This exceptional collection of twenty-two essays on the philosophical fundamentals of tort law assembles many of the world's leading commentators on this particularly fascinating conjunction of law and philosophy. The contributions range broadly, from inquiries into how tort law derives from Aristotle, Aquinas, and Kant to the latest economic and rights-based theories of legal reponsibility. This is truly a multi-national production, with contributions from several distinguished Oxford scholars of law and philosophy and many prominent scholars from the United States, Canada, and Israel. A provocative closing essay by one of the world's leading moral philosophers illuminates how tort law enables philosophers to observe the abstract theories of their discipline put to the concrete test in the legal resolution of real-world controversies based on principles of right and wrong.

Reviews

"Whether one thinks of torts in functional or moral terms, or takes a philosophical or instrumental approach to its subject matter, the essays contained in this volume will provide food for thought for years to come."-- Richard A. Epstein, University of Chicago
"Anyone interested in ideas of responsibility, in the connection of theory and practice, and in the relationship of law and moral philosophy will want to ponder the contents of this volume."--Ernest J. Weinrib, University of Toronto
"This well-organized volume of essays testifies to an academic school's coming of age. In a generation, English-speaking scholars have generated a literature on the foundations of tort law that is unique in legal history. This introduction to the field invites readers to join the ongoing debates between philosophers and the economists and between those who believe in the neutrality of justice and those who assert the inevitably partisan nature of law."--George P. Fletcher, Columbia Universi