ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the maturing of the pragmatic idea in law. My aim is to follow the specific way in which the pragmatic sensitivities have been applied to adjudication and to locate this phenomenon in the broader cultural level. Within this framework, I will trace the American within the pragmatic, examine both the Emersonian legacy and the Darwinian enchantment, and describe the relationship between legal and general pragmatism. I trace the legacy of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr through its discursive characteristics, and show some examples for its manifestation in his followers' texts. The progressive canonical legal narrative will be examined through this sequence as well.
