Historian Carl Becker once said that every generation rewrites history to suit its needs and according to its perspectives. This twenty-first-century collection of essays on the Declaration partly validates his claim and partly does not. Probably the chief way in which this collection differs from earlier efforts is in its broadened horizons. There is a systematic effort to consider the Declaration in relation to groups and concerns that received little attention in the past – women, labor, Native Americans, the international resonances of the document. But there are familiar themes as well, though these are mostly treated differently from the past. The intellectual roots of the Declaration is indeed a familiar topic, but the century or so since Becker’s book has enriched and deepened our grasp of the intellectual sources and, perhaps even more deeply, of their meaning. Not often emphasized in previous treatments are the religious and theological influences. Themes like the relation of the Declaration to the political context from which it emerged, the legal basis of the document, its main ideas, the Declaration and slavery – these are all topics that have a long history but which receive new treatment here based on new scholarship.

This chapter addresses the question of the interpretation of fictions. Traditional views on this topic run the full gamut from straightforward versions of intentionalism – on which correct interpretations track what authors meant with the works they have created – to more or less extreme versions of conventionalism – on which correct interpretations instead track what the social practices of fiction determine to be the meanings of fictional works. I assume that interpretations are advanced as the paratextual uses of fictional discourse, as examined in Chapter 1 while discussing Lewis’s (1978) account. They may range from utterly commonplace, modest accounts of the core content of a fiction made for the benefit of those unfamiliar with it, to highly ambitious critical pursuits that ascribe unobvious deep meanings to a work; and it is a pragmatic issue whether they should be understood as playing one or another of these roles. Dedicated Representation accounts of fictionality, like the one promoted here, presuppose that fictions have contents, and hence have their own semantics. Such accounts are thus in a better position to offer a theoretical understanding of interpretive undertakings than Mere Pretense views, which forgo this advantage. The issue can then be used for abductive appraisal. A semantics requires a metasemantics for its justification, i.e., an account of the nature of fictions that can determine which semantic ascriptions are correct. Previous chapters have contrasted psychologically expressive accounts, such as the Gricean proposals made by Currie, Stock and others, with social-normative views like Walton’s, Abell’s, or the one favored here. Prima facie, psychological views fit intentionalist accounts better, while social views go with conventionalism. But the issue is more complex. While Stock does defend intentionalism, Currie instead endorses a rather conventionalist view; and while Abell supports conventionalism, the view I’ll advance here is intentionalist. The chapter also engages with Friend’s influential work. While assuming a form of conventionalism, Friend has articulated and defended a rather skeptical view of fictionality, and of the fiction vs. nonfiction divide, which I’ll critically discuss.

Chapter 5 discusses the relationship between Christians and classical education, and the emergence of Church schools in monasteries and episcopal households. It argues that while the Church never set out to consciously replace or compete with the classical schools, nor to destroy classical literary culture, the Church neither taught classical grammar and rhetoric, nor did it expect such high educational attainments for membership or promotion within its hierarchies. At the same time, the presence of new learning and career opportunities within the clergy, and the increasing rise of asceticism or monasticism indirectly contributed to the marginalisation of traditional classical educational institutions and the disappearance of schools of grammar and rhetoric from public life by the early sixth century.

Suicide is a global phenomenon, with implications for HICs and LMICs alike, bec,ause of interconnectedness. Social injustice increases societies’ suicide risk and it is easily and frequently exported. Suicide is preventable but not always individually. Suicide prediction is difficult or impossible, so those measures that effect everyone work best. Hence assuring good quality, timely mental health coverage for the whole population is important. Those with the least resources must be targeted, as they are at greatest risk..

This chapter introduces decision-making criteria for the three core choices of qualitative research design: the number of cases to study, which cases to study, and which particular analysis technique to use. Background research is important in identifying potential cases to study, especially cases that represent negative evidence, and in making case selections. Negative evidence plays a key role in maximizing the credibility of hypothesis tests by creating variation in the values of key variables. Common techniques in qualitative analysis include process tracing, content analysis, analytic narratives, structured focused comparison, and methods of similarity; principles of research design and case selection vary across these techniques.

Some of the most decisive battles over the responsibilities of transnational corporations (TNCs) have been fought in domestic courtrooms – often far from where the alleged abuses occurred. The United States has hosted a substantial proportion of such cases against TNCs, supported by a legal framework that historically provided several plaintiff-friendly avenues. However, the landscape has become more challenging following the Supreme Court’s decisions in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. and Daimler AG v. Bauman. In Canada, the absence of an ATS-equivalent and the application of the doctrine of forum non conveniens have limited opportunities for litigation. However, recent decisions suggest more cases may flow to Canada in the future. In the United Kingdom, developments in the law relating to parent company liability have been particularly significant. In Across continental Europe, barriers such as limited access to class actions, prosecutorial discretion, and weak disclosure obligations continue to constrain transnational human rights litigation.

