HOW STAR WARS ILLUMINATES CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
Human beings often see coherence and planned design when neither exists. This is so in movies, literature, history, economics, and psychoanalysis – and constitutional law. Contrary to the repeated claims of George Lucas, its principal author, the Star Wars series was hardly planned in advance; it in...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
2017-02-01
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| Series: | Revista de Estudos Institucionais |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.estudosinstitucionais.com/REI/article/view/84 |
| _version_ | 1797959262359519232 |
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| author | Cass R. Sunstein |
| author_facet | Cass R. Sunstein |
| author_sort | Cass R. Sunstein |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Human beings often see coherence and planned design when neither exists. This is so in movies, literature, history, economics, and psychoanalysis – and constitutional law. Contrary to the repeated claims of George Lucas, its principal author, the Star Wars series was hardly planned in advance; it involved a great deal of improvisation and surprise, even to Lucas himself. Serendipity and happenstance, sometimes in the forms of eruptions of new thinking, play a pervasive and overlooked role in the creative imagination, certainly in single authored works, and even more in multi-authored ones extending over time. Serendipity imposes serious demands on the search for coherence in art, literature, history, and law. That search leads many people (including Lucas) to misdescribe the nature of their own creativity and authorship. The misdescription appears to respond to a serious human need for sense-making and pattern-finding, but it is a significant obstacle to understanding and critical reflection. Whether Jedi or Sith, many authors of constitutional law are a lot like the author of Star Wars, disguising the essential nature of their own creative processes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T00:29:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d0d17d0561244a6b81fb6b61ce8e5c91 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2447-5467 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T00:29:53Z |
| publishDate | 2017-02-01 |
| publisher | Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revista de Estudos Institucionais |
| spelling | doaj.art-d0d17d0561244a6b81fb6b61ce8e5c912023-01-07T23:09:26ZengUniversidade Federal do Rio de JaneiroRevista de Estudos Institucionais2447-54672017-02-012210.21783/rei.v2i2.8442HOW STAR WARS ILLUMINATES CONSTITUTIONAL LAWCass R. Sunstein0Harvard University, USAHuman beings often see coherence and planned design when neither exists. This is so in movies, literature, history, economics, and psychoanalysis – and constitutional law. Contrary to the repeated claims of George Lucas, its principal author, the Star Wars series was hardly planned in advance; it involved a great deal of improvisation and surprise, even to Lucas himself. Serendipity and happenstance, sometimes in the forms of eruptions of new thinking, play a pervasive and overlooked role in the creative imagination, certainly in single authored works, and even more in multi-authored ones extending over time. Serendipity imposes serious demands on the search for coherence in art, literature, history, and law. That search leads many people (including Lucas) to misdescribe the nature of their own creativity and authorship. The misdescription appears to respond to a serious human need for sense-making and pattern-finding, but it is a significant obstacle to understanding and critical reflection. Whether Jedi or Sith, many authors of constitutional law are a lot like the author of Star Wars, disguising the essential nature of their own creative processes.https://www.estudosinstitucionais.com/REI/article/view/84SerendipityJudicial InterpretationSupreme CourtChain NovelOriginalism |
| spellingShingle | Cass R. Sunstein HOW STAR WARS ILLUMINATES CONSTITUTIONAL LAW Revista de Estudos Institucionais Serendipity Judicial Interpretation Supreme Court Chain Novel Originalism |
| title | HOW STAR WARS ILLUMINATES CONSTITUTIONAL LAW |
| title_full | HOW STAR WARS ILLUMINATES CONSTITUTIONAL LAW |
| title_fullStr | HOW STAR WARS ILLUMINATES CONSTITUTIONAL LAW |
| title_full_unstemmed | HOW STAR WARS ILLUMINATES CONSTITUTIONAL LAW |
| title_short | HOW STAR WARS ILLUMINATES CONSTITUTIONAL LAW |
| title_sort | how star wars illuminates constitutional law |
| topic | Serendipity Judicial Interpretation Supreme Court Chain Novel Originalism |
| url | https://www.estudosinstitucionais.com/REI/article/view/84 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cassrsunstein howstarwarsilluminatesconstitutionallaw |