Includes bibliographical references (p. [293]-343) and index.

Overview, purpose and methodology -- Legal theory : general jurisprudence and conceptual anlysis -- H.L.A. Hart and legal positivism -- Hans Kelsen's pure theory of law -- Natural law theory and John Finnis -- Understanding Lon Fuller -- Ronald Dworkin's interpretive approach -- Justice -- Punishment -- Rights and rights talk -- Will and reason -- Authority, finality and mistake -- Common law reasoning and precedent -- Statutory interpretation and legislative intentions -- Legal enforcement of morality -- The obligation to obey the law -- American legal realism -- Economic analysis of law -- Modern critical perspectives -- Law and literature -- Philosophial foundations of the common law -- Other approaches.