Fashionable Nonsense

Abstract

Cognitivism - the explanation of human action by resort to actions in the mind or brain - is a fashionable trend in contemporary social science. Recent books from lawyers argue that cognitivism will give us greater insights into law because law is a product of mind. Therefore, a better theory of mind will give us a better theory of law. This article considers the arguments in two recent books in support of the application of cognitivism to law. In addition to reviewing the arguments for a cognitivist approach to law, the article takes up the philosophical dimensions of cognitivism.

Keywords: cognitivism, mind, philosophy, jurisprudence, legal philosophy, thought