University Bulletin Description: Comparison of how the
law is considered by various disciplines; primary focus is on
philosophical methods and legal methods, with some consideration
of other humanities disciplines, such as literature.
Course Objectives: The principal aim of this course is to understand the ways in which various methodologies consider the law. The principal focus will be comparison and contrast of philosophical methods with legal methods. Some consideration will be given to how the law is treated by other methodologies in the humanities. Contemporary work on the law which stresses interdisciplinary perspectives will be introduced. The course will afford ample opportunity for the development of oral and written skills in argumentation and in clarity of communication.
Course Organization: The course is organized around a small
number of major court decisions which we will use as "case
studies" for considering how various legal and philosophical
methods are used to approach the cases. These cases have been
selected, in part, because they address issues of considerable
historic and social importance. For each case, we will read representative
material using legal methodologies and others using philosophical
methods.
On-Line methodologies: We will experiment with the use
of on-line materials in philosophy and law for most of the course
- on-line discussion techniques, e-mail, and the World Wide Web.
Disciplinary methodologies:
Philosophy: We will study examples of philosophical writing
by respected philosophers in each unit. Most are from the "analytic"
tradition, emphasizing clarity of thought, objectivity, and well-developed
arguments. We will use philosophical methods, including close
attention to key concepts and terms and explication of implicit
assumptions and principles.
Law: We will learn about the methodology of judges in the
reasoning of important cases, including appeals to precedent and
the use of inductive reasoning to draw out rules of law for the
case under consideration. We will see how judges appeal to the
close reading of such texts as statutes, constitutions, and prior
decisions. We also will consider the use of legislative history
in construing statutes. The distinction between binding and "merely"
persuasive precedent will be considered, as will the frequent
appeal by judges to "public policy."
Legal studies: We will see how legal scholars consider the issues in terms which overlap with those of philosophical method, especially in attention to key terms and analysis. But we will also see the contrast with philosophy, especially in the emphasis on appeals to authority and precedent in legal analysis.
General Education: Philosophy majors receive General Education credit for an interdisciplinary (IC) course, as well as unit credits toward the major. Philosophy Pre-law Emphasis majors receive General Education credit for an Interdisciplinary course, credit toward the Emphasis and unit credits toward the major. Non-majors receive General Education credit for an interdisciplinary course and for an upper-division C.2.b. Philosophy course.
Pre-requisites: ENGL 100; upper-division standing (junior
standing required; senior standing recommended); six units of
philosophy or consent of instructor
Return to the top of this page
Last updated August 28, 1996