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Ancient Legal Thought Larry May (Vanderbilt University, Tennessee)

Ancient Legal Thought By Larry May (Vanderbilt University, Tennessee)

Ancient Legal Thought by Larry May (Vanderbilt University, Tennessee)


£123.39
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Summary

This book examines and compares ancient legal codes and legal thinking from eight historical societies: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, China, India, the Roman Republic, Rabbinic times, and the Roman Empire. This volume progresses through Hammurabi's Code, and the law of the pharaohs, the codes of the ancient rabbis and the Roman Emperor Justinian.

Ancient Legal Thought Summary

Ancient Legal Thought: Equity, Justice, and Humaneness From Hammurabi and the Pharaohs to Justinian and the Talmud by Larry May (Vanderbilt University, Tennessee)

This is a study of what constituted legality and the role of law inancient societies. Investigating and comparing legal codes and legal thinking of the ancient societies of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, India, the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire and of the ancient Rabbis, this volume examines how people used law to create stable societies. Starting with Hammurabi's Code, this volume also analyzes the law of the pharaohs and the codes of the ancient rabbis and of the Roman Emperor Justinian. Focusing on the key concepts of justice equity and humaneness, the status of women and slaves, and the idea of criminality and of war and peace; no other book attempts to examine such diverse legal systems and legal thinking from the ancient world.

Ancient Legal Thought Reviews

'Larry May's monumental achievement, astonishing in scope, depth, and insight, offers a rich historical mosaic of understandings of law, justice and equity and their interrelationships. It is essential reading for any legal or political philosopher and invaluable for any serious student of law and justice. May writes with a historian's keen eye for detail and context and a philosopher's eye for conceptual nuance, networks of concepts, and intersecting lines of argument.' Gerald J. Postema, Cary C. Boshamer Professor of Philosophy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
'In this magisterial book, Professor May manages to combine sweeping coverage with fascinating details about ancient legal thought on justice, equity, fairness, mercy, and principles of morality and right embodied within law. He makes a convincing case that legitimacy has long been fundamental to legal authority.' Brian Z. Tamanaha, John S. Lehmann University Professor, Washington University
' Ancient Legal Thought could be particularly useful for topic-specific teaching and research on themes such as the position of women, the legality of war, slavery, and the impact of inequality as reflected in law and legal writing.' G. S. Gessert, Choice
'This remains a work of tremendous worth. Vast in scope and ambition, guided by an inquiring mind, this is a deeply enjoyable and thought-provoking book.' Anthony Smart, Comparative Legal History

About Larry May (Vanderbilt University, Tennessee)

Larry May is Professor of Philosophy and Law, Emeritus at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee. He has published thirty-seven books, including Limiting Leviathan: Hobbes on Law and International Affairs (2013), Proportionality in International Law, with Michael Newton, (2014), Contingent Pacifism (Cambridge, 2015), Necessity in International Law, with Jens Ohlin (2016), International Criminal Tribunals, with Shannon Fyfe (Cambridge, 2017), and is editor of The Cambridge Handbook of the Just War (Cambridge, 2017). His books have won awards in law, philosophy, and political science and he has advised the US State Department, the CIA, the NIH, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Table of Contents

Part I. Mesopotamia and Egypt: Section 1. Ancient Procedural Law: 1. Ancient legal reasoning; 2. Judging, trials, and assemblies; 3. Oaths, ordeals, and truth; Section 2. Freedom, Equality, and Legal Status: 4. Debt forgiveness and equity; 5. Freedom and slavery; 6. Class, legal status, and equality; 7. Women's separate sphere; Section 3. Crime and Punishment: 8. Complicity and conspiracy; 9. Crime and Lex Talionis; 10. Capital punishment; Section 4. International Justice: 11. Ancient treaties and trust; 12. Aggressive war and necessity; Part II. Greece and China: Section 5. Law, Justice and Equity: 13. Custom and law in Ancient Greece and China; 14. Justice and equity; 15. Trial, juries, and democratic assemblies; Section 6. Legal Status: 16. Citizens and aliens; 17. Women; 18. Slavery and democracy; Section 7. Responsibility and Punishment: 19. Causation and responsibility; 20. Homicide and pollution; 21. Justification, excuse, and mitigation; 22. Hubris and impiety; Section 8. War and Amnesty: 23. Amnesty, sanctuary, and exile; 24. Justified war and the law of nations; Part III. India and the Roman Republic: Section 9. Law, Justice and Equity: 25. Law and its sources in Ancient Roman and Indian law; 26. Legal procedures and trials; 27. Equity and justice; Section 10. Legal Status and Social Class: 28. Legal status of women; 29. Social class and slavery; Section 11. Responsibility and Punishment: 30. Political and moral crimes; 31. Punishment, cruelty, and humaneness; 32. Crimes concerning legal and political abuse; Section 12. War and Treaties: 33. Treaties, hostages, and keeping faith; 34. The rules of war and the law of peoples; Part IV. Rabbinic Law and the Roman Empire: Section 13. Justice, Equity, and Conflict of Laws: 35. Law, morality, and religion; 36. Dual legal regimes; 37. The law and ancient legal scholars; Section 14. Differential Status: 38. Women in Jewish and Roman thought; 39. Slaves in Jewish and Roman legal thought; Section 15. Responsibility: 40. Intention and causation in criminal law; 41. Injury and murder; 42. Public punishment, penal prisons, and police; Section 16. Universal Law at the End of Ancient Times: 43. Universal law and human rights; 44. The origins of the just war doctrine; 45. Final thoughts on equity, justice, and humaneness.

Additional information

NPB9781108484107
9781108484107
1108484107
Ancient Legal Thought: Equity, Justice, and Humaneness From Hammurabi and the Pharaohs to Justinian and the Talmud by Larry May (Vanderbilt University, Tennessee)
New
Hardback
Cambridge University Press
2019-05-30
750
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
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