Playing by the Rules: A Philosophical Examination of Rule Based Decision Making in Law and Life

This is a philosophical analysis of the very idea of a rule. Although focused somewhat on the role of rules in the legal system, it is also relevant to the place of rules in morality, religion, etiquette, games, language and family governance. This is a philosophical but non-technical analysis of the very idea of a rule. Although focused somewhat on the role of rules in the legal system, it is also relevant to the place of rules in morality, religion, etiquette, games, language, and family governance. In both explaining the idea of a rule and making the case for taking rules seriously, the book is a departure both in scope and in perspective from anything that now exists.