Everyone agrees that it would be wrong to punish ordinary soldiers for the crime of aggression launched by their leaders. The question is why, and it is not easy to answer.
The Meiji era (“enlightened rule”) was officially declared by Japan’s 122nd emperor, Meiji, on this day (23 October) in 1868. It was during Meiji’s reign, which lasted until 30 July 1912, that Japan was transformed from a poor and secluded feudal society into a prosperous industrialized nation.
That is the title of this intriguing paper by Wes Henricksen, a law professor at Barry University in my neck of the woods: Orlando, Florida. His paper (see also here), which was just published in the British Journal of American Legal Studies, not only cites my work on “Gödel’s Loophole“; it contains a comprehensive listing of all references to Jorge Luis Borges in the scholarly legal literature. Below is the full abstract of Professor Henrickson’s beautiful new paper:
The works and ideas of Jorge Luis Borges have had a major impact on literature, movies, art, philosophy, and pop culture. His influence in these areas has been documented and studied. To date, however, there has been no significant effort to catalog or discuss the impact Borges has had on legal scholarship. The impact is significant. Hundreds of law journal articles, essays, and book reviews reference Borges and his work. For instance, authors have used Borges stories as a lens through which to analyze legal doctrines and developments. Others have quoted Borges to help convey particular ideas or principles. This paper aims to identify all references to Borges and his work in the legal scholarly literature, and to analyze the ways authors rely on Borges to determine the nature and extent of Borges’s influence on legal scholarship. My aim is primarily to evaluate the scholarly treatment as a whole, rather than focus on individual cases. As such, I have attempted to compile a comprehensive list of Borges references in the legal scholarship to date. If I have omitted any scholarly works that should be included, please let me know and I will happily add them.
prior probability 