Beauty and The Law

Beauty and the Law takes the reader on an introductory journey through Western intellectual history, observed through the prism of the relation of beauty to justice. It harnesses the insights of philosophy, aesthetics, theology, literature and jurisprudence to fashion a coherent framework sufficient to enable action by those committed to justice and the common good. In so doing it finds in the law's engagement with aesthetics a rebuke to Nietzsche's post-modern desire to 'thrash him' who asserts 'the true', 'the good and the beautiful are one'. Originally delivered as a series of lectures for the Lawyers Christian Fellowship in Cumbria, United Kingdom, this short introduction to themes within philosophy and theology will be a useful resource for all those searching to find a renewed sense of vocation within our contemporary post-modern culture.

'Nothing could be more apt for the times than the publication of Dr Fowler's original and insightful lectures about Western Civilisation ... Dr Fowler's elegantly constructed lectures drawing upon history, law, literature, the Bible and the Constitution itself deal at a philosophical and practical level with the paradoxes of an increasingly secular age. This anthology is not however written exclusively for the philosopher or the lawyer. It is enlivened by poetry, parable and anecdote. Beauty and the Law could not be more relevant than it is today. It is to be commended to everyone.'

1. The Hon. Ian D F Callinan AC, former Justice of the Australian High Court