Opis

Aesthetics of Law

Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego

Autorzy: Kamil Zeidler

The book is devoted to the search for the fifth branch of the philosophy of law, which – apart from the ontology of law, epistemology of law, logic and legal ethics – completes its research areas analogically to general philosophy. It turns out that the aesthetic aspects of law may have practical significance in all of its five phenomena, that is: creating, binding, observing, applying and interpreting. Moreover, the aesthetics of law also influences the shaping of legal awareness and attitudes towards the law. The whole argument was organized in such a way that external and internal approaches to the aesthetics of law were distinguished and the issue of law as a tool of aestheticization was presented. All this is supported by many examples taken from the world of culture and art.

„Kamil Zeidler’s book, many years in preparation, will soon become a scholarly event on an interdisciplinary level – not just in Poland. Its outstanding value is a ​​result of the author’s broad scholarly horizons, and his vast erudition in the philosophy of law, aesthetics and the history of European art. I was amazed by the wealth and quality of illustrations that most effectively suppplement the author’s discussion.”

Professor Juliusz A. Chróścicki

„The study not only makes it possible for the reader to learn a great deal about the relations of law to a variety of dimensions of culture and art, but, above all, it offers a rare opportunity to accompany an author in cutting fascinating new paths in the philosophy of law.”

Professor Tomasz Pietrzykowski

CONTENTS

Introduction, on the Fifth Field of Philosophy of Law . . . 7

1. Aesthetics – An Outline of the Concept . . . . . . . 17

2. Aesthetics of Law – Fundamental Principles . . . . . 35

3. Aesthetics of Law – The External Frame . . . . . . . 51

4. Aesthetics of Law – The Internal Frame . . . . . . . 57

5. Law as a Tool of Aestheticization . . . . . . . . . . 73

6. Manifestations of the Aesthetics of Law . . . . . . . 101

6.1. Symbols of the Law, Legal Symbols,

Symbols in the Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

6.2. The Aesthetics of the State,

Politics, and Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

6.3. Legal Archaeology . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

6.4. Pictorial Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

6.5. The Aesthetics of Legal Rhetoric . . . . . . . 135

6.6. The Trial as Performance . . . . . . . . . . . 140

6.7. Law in the Fine Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

6.8. Law and Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

6.9. Law in Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

6.10. Law and Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

7. Aesthetics of Law – A Programme . . . . . . . . . 261

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

List of Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Index of Persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305