| Date | Reading |
| 2/2 | Philosophy of Law, Syllabus |
| Please read the syllabus. | |
| CASE: Regina v Dudley and Stephens (1884). Read sections 1+2. | |
| 2/9 | Jurisprudence and conceptual analysis |
| Scott J. Shapiro, Legality (2011) Ch. 1, pp. 1-18. Note: This link will lead you to the site to download the whole book as a PDF. Save the PDF to your device for future classes. | |
| Legal facts | |
| Scott J. Shapiro, Legality (2011) Ch. 1, pp. 18-34 | |
| 2/16 | Possibility puzzle and central debate |
| Scott J. Shapiro, Legality (2011) Ch. 2, pp 35-50 | |
| CASE: Riggs v. Palmer (1889). | |
| 2/23 | Positivism 1: Austin’s Sanction Theory of Law |
| Paper due | Scott J. Shapiro, Legality (2011) Ch. 3 (pp 51-62 only) |
| 3/2 | Positivism 2: Hart on Law as the Union of Primary and Secondary Rules |
| Scott J. Shapiro, Legality (2011) Ch. 4 (pp. 79-102 only) | |
| 3/9 | Dworkin’s critique of positivism |
| Dworkin, Ronald M., “The Model of Rules” (1967). Faculty Scholarship Series. Paper 3609.
Read sections III and VI (pp. 22-9 and 40-46). |
|
| 3/16 | Dworkin’s critique of positivism, continued |
| No reading | |
| Midterm Review | |
| 3/23 | Midterm |
| Natural Law | |
| Jackson, Justice Robert H. “Opening Statement before the International Military Tribunal,” International Military Tribunal, Nuremberg, November 21, 1945.
Read the first section, up to the section entitled, “The lawless road to power” (approximately 9 PDF pages). |
|
| 4/6 | Constitutional interpretation |
| Amy C. Barrett. 2017. Originalism and Stare Decisis, Notre Dame L. Rev. 92 (5), 1921-1943. | |
| Dworkin, Ronald. 1996. “The Moral Reading of the Constitution.” The New York Review of Books, March 21, 1996. | |
| 4/13 | Property |
| Paper due | Locke, John. “V. Of property,” from Second Treatise of Government, ss. 25-51. |
| Marx, Karl. “Estranged Labor.” In Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844. Translated: by Martin Milligan. Progress Publishers: Moscow 1959. | |
| 4/20 | Contract |
| Williams vs Walker-Thomas Furniture Co (1965) | |
| 4/27 | Criminal |
| Paper due | J.S. Mill, “Of the limits to the authority of society over the individual.” Chapter IV of On Liberty (PDF). Read pp. 51-63. *Note: this link downloads the whole book, which contains two different chapter IVs. Please begin reading at page 51. |
| Patrick Devlin, “The Enforcement of Morals”.
Read pp. 134-146 (begin with the first full paragraph on 134, end with the last full paragraph on 146). |
|
| 5/4 | Punishment |
| Hampton, Jean. 1984. “The Moral Education Theory of Punishment.” Philosophy and Public Affairs 13 (3): 208–38. Read pp. 208-221. | |
| 5/11 | Punishment, continued |
| Hi-Phi Nation. 2019. Risky Business. Season 3, Episode 2 of Hi-Phi Nation Podcast [~49 mins]. Feb. 16. | |
| Final Review | |
| 5/25 | Final |
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PHIL3211 Philosophy of Law, OL 38, SP2021
Thinking critically about the nature and meaning of law.
