Posted by Orin Kerr:
Academic Navel-Gazing, or, Why I Write:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2005_05_22-2005_05_28.shtml#1116957530
Inspired by a recent symposium published in the [1]San Diego Law
Review on why law professors often write much more scholarship than
they need for tenure, promotion and the like, a few blogging law profs
are taking a crack at the question of why they write. [2]Paul Horwitz
started things off with a thoughtful post and a solicitation for
responses, [3]Michael Froomkin joined in with an excellent take, and
[4]Eric Muller has promised something soon.
I'm probably too new at legal academia to have a very good answer to
this question, but I thought I would give it a try. Two motivations
for writing come to mind, at least to the extent I'm self-aware enough
to understand my own motivations. The first and probably primary
motivation is the simple enjoyment of playing with and working through
a tough problem. I often come across a murky question or area that I
think is getting in the way of clear thinking about a legal issue, and
I use the excuse of article-writing as a way of making myself confront
and attempt to address or resolve it (or at least articulate why it
can't be easily addressed or resolved).
Specifically, I often use the first half of the article to make
myself identify and articulate the problem, and then use the second
half to ponder and ultimately identify my own best solution. One
corollary to this is that usually I don't know where I'm going when I
start an article; I usually write the first half that sets up the
problem before I have any idea of what conclusion or normative
proposal I might offer. (When I'm writing, I often have conversations
like this: Q: "What are you working on?" A: "An article about x." Q:
"What's your take on it?" A: "It's only half written. I don't know
yet.") My favorite part of the writing process is when I finally
figure out my take and can imagine how the rest of the article will
unfold.
Other articles seem to come about for different reasons. Sometimes I
write when I'm convinced that everyone else is misunderstanding
something important. I write out of a delusional sense that I have
reached some insight others are missing; that I can share that insight
with others in an article; that others will be persuaded; and that
somehow in some way the world will be a better place because of it.
These articles are more goal-oriented. I start out wanting to make a
particular argument, and look for evidence in support of that
argument. I'm not sure if readers can sense the difference between the
two, or which on average is better. (If you're curious, [5]here is a
work-through-while-writing article, and [6]here is a goal-oriented
article.) But it feels different when I'm writing the goal-oriented
pieces. It's more like brief-writing than just exploring. I suppose
both types of writing have their place.
Finally, stepping back a bit I'm reminded of some favorite quips
from Justice Holmes's letters about why he enjoyed his work. None of
us are Holmes, obviously, but I think his take captures something
important. Or at least something that reasonates with me. Here are two
among many, taken from the Posner-edited book [7]The Essential Holmes:
"Why? Why do I desire to win my game of solitaire? A foolish question,
to which the only answer is that you are up against it. Accept the
inevitable and do your damndest." (p44, from a 1927 letter to Harold
Laski) And my favorite, a remark on living: "I mean to do as much of
it as I can. What a divine gift is fire." (p9, from a 1922 letter to
Frederick Pollock).
References
1. http://www.sandiego.edu/SanDiegoLRev/
2. http://prawfsblawg.blogs.com/prawfsblawg/2005/05/why_i_write_no_.html
3.
http://www.discourse.net/archives/2005/05/why_i_write_legal_scholarship.html
4. http://www.isthatlegal.org/archive/2005/05/why_do_you_writ.html
5. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=697541
6. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=421560
7.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/sim-explorer/explore-items/-/0226675548/0/101/1/none/purchase/ref%3Dpd%5Fsxp%5Fr0/103-7569287-0295850
_______________________________________________
Volokh mailing list
[email protected]
http://highsorcery.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volokh
