A chain novel is written collectively by a group of authors. The novel is passed along from author to author, each adding a new chapter or section to the work, with the rule that each subsequent chapter or section should elaborate and follow the plotline of preceding chapters or sections. The legal theorist Ronald Dworkin has compared common law jurisprudence to chain novels by suggesting that judges, like chain novel authors, must elaborate and follow the laws set before them. The word author has several meanings: The author of a book, story, article or the like, is the person who has written it (or is writing it). ... Ronald Dworkin (born 1931) is an American philosopher, especially noted for his contributions to jurisprudence including legal philosophy, political philosophy, and moral philosophy. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... Jurisprudence is essentially the theory and philosophy of law. ... The term, Judges, may refer to the Book of Judges in the Bible or to the office of judge. ... This article is about law in society. ...

External links

• Legal Pragmatism, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy