In Asking the Law Question, Margaret Davies provides an up-to-date account of traditional and contemporary legal theory. This edition retains the critical and contemporary focus of the first three editions. It has been updated to incorporate discussion of recent works and current trends in legal theory, without losing the emphasis on seeing legal theory in its historical, social and political contexts. This fourth edition includes two new chapters on socio-legal theory and environmental jurisprudence.

Legal theory means different things to different scholars. Asking the Law Question reflects the diversity of approaches without attempting to reduce them all into a logical narrative. It is an interdisciplinary work and draws upon a wide range of literary and philosophical sources.

Asking the Law Question is an accessible, original and highly readable account of legal philosophy. The text provides succinct explanations of key ideas, as well as in-depth analysis and critique. Suitable for students of jurisprudence, introductory law, feminist legal theory and sociology of law, this book has also proved to be of considerable interest to legal scholars wishing to improve their knowledge of legal theory.