Abstract

The main objective of this article is to take the first step towards making evolutionary theory "our own discipline," by elevating evolutionary theory from the status of "cousin" to one of "sibling" (or at least "in-laws") of the legal family. The focus in particular is to understand why, despite the fact that the evolutionary theory approach to law (or "evolutionary theory and law") has been present quite a while in the legal scholar's discussion, the legal world at large has left it at the front step of the legal house. Based on this analysis, the task is also to evaluate whether it is possible, after certain adjustments, to invite evolutionary theory into the larger family of legal thinking, in particular as part of the legal theories of law-making (as "legal evolutionary theory").