Jurisprudence: Foundational Questions of Law and Lawyering

3 Credit Hours

This course gives students an opportunity to ask the "big questions" about law. What is the rule of law? Are legal rules real or just a cloak for power? What does law have to do with justice? What do the major, large-scale theories of law-e.g., "legal positivism," "natural law," "legal formalism," "legal realism," and "critical legal studies"-really claim? How do you know a valid legal claim when you see one? This course also gives students an opportunity to ask the "big questions" about being a lawyer. Can one be a zealous partisan and a moral person? Does the adversarial system do more harm than good? How can a lawyer's life be a worthwhile one-a life of flourishing, happiness, and meaning?