New Wine in Old Wineskins: Metaphor and Legal Research

Authors

Amy E. Sloan, University of Baltimore School of LawFollow
Colin Starger, University of Baltimore School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Journal Title

Notre Dame Law Review Online

Volume

92

First Page

1

Publication Date

8-1-2016

Abstract

We construct our conceptual world using metaphors. Yet sometimes our concepts are flawed and our metaphors do damage. This Article examines a set of metaphors currently doing damage in law – those for legal research. It shows that while technology has radically altered the material world of legal research, our dominant metaphors have remained static, and thus, become outmoded. Conceptualizing today’s reality using old metaphors fails; it is like pouring new wine in old wineskins. To address this problem, this Article first surfaces unwarranted assumptions buried in the metaphors we use when talking about research and then proposes new metaphors to better serve theory and practice. It concludes by examining how this investigation into “finding law” implicates primary jurisprudential concepts of law.

Recommended Citation

Amy E. Sloan & Colin Starger, New Wine in Old Wineskins: Metaphor and Legal Research, 92 Notre Dame L. Rev. Online 1 (2016).