In this book, Norrie tackles the many diverse theoretical traditions within modern law which force legal theorists to ask complex philosophical questions about the basis of law and its relationship to society, morality and ethics. Norrie's focus around the issue of either closure (the presentation of law as an autonomous rational phenomenon) or critique (the denial of autonomy, rationality and formalism) allows the reader to consider such questions logically. Leading legal academics in the US and the UK discuss autopoiesis, critical legal studies, Foucault, semiotic and rhetorical analyses of law and feminism, amongst other topics. Broadly-based and up-to-date, this book aims to both explain and unify the diversity within legal theory today.