei 3

The Normative Institution of the Human Being 4

The Legal Foundations of the Person 10

The Individual, Unique and Identical 13

The Subject, Sovereign and Subjected 17

The Person, Spirit and Incarnate 21

The Third Party as Guarantor of Identity 27

Towards Total Emancipation: Humanity Decomposed 29

2 Law's Dominion: dura lex, sed lex 41

Variations on a Mode of Thought 42

The Human Mastery over Laws 51

The Human Being Explained by Laws 59

3 The Binding Force of the Word: pacta sunt servanda 78

The 'Civilizing Mission' of the Contract 79

The Origins of the Contract 86

The State as Guarantor of Agreements 94

Feudalism's Revival in the Contractual Bond 100

Part 2 Legal Technique: the Resources of Interpretation 111

4 Mastering Technology: the Technique of Interdiction 113

Law is Part of Technological Progress 117

From the Institution to the Network 119

From Rules to Regulation 125

Law Humanizes Technology 131

Ubiquity and its Limits 132

Transparency and its Limits 137

Procreation and the Reproductive Technologies 142

5 Calling Power to Reason: from Government to Governance 146

The Decline of Sovereignty 150

The Metamorphoses of the State 152

The Separation of Power from Authority 156

The Dismantling of Legislative Power 159

The Enfeoffment of Freedoms 167

The Standardization of Behaviour 168

The Instrumentalization of the Sources of the Law 180

6 Binding Humanity: on the Proper Use of Human Rights 185

The Creed of Human Rights 187

The Three Figures of Western Fundamentalism 192

Messianism 193

Particularism 195

Scientism 197

Opening the Doors of Interpretation 203

Human Rights: Humanity's Common Resource 204

The Principle of Solidarity Revisited 207

Towards New Modes of Interpretation 212

Bibliography 217

Index 239

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