Beauty and the Law takes the reader on an introductory journey through Western intellectual history, observed through the prism of the relation of beauty to justice. It harnesses the insights of philosophy, aesthetics, theology, literature and jurisprudence to fashion a coherent conceptual framework sufficient to enable just action by those committed to the common good. Interrogating the foundations of contemporary postmodernism, it finds within the law the space for beauty, truth and the good to make their continuing claims upon us. Originally delivered as a series of lectures for the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship in Cumbria, United Kingdom, this short introduction to themes within philosophy and theology will be a useful resource for all those searching to find a renewed sense of vocation within our postmodern culture.
‘Nothing could be more apt for the times than the publication of Dr Fowler’s original and insightful lectures about Western Civilisation … Dr Fowler’s elegantly constructed lectures drawing upon history, law, literature, the Bible and the Constitution itself deal at a philosophical and practical level with the paradoxes of an increasingly secular age. This anthology is not however written exclusively for the philosopher or the lawyer. It is enlivened by poetry, parable and anecdote. Beauty and the Law could not be more relevant than it is today. It is to be commended to everyone.’
– The Hon Ian DF Callinan AC, former Justice of the High Court of Australia
‘If beauty can light up pathways to human flourishing, we are greatly indebted to Mark Fowler for helping us find the switch again, so long lost in the gloom of our blind materialism.’
– The Hon John Anderson, former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
‘Mark Fowler shows, drawing on history, theology, literature, art and philosophy, that beauty as the pursuit of justice is at the very heart of law-making, advocacy and judicial decision making.’
– The Hon Amanda Stoker, former Commonwealth Assistant Attorney-General
‘This book is a timely reminder that beauty is not a shallow construct but has a much deeper significance for the individual human soul and the broader human condition.’
– Commissioner Lorraine Finlay, Australian Human Rights Commissioner
‘Mark Fowler has done us a great service in these lectures to draw our attention to the divine gift of beauty, and its relevance to the public sphere. Let’s continue to advocate for its power.’
– Reverend Canon Dr Rhys Bezzant, Principal (elect), Ridley College, Melbourne
‘Dr Fowler does a great job of reminding us that law, to be justice, must be related to matters beyond mere law itself and that beauty and what it relates to is one of these important informing notions. A much needed book.’
– Iain T Benson, Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame Australia, Sydney
Dr Fowler in this very accessible collection of lectures reminds us that within both the classical and intellectual tradition of Greece and Rome and the Judeo-Christian tradition there are persistent affirmations of the psycho-cultural relationship between the true, the good, the beautiful and the just. Dr Fowler mounts a compelling case against the pessimism of postmodernist critical theory; the hopeless view that there can be no common ground between human beings. Dr Fowler’s discussion serves to sensitise us to the relationship between the just and the beautiful. Even we time-poor lawyers can appreciate, if we are sufficiently alert to it, the force of this insight in our daily lives and daily practice. I commend Mark Fowler’s book to you as a meditation on these larger themes. These lectures worthily champion the essential, hopeful view that we all of us can know an injustice when we see it, even if we have not been its victim.
–The Hon Patrick Keane AC, former Judge of the High Court of Australia
Husband to Sarah and father to Caitlyn and Ethan, Dr Mark Fowler
is a practicing lawyer and Principal of Fowler Charity Law. He is an Adjunct
Associate Professor both at the University of Notre Dame, School of Law,
Sydney, and the Law School at his alma
mater, the University of New England. He is also an External Fellow at
the Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law, University of
Queensland where he was awarded his doctorate in 2023.
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