On disruption and leximetrics: A reply to Niels Petersen and Konstantin Chatziathanasiou
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Elkins, Zachary [1] ; Ginsburg, Tom [2]
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[1] University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
Estados Unidos
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[2] University of Chicago
University of Chicago
City of Chicago, Estados Unidos
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- Localización: International journal of constitutional law, ISSN 1474-2640, Vol. 19, Nº. 5, 2021, págs. 1835-1841
- Idioma: inglés
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
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Resumen
We explore the apparent disruption of legal scholarship wrought by leximetrics—variable-oriented, predictive methods. We view the skepticism surrounding leximetrics as healthy, in that it focuses attention on some central inferential challenges relevant to most empirical methods. Scholarly anxiety may be a natural by-product of this disruption, as scholars navigate the rise and fall in popularity of various ideas and approaches. Some of this anxiety is related to a perceived hierarchy of methodological approaches in social science. Nonetheless, we are hopeful that broadminded, ecumenical tastes will prevail. One likely future for legal scholars is similar to that of political science, whose practitioners have largely embraced methodological pluralism, and maintained the value of case-oriented research.
