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This course surveys the major theoretical and conceptual questions underlying law. Rather than a course that describes current legal processes, this philosophy course turns to the questions that are behind current legal procedures. The major issue of the course is the status of law itself and whether law is an expression of human morality or simply an amoral set of ground rules. Answering this question requires us to enter the debate between those who say criminal and civil laws are human inventions (legal positivists) and those who claim that laws are discovered in the natural order of the world (natural law theorists). Students will also study disputes about the nature of rights and liberties, the nature and relation of moral and legal responsibility, the defense and origin of particular rights such as property and free speech, the justification of punishment, and finally the adequacy legal reasoning (reasoning from precedents) relative to other forms of reasoning. The course is designed for both students hoping to pursue law as a career, and students interested broadly in the conceptual issues behind law.
Prerequisite: PHIL 110 GE: Introduction to Philosophy
Requirements
- Two 300 word critical mini-essays
- One 1200 word argumentative essay
- Midterm examination
- Final examination
- Attendance and participation
Course Expectations
- Students will be expected to engage in friendly class room debates where basic skills of oral argumentation will be developed.
- Students will learn to interpret and criticize philosophical and legal texts.
- Students will develop critical writing skills.
- Students will leave with a basic understanding of the philosophical approach to law.
Textbook
- The Philosophy of Law. Frederick Schauer and Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, eds. New York: Hartcourt Brace College Publishers, 1996.
Outline
- I. What is Law?
a. Natural law
b. Positivism
- II. Legal Reasoning
a. Interpreting legal texts
b. Reasoning from precedent
- III. Morality and Law
- IV. Rights
a. What is a right?
b. Liberty
c. Speech
d. Religion
- V. Punishment
a. Utilitarianism
b. Retributivism
c. Capital punishment
- VI. Responsibility
a. Causation
b. Omissions
c. Strict liability
Bibliography
*Asterisk means this book is currently available in Kemp Library.
- Dworkin, Ronald. Taking Rights Seriously (Boston: Harvard University Press, 1977)
- ________. Freedom's Law (Boston: Harvard University Press, 1996)
- *Feinberg, Joel. The Moral Limits of the Criminal Law (New York: Oxford University Press, 1984)
- *Hart, H. L. A. The Concept of Law (Oxford: Clarendon, 1961)
- *________. Law, Liberty, and Morality (New York: Vintage Books, 1966)
- *_________. Punishment and Responsibility: Essays in the Philosophy of Law (New York : Oxford University Press,
1968)
- *Mill, J. S. On Liberty (London: Oxford University Press, 1933)
- *Unger, Roberto. Law in Modern Society: Toward a Criticism of Social Theory (New York: Free Press, 1976)
- Van Camp, Julie. Ethical Issues in the Courts (Belmont: Wadsworth, 2001)
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
East Stroudsburg University demands academic integrity from its students. Any form of academic dishonesty, including (but not limited to) plagiarism or cheating at tests or exams, is a sufficient ground for failure in this course and for further academic discipline.
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