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30Eyes Wide Shut: On Risk, Rule of Law and PrecautionRatio Juris 26 (2): 282-301. 2013.The rule of law offers legal certainty, laying down boundaries to the state's playing field. The precautionary approach stipulates that the absence of scientific certainty is no reason not to act to prevent harm. Here, uncertainty frames action. The precautionary approach potentially expands the state's playing field, and this expansion might well undermine the precepts of the rule of law. The certainty-uncertainty axis exposes a tension between the rule of law and the precautionary approach in …Read more
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8Dealing with Complexity, Facing Uncertainty
Morality and Ethics in a Complex SocietyArchiv für Rechts- Und Sozialphilosophie 100 (2): 201-218. 2014.The starting point of my analysis is the complexity of contemporary society. Complexity here refers more in particular to social complexity: the type of complexity that emerges from the relationships between human beings and the myriad of options and possibilities that exist in our society. A systems theoretical account of complexity elicits that this 'social abundance' necessitates selections. One way of enabling selections, and hence the reduction of complexity, is the formulation of norms. Th…Read more -
4Temporal Boundaries of Law and Politics: Time Out of JointRoutledge. 2018.In the last decade, the changing role of time in society has once again taken centre stage in the academic debate. A prominent, but surely not the only, aspect of this debate hinges on the so-called acceleration of time and its societal consequences. Despite the fact that time is fundamental to the way in which law and politics function, the influence of the contemporary experience of time on law and politics remains underdeveloped. How, for example, does society¿s structural acceleration impact…Read more
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3No Way Out? Contracting About Modern RisksArchiv für Rechts- Und Sozialphilosophie 95 (2): 199-215. 2009.This article seeks to illustrate the relevance of social theory for the study and practice of law. As social theory reports on changes that influence societal structures, the question for lawyers is how these changes affect law and what this means for its role and function. To this end, the article draws on Ulrich Beck's theory of the risk society and reflexive modernization to provide the relevant perspective. This theory reports upon and explains the so-called side effects of modernization tha…Read more
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2No Way Out? Contracting About Modern RisksArchiv für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie 95 (2): 199-215. 2009.This article seeks to illustrate the relevance of social theory for the study and practice of law. As social theory reports on changes that influence societal structures, the question for lawyers is how these changes affect law and what this means for its role and function. To this end, the article draws on Ulrich Beck’s theory of the risk society and reflexive modernization to provide the relevant perspective. This theory reports upon and explains the so-called side effects of modernization tha…Read more
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1Dealing with Complexity, Facing UncertaintyArchiv für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie 100 (2): 201-218. 2014.The starting point of my analysis is the complexity of contemporary society. Complexity here refers more in particular to social complexity: the type of complexity that emerges from the relationships between human beings and the myriad of options and possibilities that exist in our society. A systems theoretical account of complexity elicits that this ‘social abundance’ necessitates selections. One way of enabling selections, and hence the reduction of complexity, is the formulation of norms. Th…Read more
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The Normative Turn in Teubner’s Systems Theory of LawNetherlands Journal of Legal Philosophy 40 (3): 187-190. 2011.
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No Way Out?: Contracting About Modern RisksArchiv für Rechts- Und Sozialphilosophie 95 (2): 199-215. 2009.This article seeks to illustrate the relevance of social theory for the study and practice of law. As social theory reports on changes that influence societal structures, the question for lawyers is how these changes affect law and what this means for its role and function. To this end, the article draws on Ulrich Beck's theory of the risk society and reflexive modernization to provide the relevant perspective. This theory reports upon and explains the so-called side effects of modernization tha…Read more
Utrecht University
PhD, 2008
Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
Areas of Specialization
Philosophy of Law |
Social and Political Philosophy |