<html><div style='background-color:'><DIV></DIV>>I think that Russell someplace (commenting on the reach of deduction, I
<DIV></DIV>>think) put theology and law in the same category as areas in which
<DIV></DIV>>deduction "worked" because the truth criteria were strictly internal, or >something like that.
<P>Shows you what Russell knew about law. Law is abour regulation of social behavior. It boots key notions like "reasonable person," or "beyond a reasonable doubt" to ordinary people to decide by community standards. The application of legal rules is supposed, often expressly, to be construed to promote social ends decided on by the legislature. The law also has large spaces for judges toi exercise their own values. That's just for starters. The statement is worse than ignorant. It is misleading.</P>
<P>>But if you take the LAW as a given (as >fundamentalists take Scripture), then it presumably doesn't matter how >bizarre or offensive the conclusion is as long as it is derivable from >the premises. </P>
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<P>Pragmatists like Posner and me are the last people to take law as fundamentalists take scripture or to ignore the fact that conclusions may be bizzare or offensive. </P>
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<P>>I suspect Justin's fondness for Posner is not unrelated to his >suggestion that philosophy should be viewed as entertainment.</P>
<P>Having a W.H. Henley moment, are we Carol? "Life is real, life is earnest." What good is philosophy if it isn't fun? I certainly have no reason to do it if it isn't fun. I'm a busy lawyer and a family man. But maybe you think that fun means I don't take it seriously, that I regard it as frivolous entertainment. Do you really think that? </P>
<P>> Coherence >and consistency count in most areas of activity one can apply the label >"entertainment" to. </P>
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<DIV>Um, like popular movies, right. They're real big on consistency. Or computer programming, high on the entertainment scale. Jesus, Carol, what gets into you some times?</DIV>
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<DIV>--jks</DIV></div><br clear=all><hr>Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at <a href='http://go.msn.com/bql/hmtag_itl_EN.asp'>http://explorer.msn.com</a><br></html>