This course is an
introduction to
the philosophy of law - that is,
problems
generated by philosophical reflection on the law. Rather than trying to
describe
what (if anything) these problems have in common, it is better to
simply
provide some examples that will be discussed in class:
1) Is there a duty to obey the law? Does the fact that the law says "X" give us any reason to X?
2) Can the state be legitimate even if there is no duty to obey the law?
3) Isn't the
very
idea of authority incompatible with moral autonomy, that is, with the
idea
that one should do what one thinks is, all things considered, morally
right
-- and not simply act because someone tells one what to do? Isn't
authority
always illegitimate?
4) Does every
legal system have a
sovereign, that is, a
person (or
group of people) who is the ultimate lawmaker? If so, who is the
sovereign
in the American legal system -- the people of the United States? the
original
ratifiers of the Constitution? the judges who interpret the
Constitution? Can
sovereignty be divided? Is
sovereignty divided (e.g. between
the
federal government and the states) in the American legal system? Must the
sovereign always be
unconstrained by the law because he
(or
she or it) is the ultimate source of all law? Is there such a legally
unlimited
sovereign within the American legal system?
5) Is
international law really
law? Can international law bind the
United
States or does such law bind only to the extent that American law
recognizes
it?
6) Is the law
simply whatever a
court says it is?
7) What is law? Is it reducible to sociological facts (e.g. facts about relationships of power)? Is it reducible to social facts combined with morality? Is it something entirely different, neither sociological nor moral?
8) Even if the law is not essentially moral, can't morality be incorporated within the law? Isn't that what constitutional provisions that refer to moral concepts, like the 8th and 14th Amendments, do?
9) What moral purpose does tort law perform? Does it have a moral purpose?