Abiding in the midst of ignorance,
thinking themselves wise and learned,
fools go aimlessly hither and thither,
like blind led by the blind
(Katha Upanishad)
After reading the above passage from the Katha Upanishad, we tend to conclude that it does not apply to us. How could it? We are experienced lawyers and our success is proof of our wisdom and learning. Yet, the passage warns against this very line of reasoning. Our high opinion of ourselves ought to be an alarm that calls us to question whether we are as wise and learned as we think. The legal superiority with which we credit ourselves is a pleasant but false illusion. There is an important aspect of our legal lives where we go aimlessly hither and thither like blind led by the blind. The way in which we communicate legal meaning is seriously flawed. Our legal communications fail at a rate that is unacceptably high and those that do succeed, succeed accidentally instead of on purpose.
A Unified Theory of a Law
The heart of the problem is: Lawyers do not speak the same language. Yes. That's right. We believe we do, but we do not have a common language with which to communicate legal meaning. Each lawyer speaks his or her own dialect of legalese. They all sound similar; but, they are not the same.
A Unified Theory of a Law postulates a solution to our legal communication problem [which is really a legal thinking problem]. Attached to a law -- any law -- are eight "handles" that, when grasped, give the ordinary legal thinker an understanding of a law equal to the understanding of the greatest legal genius. These eight "handles" consist of two (2) sentences, four (4) words and two (2) polarities of conduct.
How is it possible to exalt the thinking of an ordinary legal thinker so that it is on par with the thinking of a legal genius?
A law can be likened to a cow that gives the same quantity of milk no matter who does the milking. A legal genius can milk a law for no more meaning than the legal idiot because a law has a limited amount of meaning to give. The boundaries that define our knowledge of a law have been discovered, explored and mapped onto the Periodic Table of the Elements of a Law. All knowledge about a law lives within the nine cells of its three by three grid. Hence, an understanding of a law is within our grasp not beyond it.
Come closer. Let me let you in on a legal secret. I'll whisper it into your ear but you may shout it from the rooftops: a law is simple. Yes, that's right, a law is simple not complex. The facts may be complex but never a law. It is not that the legal establishment wants you to think otherwise to preserve its monopoly over legal understanding. Before A Unified Theory of a Law, our understanding of a law was so poor that we did not know whether a law was simple or complex. Now we do. Therefore, rid yourself of any doubts over your ability to understand legal meaning. With a Unified Theory of a Law opening the door to your mind, any law can enter and its meaning be understood.
An invasion of armies can be resisted,
but not an idea whose time has come.
Victor Hugo
* * * * * * * * * *
John Bosco is available to teach a three hour seminar about his Unified Theory of a Law. Email him at BBMBOSCO@gmail.com* * * * * * * * * *