Book review: MAVIS MACLEAN AND JOHN EEKELAAR, Family Law Advocacy: How Barristers Help the Victims of Family Failure. Oxford & Portland, OR: Hart, 2009, 132pp. ISBN 9781841132778, £25.00 (pbk)
| Published date | 01 December 2010 |
| Author | Kirsteen Mackay |
| DOI | 10.1177/09646639100190040704 |
| Date | 01 December 2010 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
over differences across dialogues in search of a definitive, overarching coherence. They
are less inclined to identify within Plato or Aristotle a supposed origin of a monolithic
‘Western’ absolutism, supposedly‘continued’ by an Aquinas or a Hegel, and which turns
out to be more of a backward, neo-Hellenist projection than a real origin.
My reservations about Bhaskar’s grand historical and Occidentalizing narrative in no
way impeach the real interest of his conceptsof absence, negativity and non-being. I ques-
tion only whether the ‘totalising critique’ of ‘Western thought’ is required to articulate
them. Historical references do, of course, facilitate the exposition of a theory centred
so strongly on critiques of earlier thinkers. Yet such references seem amply available
within the tradition of post-Kantian modernity. Be that as it may, Alan Norrie is to be
applauded for an account as faithful as possibleto Bhaskar’s writings. Dialectic and Dif-
ference displays precision and depth. It will certainly aid anyone seeking greater insight
into Bhaskar, and achieves clarity on points that Bhaskar himself exposes with some dif-
ficulty. The book introduces ideas that can certainly hold their own in current debates
about social theory. Whateverproblems may lie within the theory’s exposition, Norrie has
rendered a service to scholars wishing to examine critical realism through a focused and
probing study.
References
Bhaskar R (1993) Dialectic: The Pulse of Freedom. London: Verso.
Bhaskar R (1994) Plato etc. London: Verso.
Bhaskar R (2008) A Realist Theory of Science. London: Verso.
Hegel GWF (1982) Vorlesungen u
¨ber die Geschichte der Philosophie. In Irrlitz G and Gurst K
(eds) Werke (Vol. 2). Leipzig, DE: Verlag Philipp Reclam Jun.
Heidegger M (1979) Sein und Zeit.Tu
¨bingen: Max Niemeyer Verlag.
Heinze E (2007) The status of classical natural law: Plato and the parochialism of modern theory.
Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence 20: 323–350.
Huizinga J (1997) Herfsttij der middeleeuwen: Studie over levens- en gedachtenvormen der veer-
tiende en vijftiende eeuw in Frankrijk en de Nederlanden (22nd edn), Anton van der Lem (ed.).
Amsterdam: Contact Uitgeverij.
Popper K (2002) The Logic of Scientific Discovery. London: Routledge.
Popper K (2003) The Open Society and Its Enemies (Vols 1 & 2). London: Routledge.
Eric Heinze
Queen Mary, London University, UK
MAVIS MACLEAN AND JOHN EEKELAAR, Family Law Advocacy: How Barristers Help the
Victims of Family Failure. Oxford & Portland, OR: Hart, 2009, 132pp. ISBN
9781841132778, £25.00 (pbk).
This slim volume is an interesting addition to the research literature on family law prac-
tice. The book is essentially four chapters describing the findings of a research project
Book reviews 529
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