Donald Black Thesis

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Overall, Donald Black applied a predominantly empirical tone throughout the two exerts from the Behaviors of Law. He uses empirical statements throughout his writing that facilitates his speculation on the variable elements of law and social life. An example of Black’s empirical manner is when he states, “wealthier people are more litigious…no matter the problem…they are more likely to bring lawsuits against one another for everything, whether fraud, negligence, slander, or divorce” (Black 18). Black’s observation differentiating social class and the attitudes towards law clearly denote testable claims. Throughout his piece, there exists several statements that can be assessed to test its validity. Another example of an empirical statement is, “if a poor man commits a crime against another poor man, this is less serious than if both …show more content…

When discussing the legal advantages of the wealthy man, Black illustrates the nature of nations like the African kingdom of Nupe, “In the African kingdom of Nupe, a man of rank was allowed to be killed at night and in his own home, whereas a commoner’s execution was a public spectacle in the marketplace” (Black 26). In the contestable nature of the wealthy man having legal advantages, Black uses empirical evidence to strengthen his agreement. Another example is, “In Imperial Rome, the party of higher rank had an advantage…In Manchu China, violence against a superior was punished more severely than violence to an inferior” (Black 23). Black’s relative inclusions of societies and nations improve his testable claims. While the evidence Black chooses to use can be subjective for the sake of his theory, Black overall uses condensed and precise language to reframe from opinionated claims. Black is perceived with more empirical statements rather than normative statements, which as a results initiates a vast amount of argumentative

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