PHIL 287 Philosophy of Law
The course begins with a survey of a few central texts in jurisprudential thought that range over natural law theory, legal positivism, and critical legal studies. In this part of the course, students perform a conceptual analysis of the law, asking such questions as: What is law? How is it different from other systems of norms, such as morality? What role do judges play in the creation of the law, or do they merely apply it? The second half of the course will deal with questions of normative jurisprudence. Specifically, students investigate what moral limits there are on what the law can command or prohibit. This investigation begins with the classical liberal defense of the “harm principle,” and then goes on to examine challenges to that principle including legal moralism, legal paternalism, and the legal prohibition of offense.