The Fall of the Priests and the Rise of the Lawyers

by Philip Wood

Overview

This fast-paced, inspiring and original work proposes that the secular legal systems around the world provide an immeasurably bigger and more comprehensive moral regime to govern our lives than the religious codes. Backed by potent and haunting images the book states that the law, for all its faults, is the one universal ethical framework that everyone believes in and that the law is now by far the most important ideology we have for our survival.
The reach of the law extends not just to crime and the family, but also to vast realms relating, for example, to money, banks, tax and corporations and even securitisations and derivatives. The immense influence that the law has raises fundamental moral challenges.
The author explores the decline of religions and the huge growth of law and makes suggestions for the future of law and lawyers.
The innovative summaries of both the main religions and the central tenets of law worldwide provide useful insights into both the law and religions. The book will appeal to lawyers, economists, philosophers, scientists and many other specialities and is written for the general reader.
Written by one of the most important lawyers of our generation, this exciting and powerful new paperback is a major philosophical statement for our times as witnessed by its enthusiastic reception when first published in 2016.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781509920037
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	11/30/2017
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.61(h) x 0.61(d)

About the Author

Philip Wood CBE, KC (Hon) is head of the global law intelligence unit, a think-tank, at the major international law firm, Allen & Overy, a distinguished practitioner, a visiting professor or fellow at Oxford, Cambridge and London Universities and the author of 19 books. He is one of the leading international and comparative lawyers in the world. He has practised the law for fifty years.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Acknowledgements ix

The Author xi

1 The Questions 1

2 The Purpose of Morality and Law 5

3 The Past and the Future 15

4 What is Religion? 31

5 What is the Rule of Law? 53

6 The Families of Religion: Western Religions 65

7 The Families of Religion: Eastern Religions 95

8 The Families of Law 119

9 A Brief Tour of Secular Law 139

10 Money, Banks and Corporations 169

11 Secularisation and Religious Decline 179

12 Reasons for the Decline of Religiosity 197

13 Secularisation of Government 205

14 The Rise of the Lawyers 217

15 Who Rules the World: Lawyers or Economists? 227

16 What is Wrong with the Law? 241

17 Scientific Progress and the Law 255

18 A Way of Living 263

19 A Billion Years from Now 273

Editorial Reviews

"a 'must read'....the book deserves enormous market success..." --Robert McKay

"...a startlingly original piece of work that deserves to be read far and wide...It will have us thinking and wondering...completely brilliant from start to finish." --Humphrey Keenlyside

"...couldn't put it down... You have gathered together an amazing amount of fascinating information. That is why I must read it all again." --Tony Herbert, former managing partner of A&O

"A most compelling read for all persons, not just lawyers or law students, concerned with the sustainability of our human race and of our planet earth. A true sui generis tour de force by one of the great international and comparative legal minds of our time, who sees law and the rule of law as the linchpin for grounding scientific rules/theories, relevant economic propositions and the spiritual searches ingrained in the great world religions." --Joe Norton, Amazon

"My hope is that Philip Woods' book will become mandatory reading in introductory law courses around the world, replacing the jaw-droppingly boring texts which accompany subjects such as 'Legal Institutions'" --Peter Alexiadis, Business Law International

"I put "The Fall of the Priests and the Rise of the Lawyers" in the same class as H.L.A Hart's "The Concept of Law". A ground breaking philosophical book of our time, and it is very readable. It sits on my shelf next to modern day philosophical classics such as Michael Oakeshott's "On History", Noel Castree's "Social Nature", A.C.Grayling "The Age of Genius" and works by Michel Foucault." --Jon Fisher

"In future decades and centuries, the law, rather than religion, will ensure humanity survives. This exciting proposition is explored in this unique and expansive work ... It is an impressive work, revealing the author's deep knowledge of the subject matter ... this fascinating book would be an excellent resource for any keen student of law and religion." --Mitchell Landrigan, Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney, Alternative Law Journal

From the Publisher