FA23 PHIL352 · HONORS

Philosophy of Law (PHIL352) [UHP only]
Dr. Amanda Trefethen
Mondays  ·  5:30pm–8:15pm  ·  LA1–302

[Section 01 of the PHIL352 course is scheduled for UHP students. Other students interested in PHIL352 should enroll in section 02.]

This course will introduce students to the study of philosophical topics related to law and its adjudication. Some of the questions we will address include: What is law? Why, when, and how are we constrained by the law? Is there an essential relationship between law and morality? Can there be a ‘right answer’ in legal disputes? And what does it mean to have ‘liberty’? Toward this end, we will analyze the theoretical debates between legal positivism and natural law, as well as engage in a discussion of more specific legal and normative topics such as free speech rights, privacy rights, paternalism, and the constitutional commitments to due process and equal protection. Our readings will include works by such philosophers and legal scholars as Thomas Aquinas, John Austin, Ronald Dworkin, Lon Fuller, Jean Hampton, Angela Harris, H.L.A. Hart, John Stuart Mill, Margaret Radin, John Rawls, and Judith Thomson.

GE/GR areas: upper-division C (humanities), upper-division D (social science), WI (writing)

[Back up to current course descriptions]