Jurisprudence as a Side-Quest?

A Critical Appraisal of John Gardner’s Account of the Reasons to Study Jurisprudence

Abstract

In a short paper entitled “Why Study Jurisprudence?” John Gardner claims that philosophy of law has a modest and optional role within legal studies. To his mind, the reasons for studying it are that it gives jurists a broader outlook on law and develops excellence in argument. This paper argues that, on closer scrutiny, Gardner’s account of reasons for studying jurisprudence falls short because he considers a narrow concept of general jurisprudence that leaves out many kinds of jurisprudence and crucial jurisprudential issues. By discussing the two types of knowledge jurisprudence can transfer, namely knowledge that and knowledge how, I focus on the ability of various kinds of jurisprudence (general/particular/special, analytical/hermeneutical, conceptual/descriptive/normative/critical, philosophers’ jurisprudence/jurists’ juris­pru­dence) to develop propositional and performative knowledge in students of law. I conclude that jurisprudence is not best understood as a side quest in legal studies. Instead, by using the same game analogy, it is better understood as crucial but additional content (DLC, so to say) to the study of law that is well positioned to contribute significantly both to the study of law and legal practice.