Contract Law Without Foundations: Toward a Republican Theory of Contract Law

Publication details

Saprai, Prince. (2019) Contract Law Without Foundations: Toward a Republican Theory of Contract Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Summary

The book attempts to break new ground in the philosophy of contract law by upending the orthodox picture of the field. In recent times, the philosophy of contract law has been dominated by the ‘promise theory’, according to which the morality of promise provides a ‘blueprint’ for the structure, shape, and content that contract law rules and doctrines should take. The promise theory is an example of what this book calls a ‘foundationalist’ theory of an area of law, according to which areas of law reflect or are underlain by particular moral principles or sets of such principles. The book argues that the promise theory is false, by considering contract law from the point of view of its theory, rules and doctrines, and broader political context.

Further details about the book are available on the OUP Academic website.