Kahn's Reign and its Metaphors For Law -- A Critique in the Philosophy of Legal Culture

Alani Golanski, Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C.

Abstract

This essay analyzes the three main metaphors through which Professor Paul Kahn, Yale Law, constructs both a substantive picture of law's appearance and his methodological thesis that nonlegal sources need not, and should not, be explored in explaining the rule of law. These metaphors are (1) law as language, (2) law as religion, and (3) law as "legal" artifact. This essay argues that (1) and (2) are acceptable metaphors, but that Kahn's treatment is imprecise, and the metaphors work better if handled differently. Regarding (3), the limitations Kahn imposes are untenable.