Book Review Essay: Conscience and the Constitution

Abstract

This is the best book of constitutional theory in years. Were its argument fully understood and its particulars to become central to academic legal culture, the focus of constitutional theory would change dramatically. The significance of the book, however, extends far beyond the confines of constitutional law: the most exciting aspect of Constitutional Interpretation is not what is said about constitutional law but what the argument means for jurisprudence generally. The book represents the further articulation and refinement of an original philosophical approach that provides an alternative to much of contemporary jurisprudence. It is to this aspect of the book that I will draw attention.