B.T. Keener, a J.D. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, has posted The Provenance of Edward Coke's Artificial Reason, which he wrote in partial completion of the requirements of his MPhil in Political Thought and Intellectual History at the University of Cambridge:
--Dan ErnstWhat are we to make of Edward Coke's famous invocation of "artificial reason" in his battle with King James I? It is remembered as perhaps one of the best justifications for judicial independence and, more importantly, as Coke's greatest contribution to legal theory. What has not been adequately grasped about this historic moment is the specific jurisprudential content Coke ascribes to it. Namely, the term "artificial reason" serves to defend both judicial independence and the independence of the common law from the introduction of untraditional and foreign legal and philosophical sources. Ironically, Coke comes to this conclusion from his exposure to foreign philosophers. Yet, the underlying force of the term should be noted: it rejects as illegitimate the use of ius gentium in the adjudication of English cases, specifically cases of first impression. Part I covers Coke’s general theoretical commitments. Part II turns to Calvin’s Case, Prohibitions Del Roy, and the roles played by Chancellor Ellesmere and Francis Bacon in Coke’s development of the term.
Sir Edward Coke (NYPL)
