The paradox of self-amendment

More about the book

The first full-length study of self-reference and paradox in law, this book will intrigue and instruct anyone interested in law, logic, philosophy, or political theory. History shows that self-amendment - for example, the use of a constitution's amending clause to amend itself - is commonplace; legal analysis shows it to be lawful, even if (as some logicians have alleged) it is self-contradictory; and philosophical analysis shows it to be foundational for legality. The lawfulness of self-amendment, therefore, sheds important light on legal reasoning and rationality, and shows that we no longer need accept the immutability of any level of law.