The faculty at the Columbus School of Law have published books in a wide variety of legal and non-legal disciplines. This repository collection includes a selection of some of the many books authored by our faculty.
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In Search of Schopenhauer's Cat: Arthur Schopenhauer's Quantum-Mystical Theory of Justice
Raymond B. Marcin
Arthur Schopenhauer's theory of justice is radical. Justice, in Schopenhauer's system of thought, is not an epistemological construct. It is neither rights based nor process based. It rejects the concept of individual moral duty as vehemently as it embraces the concept of collective moral guilt. For Schopenhauer, justice is not a way of assessing reality. It is a facet of reality itself. Schopenhauer's theory of justice is ontology--a study of being itself.
In this book Raymond B. Marcin offers several reasons why a review and a reevaluation of Schopenhauer's theory of justice are worthwhile now, almost two hundred years after it was first formulated. One is that his theory of justice, based squarely on his philosophy of being (or ontology), seems remarkably consistent with the view of reality that is taking shape in the minds of contemporary quantum physicists. Albert Einstein called Schopenhauer's writings "wonderful," and Erwin Schrödinger called them "beautiful." Another reason is that the metaphysical basis of Schopenhauer's theory of justice bridges a gap that has long existed between Western and Eastern approaches to philosophy and may well have had an influence on the thought of Mohandas K. Gandhi. Yet another reason is that some contemporary jurisprudential movements with a strong social orientation have of late taken an interest in the concept of "community." The idea of "comm-unity" in its most basic and most literal sense is at the heart of Schopenhauer's deep ontology of justice. Finally, the concept of justice has almost always been examined from an epistemological vantage point. Seldom have we seen, outside the natural law tradition, a metaphysical or ontological examination of justice, and that is exactly what Schopenhauer gives.
Readers will learn of Schopenhauer's thought, life, and importance in the history of philosophy. A multi-disciplinary approach combined with the author's inviting style will make this book worth the consideration of a broad range of scholars.
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Sexuality and the U.S. Catholic Church: Crisis and Renewal
John H. Garvey, Lisa Sowle Cahill, and T. Frank Kennedy S.J.
In Sexuality and the U.S. Catholic Church, Lisa Sowle Cahill, John Garvey, and T. Frank Kennedy, S.J. bring together leading Catholic theologians to discuss sexuality in the context of Church tradition, identifying modern-day challenges and pointing to resources for the future.
No issue in the contemporary Church evokes more controversy than sexuality. In the wake of the clerical abuse scandals, the Catholic Church, criticized for being either too repressive or too lenient in its approach to human sexuality, has come under intense scrutiny.
Sexuality and the U.S. Catholic Church explores the issue of sexuality from many angles, opening up a lively and informative exchange on a subject of primary importance in the life of the Church.
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Finding the Law (12th ed.)
Elizabeth A. Edinger and Robert C. Berring
This book provides a comprehensive treatment of print and digital sources of legal information, concentrating on the basics of legal research covered by most law school courses. The book serves as both a text and a reference guide for legal researchers. It covers the context of legal research and includes information on state legal research guides; bibliographies; court reports; case verification and updating; case finding; and sources of federal regulatory agency rules, regulations, and adjudications. It offers guidance on how to read a case and deal with legal authority and provides up-to-date information via a corresponding Web site.
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Religion and Political Structures: From Fundamentalism to Public Service
Robert A. Destro, John T. Ford, and C. R. Dechert
The issue of religion in contemporary life is marked by three major related problems, one is the perennial struggle to choose between God and Mammon, another is the struggle to broaden the horizons of one’s concerns beyond self to God, a third is the manner of relating one’s own religious commitment to that of others. As foundational decisions for life, they must be faced in every effort at modernization and indeed in all deeply human accomplishments.
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The Christian Religion and Biotechnology: a Search for Principled Decision-Making
George P. Smith II
Religion is a dominant force in the lives of many Americans. It animates, challenges, directs and shapes, as well, the legal, political, and scientific agendas of the new Age of Biotechnology. In a very real way, religion, biomedical technology and law are - epistemologically - different. Yet, they are equal vectors of force in defining reality and approaching an understanding of it. Indeed, all three share a synergetic relationship, for they seek to understand and improve the human condition.
This book strikes a rich balance between thorough analysis (in the body), anchored in sound references to religion, law and medical scientific analysis, and a strong scholarly direction in the end notes. It presents new insights into the decision-making processes of the new Age of Biotechnology and shows how religion, law and medical science interact in shaping, directing and informing the political processes.
