rational way. Clearly, though, that is not the case. This is why Part 3 considers
various explanations for irrationality.
18
Legal Method
Legal reasoning is an interesting study in its own right. It also has a practical
benefit. It is possible to build on our understanding of legal reasoning to create
methods for working with law that achieve three goals. They are effective
because they do what needs to be done. They are efficient because they incur
minimum costs. They are ethical since they rest on accepted values.
The relationship between legal reasoning and legal method bears a strong
analogy with science and technology. Legal reasoning furnishes the science
that explains how law should work if it is to be rational. Legal method builds
on this to devise ways of working with law that impound this rationality.
Devising ways of working with law that make the legal system effective,
efficient and ethical is worthwhile in itself. However, it also confers an
additional advantage. It enables law to lay a solid claim to be legitimate.
This is the reason that this book also focuses on legal method. Parts 2 and 3
lay the groundwork by explaining and distinguishing between what is rational
and what is not rational. Specifically Part 2 provides an account of the
reasoning processes that should underlie working with law. Part 4 draws on
the ways of thinking rationally explained in Part 2 to devise rational methods
for working with law. These methods are embedded in models. These
methods are outlined in Part 4. They are explained in some greater detail in
another book, Legal Method.
19
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18
Chapter 27 Irrationality
19
Christopher Enright Legal Method
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