Quotes by Edward Levi

As an instrument for practical action, law is responsive to the wisdom of its time, which may be wrong, but it carries forward, sometimes in opposition to this wisdom or passion, a memory of received values.

Law builds upon and, I should like to claim, is one of the liberal arts. It uses words of persuasion and changing definitions for practical ends.

Law, itself, is a mediating discipline, not only among the passions and needs of human beings, sometimes viewed severally and sometimes in groups or associations, but with respect to the craftsmanship which is useful, and to the relevance of what is perceived as current knowledge or opinion.

The concept of reason itself appears as an artificial attempt to separate intellectual powers from the frustrations, emotions, and accidents which cause events; the concept of reason is viewed as facade to prevent change.

The introduction of many minds into many fields of learning along a broad spectrum keeps alive questions about the accessibility, if not the unity, of knowledge.

The role of a liberal arts college within a university is to be a genuine part of that university, giving and responding to the other parts.

The University conceives of itself as dedicated to the power of the intellect. Its commitment is to the way of reason.

Universities are the custodians not only of the many cultures of man, but of the rational process itself.

You have to avoid talking too much about the great faculty members of the early days, lest the students and the public conclude that the great people who have taught at this law school were all in the early days and overlook the fact that the really great ones are those who are here now.