Proximity, Levinas, and the Soul of Law links the controversial ethical philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas and the common law legal tradition that has recently invigorated the idea of "the duty of care." Desmond Manderson argues that the ethicists and lawyers struggle with the same basic questions of why we should care for others and what responsibility really demands of us, using the same language of care, neighbourhood, and proximity. Without compromising the integrity of either Levinas' poetic evocations of our spirit or the law's dense descriptions of our society, Manderson's powerful...

Justice, Literature, and the Rule of Law: Kangaroo Courts addresses the legacy of contemporary critiques of language for the concept of the rule of law. Between those who care about the rule of law and those who are interested in contemporary legal theory, there has been a dialogue of the deaf, which cannot continue. Starting from the position that contemporary critiques of linguistic meaning and certainty are too important to be dismissed, Desmond Manderson takes up the political and intellectual challenge they pose. Can the rule of law be re-configured in light of the critical turn of the...

This collection brings together major writers and major works on what Emmanuel Levinas means to law, and injects Levinas' provocative ethics right into the heart of living law, radically changing our understanding of both.