1. The goal : knowing the soul and spirit of U.S. legal culture through the experience of the common law
2. The always and already comparative nature of "foreign" law
3. Comparative law applied : the subtle differences between civil law and common law in study and practice
4. The historical reference frame of "kingless commonwealths on the other shore of the Atlantic"
5. The social reference frame : cultural practices we call "law"
6. The language reference frame
7. The philosophy reference frame
8. The disciplinary reference frame
9. The mechanistic reference frame.