Constitutional understanding is cultivated through practical exercises rather than passive reading
Evidence
A large part of Constitutional Interpretation is devoted to three constitutional cases: Missouri v. Holland, the confirmation hearings of Robert Bork, and the Iran-Contra Affair. The reader is asked to work through these problems using the techniques developed in Constitutional Fate and recapitulated in ConstitutionalInterpretation. Because the people of this country have an important legal role to play in constitutional law, these exercises are meant to teach the legal methods by which constitutional problems are addressed. And because understanding is the product of learning how to do something, these exercises provide an instance of the process I am claiming to be at work. The reader must judge. — Philip Chase Bobbitt, Reflections Inspired by My Critics, 28
Categorization
- SEED: The claim that constitutional understanding is built by doing cases could seed an essay on active-learning methods in legal education versus lecture-based teaching.
- XREF: connects to: Forms of constitutional argument are validated by their presence in practice, not by approval — Philip Chase Bobbitt, Reflections Inspired by My Critics, 437; A constitutional description’s static feel reflects the observer’s participation in an evolving process. — Philip Chase Bobbitt, Reflections Inspired by My Critics, 482; Legitimacy can be derived from constitutional practices rather than from justifications. — Philip Chase Bobbitt, Reflections Inspired by My Critics, 15 (+3 more)
Related
- A constitutional description’s static feel reflects the observer’s participation in an evolving process. (similarity 0.81)
- Constitutional law and jurisprudence need have only contingent historical connections. (similarity 0.79)
- Balkin and Levinson conclude that I must either accept whatever is practiced or abandon my pose as simply a descriptive observer. These descriptions depend on several assumptions that I do not… (similarity 0.78)
- Postmodern constitutional thought marks a shift from truth to meaning. (similarity 0.78)
- Constitutional interpretation and constitutional discourse are distinct practices. (similarity 0.78)
Broader Connections
- Forms of constitutional argument are validated by their presence in practice, not by approval
#corroborates(0.80) — Philip Chase Bobbitt, Reflections Inspired by My Critics, 437 - Legitimacy can be derived from constitutional practices rather than from justifications.
#corroborates(0.75) — Philip Chase Bobbitt, Reflections Inspired by My Critics, 15 - A constitutional description’s static feel reflects the observer’s participation in an evolving process.
#corroborates(0.60) — Philip Chase Bobbitt, Reflections Inspired by My Critics, 482 - Repeated exercises yield new understanding rather than identical experiences
#corroborates(0.60) — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 100 - Understanding a linguistic practice does not require understanding larger social practices first.
#complicates(0.50) — Philip Chase Bobbitt, Reflections Inspired by My Critics, 798