Fruehwald on Theory-Induced Blindness in Legal Scholarship: A Critical Thinking Solution

Scott Fruehwald, Independent Scholar, has published Theory-Induced Blindness in Legal Scholarship: A Critical Thinking Solution. Here is the abstract.

The truth matters, and, consequently, how scholars seek the truth matters. Scholars often use theory as a framework to help them attain the truth. Accordingly, a scholar’s theoretical approach must be accurate; it must not be tainted in any way. “Theory-induced blindness” taints truth-seeking. Theory-induced blindness has contaminated legal scholarship in many ways. This article will examine theory-induced blindness in legal scholarship and demonstrate how it has affected the truth of that scholarship on both ends of the ideological spectrum. Part II will introduce the basics of theory-induced blindness. Parts III-VII will present examples of theory-induced blindness in Classical Legal Thought, writing legal history, traditional law and economics, post-modern legal scholars’ social constructionist arguments, and two professors’ defense of learning style theory. Finally, the conclusion will discuss the best solution for avoiding theory-induced blindness–evaluating theories with critical thinking.

Download the article from SSRN at the link.