Let a Thousand Nomoi Bloom? Four Problems with Robert Cover's 'Nomos and Narrative'

Brooks, Thom

Abstract

Robert Cover's well known article Nomos and Narrative is a passionately argued defense of a new way of applying narrative to the philosophy and understanding of law. In my article, I argue that there are four major problems which lie at the heart of Cover's analysis. Each problem addresses a major area of his overall view of law. I try to demonstrate that in each case, if the problem is real, Cover's view of law should be rejected. The primary difficulty is analytical and argumentative sloppiness in Cover's arguments. My conclusion is simple: Cover's view of law is both underdeveloped and theoretically unsafe. It falls victim to each of the four problems I identify. As a result, his philosophy of law should be rejected tout court.

Citation

Brooks, T. (2006). Let a Thousand Nomoi Bloom? Four Problems with Robert Cover's 'Nomos and Narrative'. Issues in Legal Scholarship, 6(1), https://doi.org/10.2202/1539-8323.1071

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 4, 2006
• Deposit Date: Nov 21, 2012
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 14, 2013
• Journal: Issues in Legal Scholarship
• Electronic ISSN: 1539-8323
• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 1
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.2202/1539-8323.1071
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1493204