Is There a Law Instinct?

Guttentag, Michael D.

Abstract

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Is There a Law Instinct?

Michael D. Guttentag

Loyola Law School Los Angeles

2009

Washington University Law Review, Vol. 87, No. 2, 2009

Abstract:
The widely-held view is that legal systems develop in response to purposeful efforts to achieve economic, political, or social objectives. The alternative view considered in this Article is that reliance on legal systems to organize social activity is an integral part of human nature, just as language and morality now appear to be directly shaped by innate predispositions. This Article formalizes and presents evidence in support of the claim that humans instinctively turn to legal systems to organize social behavior.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 60

Keywords: Jurisprudence, Evolutionary Science, Law

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Date posted: February 20, 2009 ; Last revised: July 24, 2010

Suggested Citation

Guttentag, Michael D., Is There a Law Instinct? (2009). Washington University Law Review, Vol. 87, No. 2, 2009. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1346649

Contact Information

Michael D. Guttentag (Contact Author)

Loyola Law School Los Angeles ( email )

919 Albany Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015-1211
United States