The Law as Pedagogue Second Edition

The Law As Pedagogue: Second Edition presents a view of the law as a dimension of human becoming. It is a sustained argument for legal practitioners to model the beauty of the law.

Rather than emphasize the law as the rules and regulations of society, or even as the sphere of the judiciary, the goal is to understand the law as essential to a fully human life. An effort is also made to show how this view can be fostered by the law itself and all its practitioners. The obstacles to this view are:

• A romantic vision of a mythic past without law.
• The lure of anarchism.
• The positivism prevalent among practicing attorneys and jurists.
• The view that the most important thing is not to be lawful but moral.
• Fundamentalists striving to re-sacralize the law.

Against these views, the book argues that there is a deeply spiritual dimension of even secular law, which we must appropriate to ourselves. Given the social upheavals of the past few years, this book carries an important message of reform as well as an encouragement to lead fully human lives within the law.

(About the Author)

Ignacio L. Götz was born in Caracas, Venezuela, where he lived until he was fifteen years old. "Then I traveled to Spain, lived in India for thirteen years, and have resided in the United States since 1964. Currently I live in Point Harbor, North Carolina." The author was ordained a priest in 1962 and taught at Hofstra University for thirty-five years. Now retired, he spends his time writing and traveling. This is his twenty-fourth book.