« A new conscience-clause-advocacy group | Main | Michael McConnell at St. John's Law School »
March 14, 2012
Wright on Constitutional Cases and the Four Cardinal Virtues
I always learn from George Wright's work. Here is another paper of his that I just came across, "Constitutional Cases and the Four Cardinal Virtues":
Judges typically decide constitutional cases by referring to one or more legal precedents, rules, tests, principles, doctrines, or policies. This Article recommends supplementing this standard approach with fully legitimate and appropriate attention to what many cultures have long recognized as the four basic cardinal virtues of practical wisdom or reasonable prudence, courage or fortitude, temperance or reasonable self-restraint, and justice as the disposition to give everyone their due.
The Article illustrates the legitimacy and usefulness of this supplementary approach, with judicial attention being paid either to government actors or to some broader public, in a range of important constitutional cases.
Part of the justification for this Article’s recommended approach is drawn directly from reflection on the case law, but the Article also draws upon philosophical discussions of the basic virtues from many cultures in order to address a number of possible critical concerns.
Posted by Rick Garnett on March 14, 2012 at 09:55 AM in Garnett, Rick | Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d834515a9a69e2016763c878a4970b
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Wright on Constitutional Cases and the Four Cardinal Virtues:
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
