37 Questions
What does every mode of reasoning used by lawyers involve?
A normative and contestable vision of law and social and political life.
Why does every study of any area of law rely on automatic presuppositions?
To reflect or support a certain cultural and ideological worldview.
Where are hidden or subterranean assumptions explored and discussed traditionally?
Jurisprudence / legal theory.
According to Kenneth B Nunn, what is law viewed as?
A Eurocentric enterprise.
What are some of the key theories mentioned in the text under 'Theorising Law'?
Natural Law, Legal Realism, Legal Positivism.
What is the starting point for any study of law according to the text?
Every mode of reasoning used by lawyers.
Where does Kenneth B Nunn work as a Professor of Law?
University of Florida.
What areas does Kenneth B Nunn write on?
Race, diversity, critical theories, and human injustice.
What is the concept of Eurocentric or Eurocentrism?
Centering European culture, perspectives, and interests as superior or advanced.
How is culture defined in the context of the text?
Culture is defined as patterns of and for behavior, transmitted and achieved by human groups.
What does the Universal Declaration of Human Rights assert?
It asserts that certain truths should be common to all people, irrespective of differences.
What is the core belief behind Eurocentrism?
The belief that European existence is qualitatively superior to other forms of human life.
What is the nature of law in European-derived societies?
Law is not universal but created by different human societies with specific cultural perspectives.
Define the term 'culture' in the context of the text.
Culture refers to patterns of behavior transmitted and achieved by human groups.
What does Eurocentrism appropriate from non-European cultures?
Eurocentrism appropriates non-European cultures by centering European perspectives and interests.
How does Eurocentrism position Europe in terms of human history and knowledge?
Eurocentrism posits Europe as the central and normative benchmark of human history, knowledge, and experience.
What predisposes individuals in a Eurocentric society to behave and think in Eurocentric ways?
The mode of socialization and the reward structure present in the society.
What does Eurocentricity influence within a society's productions?
Art, science, economics, social life, and even the concept of law.
What characteristics are reflected in all social and cultural productions of a Eurocentric society?
Materialism, aggression, and individualism.
Who argues that features of the Eurocentric worldview are present in Western jurisprudence?
Nunn.
What are the three main schools of legal thought discussed by Nunn in relation to the Eurocentric worldview?
Natural law, positivism, legal realism.
What are some characteristics of Western European culture according to the text?
Materialistic, competitive, individualistic, narcissistic
How does the text link European culture to certain issues like racism and colonialism?
European culture is linked to racism, colonialism, and environmental degradation.
What is the main argument presented regarding law in the text?
Law is a Eurocentric enterprise promoting European values at the expense of others.
What problems like racism and sexism result from?
Problems like racism and sexism result from the fundamental nature of European society and culture.
What does the text define as the primary social goal in European culture?
Competitive acquisition and possession of material goods and resources.
What kind of reasoning does the text critique as dichotomous?
Dichotomous reasoning views the world as comprising incompatible opposites.
How does European culture employ hierarchies according to the text?
European culture structures differences in terms of inequality of worth, value, and contribution.
What type of thought does the text suggest European culture focuses on?
Analytical thought that breaks down an issue into constituent parts before examining each part separately.
What is the shift in focus from premodern natural law to modern law?
Emphasize cosmological conception of law to rational basis in control and regulation.
What is a critique of natural law according to the text?
Critiques the 'naturalisation' of hierarchy in many natural law discourses.
What does legal positivism critique about the Austinian model?
Removes morality from law and reduces law to the command of the sovereign.
What are some major themes of Eurocentric thinking highlighted by the rise of positivism?
Rationalization, dichotomies, abstraction, objectification, desacralisation.
What do theories under the category of 'Law-in-Context' aim to challenge?
Features of positivism.
How is modern law fundamentally defined according to the text?
By the Eurocentric system.
What does dichotomous reasoning and hierarchy involve in relation to law?
Distinctions between law and custom, common law and customary law, objective vs subjective, formal vs informal.
How has legal education and practice been characterized according to the text?
Taken over by extreme rationalization and analytical thought.
Test your understanding of Kenneth B Nunn's concept of 'Law as a Eurocentric Enterprise' and the theme of Law, Democracy, and Jurisprudence. Explore key administrative information and avoid plagiarism and generative AI. Prepare for the Law 2-40 reader collection with this quiz.
