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Philosophy of Law
PHL 780 / Fall 2004 / Tu6:00 - 9:30
Dr Steven Wall
This course will be an advanced course in the philosophy of law. We will be concerned primarily with understanding the normativity
of law and secondarily with understanding how an account of the normativity of law bears on issues of legal interpretation
and constitutionalism. Questions to be discussed include (1) What is the relationship between law and morality? (2) How does
law create obligations? (3) What does it mean to say that law is conventional? (4) What is the best account of legal interpretation?
and (5) What is a constitution, and what kind of authority does it have?
A substantial part of the course will focus on Hart*s classic work The Concept of Law * along with the postscript to this work published in 1994 * in light of recent criticism of this work. Hart*s book was a
major restatement of legal positivism (the view that there is no necessary connection between law and morality) and one objective
of the course will be to consider how legal positivism might be reformulated so that it is not vulnerable to the best objections
that have been pressed against Hart*s version of the view.
Hart*s foremost critic in recent years is Ronald Dworkin. Dworkin claims that law is interpretative; and that once this is
understood Hart*s theory in particular and legal positivism in general must be rejected. A second objective of the course
will be to consider the plausibility of Dworkin*s claim and to discuss how legal interpretation, including constitutional
interpretation, are best understood.
Required Texts: H.L.A. Hart, The Concept of Law (2nd edition)
Ronald Dworkin, Law*s Empire
Joseph Raz, Practical Reason and Norms
Jeremy Waldron, Law and Disagreement
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