The fragments on the ancients and the moderns are continued. Arguments are presented for and against the role played by the ancients in establishing a modern culture of genius and taste. The effect of writing on oral poetry is discussed together with the invention of paper, printing, and copper engraving. These had an important effect on poetic expression and public culture, and the advantages and disadvantages are weighed. The Middle Ages ended with the Reformation, the discovery of new lands, changes in the financial system, in war, and class relationships. German literature is discussed in relation to other European traditions, and its shortcomings and merits are considered. In conclusion, it is argued that comparison of the national poetic traditions is difficult, perhaps futile, and that every nation should value its own tradition.

Miscarriages of justice encompass more injustice than wrongful convictions or proven innocence. Proven innocence is the most severe rationing of justice, but it is popular, especially for non-lawyers and in mass imprisonment societies such as China and the United States. Originally used as a rationale for compensation in the United States, it now also rations post-conviction relief. It has been used to ration compensation in England since 2014 but was rejected in the 2024 Canadian reforms, creating a Miscarriage of Justice Review Commission. Some Australian states have been attracted to it in recent legislation, but the Chamberlain and Folbigg wrongful convictions have properly been corrected because of reasonable doubts about the guilt of the two women. Following Ronald Dworkin, there needs to be greater concern about inequality in the distribution of the risks of injustice. The danger of wrongful conviction reforms providing justice for a few while legitimating injustices for many is most acute in authoritarian societies such as China, but not absent in democracies. Comparative law, legal process and historical analysis can contribute to richer understandings of miscarriages of justice. Two different future scenarios, one that provides justice for less and another that provides justice for more, are outlined.

This brief chapter considers what we mean by knowledge, explanation and understanding, aspects that have and remain areas of debate in the philosophy of science. Despite scientists referring to these aspects routinely in ways that suggest their meaning is clear, examples are given that suggest the terms can actually be used in various ways by different people. It is important to consider what is being claimed and why in a claimed explanation or a claim to understanding, because the terms carry different weights and subjectively mean different things. This can lead to confusion and errors of reasoning that can constrain a field.

The concluding chapter reflects upon how the themes and questions explored in the book speak to familiar concerns of families, communities, and societies across time. What is the purpose of education? What do we expect of our education, and in what ways does our pursuit of knowledge and our learning define who we are? The conclusion draws together the arguments from the preceding chapters, considering in what ways the ‘fall’ of Rome meant the end of the schools of grammar and rhetoric in Gaul. Without the superstructure of the Roman empire, the socio-political culture that valued literary education disappeared, and the schools soon followed suit; it was not primarily material changes caused by the political, cultural, and religious upheavals of the fifth century that led to the decline of the schools, but rather marked changes in the attitudes and mindset towards education and learning of the emerging power brokers of post-imperial Gaul – the barbarian kingdoms and the Church.

This chapter explores the significant impact of the digital age on the realm of literature, focusing specifically on Hebrew poetry as a distinctive case study. This focus is driven by the declining status of literature within Israeli culture and the dynamic state of its reviving literary landscape. The study is structured in two phases: the first delves into practices and phenomena, while the second aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the field’s logic and values by examining different participants and levels. The chapter claims that the necessity of the second phase arises from the current state of the field, where the adaptation of media has become so ingrained that it conceals its influence on literary themes, forms, and language. The chapter addresses this gap using the theoretical framework of mediatization, which explores long-term changes associated with media evolution.

Judge Frank Easterbrook once argued that rather than establish narrowly defined areas of legal research, scholars should stick to the study of general rules, which can be applied to any number of subject areas. The specific target in Judge Easterbrook’s crosshairs was cyberlaw, which was ascendant in the 1990s. His argument, and the metaphor within, is worth quoting at length: Lots of cases deal with sales of horses; others deal with people kicked by horses; still more deal with the licensing and racing of horses, or with the care veterinarians give to horses, or with prizes at horse shows. Any effort to collect these strands into a course on “The Law of the Horse” is doomed to be shallow and to miss unifying principles. Teaching 100 percent of the cases on people kicked by horses will not convey the law of torts very well. Far better for most students – better, even, for those who plan to go into the horse trade – to take courses in property, torts, commercial transactions, and the like, adding to the diet of horse cases a smattering of transactions in cucumbers, cats, coal, and cribs. Only by putting the law of the horse in the context of broader rules about commercial endeavors could one really understand the law about horses.