This volume will be of interest to both scholars and practitioners in the fields of religion and theology, philosophy, ethics, (family) law, science, medicine, political science and public policy, and gender studies. It will serve as a reference source and can be used in graduate and undergraduate courses in law, medicine and religion.
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American Constitutional Law: An Overview, Analysis, and Integration
William A. Kaplin
Conveniently divided into fifteen chapters with numerous subsections, this book presents a clear, comprehensive, and integrated introduction to the U.S. Constitution and American constitutional law. Kaplin develops the basic concepts, conceptual distinctions, and first principles that provide the foundation for constitutional law; the process by which the Constitution is interpreted; and the analytical methodologies by which individual clauses are applied to new circumstances. Leading U.S. Supreme Court cases, especially the classical cases, are also presented and analyzed throughout.
The author periodically uses history, political science, and jurisprudence to enhance the reader’s understanding of the subject, including a section on constitutionalism from the early Greek philosophers to the present; historical timelines of Supreme Court case developments; and expositions of the American concepts of federalism and separation of powers. Several sections also discuss the inter-relationship between the federal Constitution and state constitutions.
This book contains substantial study guidance for students in law school courses or law-related graduate school courses, and readers who are engaged in independent learning apart from any formal course. There are learning exercises at many points in the book, for instance, followed by answer guidelines. There is also a section on study suggestions at the end of each substantive chapter; a methodology for reading and analyzing cases; guidance on study techniques and exam taking; and bibliographies to guide further reading.
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Eternal Bonds, True Contracts: Law and Nature in Shakespeare’s Problem Plays
A.G. Harmon
In Eternal Bonds, True Contracts, A. G. Harmon closely analyzes Shakespeare's concentrated use of the law and its instruments in what have often been referred to as the problem plays: Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida, The Merchant of Venice, and All's Well That Ends Well. Contracts, bonds, sureties, wills—all ensure a changed relationship between parties, and in Shakespeare the terms are nearly always reserved for use in the contexts of marriage and fellowship. Harmon explores the theory and practice of contractual obligations in Renaissance England, especially those involving marriage and property, in order to identify contractual elements and their formation, execution, and breach in the plays. Using both legal and literary resources, Harmon reveals the larger significance of these contractual concepts by illustrating how Shakespeare develops them both dramatically and thematically. Harmon's study ultimately enables the reader to perceive not only these plays but also all of Shakespeare's writing—including his poetry—as integral with, and implicated in, the proliferating legalism that was helping to define early modern English culture.
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Theater Law: Cases and Materials
Marin Roger Scordato and Robert M. Jarvis
Although normally thought of in terms of its creative and artistic values, staging a play or musical involves numerous legal relationships and obligations. Accordingly, this casebook provides the first comprehensive overview of the law governing the theater industry. Among the subjects examined are the history of the theater; the practice of theater law; the creative rights of playwrights; the financial rights of producers and investors; the employment rights of directors, performers, and crew members; and the attendance rights of audiences. While principally concerned with Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, the final two chapters focus on road tours and amateur theater groups.
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The Capability Problem in Contract Law: Further Readings on the Well-Known Cases
Geoffrey R. Watson and Richard Danzig
After a quarter century in active use, this respected title has been revised and expanded in a collaboration between its original author, Professor Richard Danzig and Professor Geoffrey Watson of Catholic. The materials in this book are widely recognized as an invaluable complement to contracts casebooks. A mixture of essays, interviews, newspapers, and court records combines to take students behind appellate court opinions that are the staples of the first year law student's diet. By showing that "facts" are typically ambiguous and difficult to ascertain, that litigation narrows and thereby distorts experience, that race, class, gender, and quality of representation affect findings, that psychological variables often dominate practical, economic, and legal considerations, and that outcomes are often not what they seem, these materials raise fundamental questions about American law in general, and the law of contracts in particular. The Second Edition drops some material not now widely
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The Vatican-Israel Accords: Political, Legal, and Theological Contexts
Marshall J. Breger
When The Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Israel was signed on December 30, 1993, it established diplomatic ties between the Vatican and Israel for the first time. Published during the tenth anniversary year of this historic document, The Vatican-Israel Accords brings together essays that analyze the legal, historical, theological, and political meaning of the Accords.
The compelling essays in this collection explore not only the document and events surrounding its signing, but also the past, present, and future of Catholic-Jewish relations. Contributors, who include scholars from Israel, Italy, France, Spain, and the United States, contend that the history and structure of the Accords offer lessons that may be instructive for others involved in seeking peaceful resolutions to conflict, particularly those who work for peace between Palestine and Israel. This book is for anyone interested in law, political science, ecumenism, diplomacy, or peace studies.
