In Pursuit of Pragmatic Legal Theory

A critical review of Jules Coleman’s The Practice of Principle: In Defence of a Pragmatist Approach to Legal Theory. Coleman’s book has two principal objectives: (1) to defend both Inclusive Legal Positivism and Coleman’s influential views on the role of corrective justice in explaining tort law; and (2) to show how philosophical pragmatism can usefully be employed in defending such views. In this article I both outline and critique the main elements of Coleman's book. I also explore ways in which some of its central arguments could usefully be modified or extended to solve related jurisprudential puzzles.