PHL 443 - Philosophy of Law

2013-2014 Catalog Year

This course is a critical philosophical examination of the nature and function of law, legal practices and institutions, and legal reasoning. Some of the following questions will be addressed in the course: What is law? What is its proper function? How are our own legal practices and institutions related to this function? Are there better alternatives? How is legality related to morality? Special attention will be given to the conceptual and moral foundations of alternative accounts of the nature, justification, interpretation, and limits of law.

PREREQ: Three hours in philosophy or instructor permission.
credit: 3