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Course Syllabus

2024/2025

Philosophy of Law

Type: Mago-Lego
Delivered by: School of Philosophy and Cultural Studies
When: 4 module
Open to: students of all HSE University campuses
Language: English
ECTS credits: 3

Course Syllabus

Full Syllabus

Abstract

This elective course explores fundamental philosophical issues pertaining to law and legality. Questions examined include: What is law? Is law inherently based on universal human nature, or is it arbitrary and artificial? In what ways are law, justice, and morality interconnected? What is the ultimate aim of law? We will engage with and critically evaluate seminal texts by influential thinkers such as Kant, Hegel, Bentham, Austin, Schmitt, Lukács, Benjamin, Hart, Fuller, Dworkin, and others.
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • The purpose of this course is to equip students with a foundational understanding of the philosophy of law, acquaint them with key authors and seminal works, and enhance their proficiency in philosophical argumentation addressing the most fundamental issues in jurisprudence.
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • To have gained an understanding of natural law theory and its alternatives.
  • To acquire knowledge of social contract theory, discern Kant's perspectives on law, and comprehend Hegel's philosophy of right.
  • To have a comprehensive understanding of early legal positivism, Bentham's philosophy of law, and Austin's command theory of law.
  • To understand Schmitt's legal philosophy as well as Benjamin's critique of law.
  • To become versed in Hart's legal philosophy, including his concept of the rule of recognition, among other key topics.
  • To learn the essentials of Dworkin's legal philosophy.
  • To gain an understanding of the postmodern critique of law and legality.
  • To familiarize students with the mainstream concepts and philosophical theories pertaining to international law.
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • Introduction
  • Social Contract Theories and German Idealism
  • Early Legal Positivism
  • Criticism of Law in the Early 20th century Continental Tradition
  • Modern Legal Positivism
  • Dworkin's Philosophy of Law
  • Critical and Postmodern Philosophy of Law
  • International Law
  • Law, Rights, Morality, and Justice
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking Seminar
    Lecture / Seminar Presense and Activity
  • non-blocking Essay
    Final Essay
  • non-blocking Oral Presentation
    Oral presentation in seminar.
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • 2024/2025 4th module
    0.2 * Essay + 0.2 * Oral Presentation + 0.6 * Seminar
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • Aristotle, Jonathan Barnes, & