Representing legal rules and arguments in propositional logic: Part 1 (Scott Brewer)

Themes covered in this session:

1. Representing legal rules (moving from rule-enthymemes to a fair formal representation) using the tool of propositional deductive logic grammar
2. Representing legal arguments (moving from argument-enthymemes to a fair formal representation) using the tool of propositional deductive logic grammar
3. Using Logocratic analysis to represent “unvirtuous” interpretive abductions by judges (e.g., in Trans-Aire v. Northern Adhesive)

Projections

• [To be posted after session]

Readings

• Background for UCC § 2-207 and Pathology (Logocratic Vice) in Statutory Design (discussion by SB)
• Interpretive abduction, unvirtuous, in Trans-aire (discussion by SB)
• Tapscott, Elementary Applied Symbolic Logic, chapters 1-8 [explains the basics of propositional deductive logic, including truth functions and truth tables]
• Tapscott, Elementary Applied Symbolic Logic, chapter 6, A Logic-English translation Guide ) [offers a “translation guide” for English words that can be fairly formally represented as truth functions, for example, ‘unless’ and ‘but’ — necessary for understanding statute UCC 2-207
• Brewer, indent-right representation for EUI-HLS SSLL19 [a method for representing rule-enthymemes without symbolic forms ‘p’, ‘q’, etc. — that is, using only natural language

Cases and statutory background

• Trans-Aire v. Northern Adhesive (case)
• Statutory background for Trans-Aire v. Northern Adhesive: UCC 2-207 and Official Comments (statute and official comments)