About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

42 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 1367 (2000-2001)
Adjudication and the Problems of Incommensurability

handle is hein.journals/wmlr42 and id is 1387 raw text is: ADJUDICATION AND THE PROBLEMS OF INCOMMENSURABILITY BRET G. ScHARFFS* TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .................................... 1369 I. SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT THE PROBLEMS OF INCOMMENSURABILITY9............................ 1379 A The Incommensurability Thesis ................ 1379 1. Isaiah Berlin and the Possibility of a Final Solution ................................. 1379 2. War and Monism .......................... 1382 3. Law and Incommensurability ................ 1383 B. Responses to the Incommensurability Thesis ...... 1384 1. Two Temptations .......................... 1384 2. A Third Alternative ........................ 1386 II. CLARIFYING THE PROBLEMS OF INCOMMENSURABILITY . 1387 A. Seeking Workable Definitions .................. 1387 1. Incommensurability ........................ 1389 2. Incomparability ........................... 1393 3. Incompossibility ........................... 1394 4. Incompatibility ............................ 1395 5. Uncomputability ........................... 1396 * Associate Professor of Law, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University. B.S.BA, GeorgetownUniversity(1986); M.A, Georgetown University (1987); B.Pliil, Oxford University (1989); J.D., Yale Law School (1992). I would like to thank Owen Fiss, Anthony Kronman, and my colleagues at the BYU faculty brown bag series for their comments on earlier drafts. I also thank Heath Bailey and Matthew McGhie for their research assistance. I owe a special debt of gratitude to my Oxford tutors, John Finnis, Joseph Raz, and David Wiggins, each of whom helped me gain appreciation for the significance of incommensurability and the challenges it poses for practical reason. The shortcomings in my understanding, both as expressed and unexpressed, are solely my responsibility. This Article is the second in a series of articles about practical wisdom and adjudication. See Brett Scharffs, The Role of Humility in ExercisingPractical Wisdom, 32 U.C. DAVIS L. REV. 127 (1998). 1367

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most