Self-paced
P1
In recent years, a growing belief that the way society decides what to treat as true is controlled through largely unrecognized discursive practices has led legal reformers to examine the complex interconnections between narrative and law. ██ ████ █████ ████████ █████ █████████ ███ █████ ██ █████████ ███████ █████ ███████ ███████ ██████ █████████ █████ ███████ ██████ ███ ██████ ████ ████████ ████ ███████ ██ ████ ███ ██████ ██████ ██ ██████ ███
Context ·
How do we decide what is true or false?
Legal systems use competing narratives about events; judges and juries assign "truth"
Introduce concept ·
Objectivism
The "objective" view is neutral, unbiased, and more reliable than other views
Apply concept ·
of objectivism to legal "truth"
Truth is found in an objective view of events
Criticism ·
No one holds an objective view
Support criticism ·
According to psychologists, everyone holds biases
Author's perspective ·
Legal views are subjective, not objective
P2
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Problem ·
Objectivist assumptions favor those with legal training
Accounts by those who understand the law are (wrongly) seen as objective and true; others accounts are (wrongly) seen as false
P3
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Solution ·
according to some legal scholars
Alternative legal narratives
Explain solution ·
Replace abstract objectivist discourse with personal narratives
Support solution ·
Personal stories elicit empathy
Implications of solution ·
Disruption of status quo, less advantage bestowed by legal training, emphasis on empathy
Passage Style
Critique or debate
Problem-analysis
16.
Those who reject objectivism would ██████
a
a hunt for ██ █████████ ██████
This is most analogous, because it involves an attempt to do something impossible. The people who reject objectivism regard the quest for objective truth as something impossible, because there’s no such thing as a neutral, objective observer.
b
the search for █ ████████ ███████ █████ █████████ ██████
This doesn’t involve an attempt to do something inherently impossible. Someone searching for a valuable mineral among worthless stones is searching in the wrong place, but it might still be possible to find a valuable mineral by searching in a different location. The people who reject objectivism wouldn’t think that it’s possible to find truth by searching in the right place.
c
the painstaking assembly ██ █ ██████ ██████
This doesn’t involve an attempt to do something inherently impossible. This involves an attempt to do something time-consuming and difficult.
d
comparing an apple ████ ██ ██████
This doesn’t involve an attempt to do something inherently impossible. Although one might be making a bad comparison, since apples and oranges are so different, it’s still possible to compare an apple to an orange.
e
the scientific analysis ██ █ ████████ ████████
This doesn’t involve an attempt to do something inherently impossible. We have no reason to think it’s impossible to scientifically analyze a chemical compound.