Law and Philosophy Seminar

3 units

Enrollment limit: 16. This course explores the role of tradition-dependent argument in law. The persuasiveness of legal arguments and the concepts, values, and language to which they appeal are in some ways conditioned upon our shared social and political practices. This view of the law is neither a rigid traditionalism nor an open-ended pragmatism, and it rejects both liberal and conservative appeals to abstractions like liberty, equality and morality. The principal texts for this course will be the major works of the philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre. We will pursue the legal implications of these ideas through other authors, including Aristotle, Edmund Burke, Gerald Postema, Jefferson Powell, Phillip Bobbitt, and Robert Cover. Written assignments will include one five-page summary paper and two ten-page reflection papers (integrating the course materials but not requiring outside research). Feedback on written work will focus on strength and clarity of argument and ability to synthesize and apply course themes. 3 units.