PHIL 311: Philosophy of Law

PHIL 311-001: Philosophy of Law
(Fall 2018)

12:00 PM to 01:15 PM MW

Section Information for Fall 2018

  • Fulfills the requirement for a course in 'Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy' for the Philosophy major.
  • A required course for the Philosophy of Law concentration and minor.

Please note: this course is being taught by a new Assistant Professor in Philosophy, Shannon Fyfe, who is joining the Department in Fall 2018!

What gives the state the authority to punish criminals? How does a judge know which way to rule in a case? Is an unjust law still a law? If you sign a contract while you are under the influence, is it legally enforceable? In this course, we will look at how we should ask these fundamental philosophical questions about the law and how we should answer them. We will consider four broad areas of inquiry: jurisprudence, criminal law and punishment, contract law, and constitutional law.

 

 

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Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 3

Investigation of theories of natural law, legal positivism, and legal realism as they pertain to some of the central philosophical questions about law. Limited to three attempts.
Recommended Prerequisite: 3 hours of PHIL or permission of instructor.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.