Law, Language and Love: James Boyd White's Living Speech: Resisting the Empire of Force

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Abstract

James Boyd White's Living Speech is a disarming and arresting book. It rarely states what the reader expects. It jars and surprises, with analyses of Supreme Court opinions placed alongside learned literary discussions of Dante, Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams, and Greek drama. It is a book about resisting the empire of force, 1 yet White's arguments emerge subtly, even gently. It is a book about public speech and language, yet it speaks to our hidden silences by leading the reader on a quiet conversation with himself or herself. It is a book about law, yet finds its resolution in a love beyond law. Through its many contours, Living Speech draws the reader into an imaginative universe that reconceives the moral nature of democratic life. Living speech is not simply about words, but about healing, hope, and the potential of love overcoming the violence that destroys our "shared life".
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Law, Philosophy and Culture
Publication statusPublished - 22 Jun 2009
Externally publishedYes

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