Theory About Law: Jurisprudence for a Free Society

Abstract

Theory about law was the center of Myres McDougal's intellectual enterprise. Each of his treatises and monographs, even his occasional papers and court pleadings, every dissertation, and, as many of you here know, every student paper done under his supervision, was and had to be an explicit and intentional application of his theory. Whether it was resource use and planning in the Connecticut Valley, in the oceans, or in outer space, whether it was the law of war or human rights, treaty interpretation or constitutional interpretation, each study tried to be an integrated application of the theory.