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7 - Equity and the Spoudaios

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2019

George Duke
Affiliation:
Deakin University, Victoria
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Summary

Aristotle’s discussion of equity (epieikeia) is perhaps his most influential contribution to jurisprudence. Like the English doctrine of equity it informed, Aristotelian epieikeia is intended to rectify deficiencies arising from the strict application of the letter of the law to all circumstances. The extension of the concept of the ‘decent’ or equitable into the legal domain might nonetheless seem to undermine some of the most desirable features of the rule of law, including impartiality and predictability. In this final chapter, I argue that Aristotle addresses this concern regarding potential arbitrariness by deriving equitable decisions from the rational content of the legislative expert’s judgments. More generally, while the exemplary ethical agent is a measure of practical reasonableness, it is the content of their judgments which ultimately serves as ‘normative bedrock.’ Section 1 examines Aristotle’s use of equity to balance the universality of the law’s pronouncements with the need for adjudicators to assess particular circumstances. Section 2 then turns to Aristotle’s appeal to the judgments of the exemplary practically reasonable agent as a normative criterion and contends that this need not culminate in arbitrariness or decisionism.

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Aristotle and Law
The Politics of <I>Nomos</I>
, pp. 149 - 165
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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  • Equity and the Spoudaios
  • George Duke, Deakin University, Victoria
  • Book: Aristotle and Law
  • Online publication: 28 November 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316661741.008
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  • Equity and the Spoudaios
  • George Duke, Deakin University, Victoria
  • Book: Aristotle and Law
  • Online publication: 28 November 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316661741.008
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Equity and the Spoudaios
  • George Duke, Deakin University, Victoria
  • Book: Aristotle and Law
  • Online publication: 28 November 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316661741.008
Available formats
×