Abstract

On the face of it, we might think that logic and the law were made for each other. Their intellectual identities are grounded in a shared stock of concepts: argument, proof, evidence, inference, probability, relevance, presumption, precedent or analogy, plausibility, reasonability and explanation. Provided that we understand logic broadly enough to include not only mathematical theories of deduction and induction, but also more recent attempts by computer scientists to investigate defeasible and default reasoning, there is not an item on this list that escapes the attention of logicians. If we also take note of brisk developments in dialogue logic and formal argumentation theory, the list of shared concepts enlarges accordingly, including among others, leading questions and cross-examination.