Philosophy of Law

Reading Notes

Each reading has a handout with questions and topics of discussion. The handouts for Sessions 14 and 23 are courtesy of Jennifer Carr, and are used by permission.

SES #	READINGS
1	No reading
2	Selections from “The Province of Jurisprudence Determined and the Uses of the Study of Jurisprudence” (PDF) by John Austin.
3	“Law as the Union of Primary and Secondary Rules” (PDF) by H. L. A. Hart.
4	Selections from “Taking Rights Seriously” (PDF) by Ronald Dworkin.
5	Selections from “Law’s Empire” (PDF) by Ronald Dworkin.
6	“Common-Law Courts in a Civil-Law System: The Role of United States Federal Courts in Interpreting the Constitution and Laws” and “Comment” (PDF) by Antonin Scalia and Ronald Dworkin.
7	“The Conflict Between Authority and Autonomy” (PDF) by Robert Paul Wolff.
8	“Is There a Prima Facie Obligation to Obey the Law?” (PDF) by M. B. E. Smith.
9	Selections from “Law’s Empire” (PDF) by Ronald Dworkin.
10	“Authority and Justification” (PDF) by Joseph Raz.
11	“The Justification of Civil Disobedience” (PDF) by John Rawls.
12	Selections from “Causation In The Law” (PDF) by H. L. A. Hart and Tony Honore.
13	“Decision Theory and the Factfinding Process” (PDF) by John Kaplan.
14	“Liability and Individualized Evidence”(PDF) by Judith Jarvis Thomson.
15	“Crime and Punishment: Distinguishing the Roles of Causal and Intentional Analyses Moral Judgment” (PDF) by Fiery Cushman.
16	“The Punishment That Leaves Something to Chance” (PDF) by David Lewis.
17	Selections from “An Introduction to The Principles of Morals and Legislation” (PDF) by Jeremy Bentham.
18	“Two Concepts of Rules” (PDF) by John Rawls.
19	“The Liberal Argument from On Liberty” (PDF) by John Stuart Mill.
20	“Paternalism” (PDF) by Gerald Dworkin.
21	“A Theory of Freedom of Expression” (PDF) by Thomas Scanlon.
22	“Speech Acts and Unspeakable Acts” (PDF) by Rae Langton.
23	“Wrongful Life, Procreative Responsibility, and the Significance of Harm” (PDF) by Seana Valentine Shiffrin.
24	No reading. Screening of the film “Reversal of Fortune”. (PDF)
25	“Lawyers as Professionals: Some Moral Issues” (PDF) by Richard Wasserstrom.
26	“Professional Detachment: The Executioner of Paris” (PDF) by Arthur Applbaum.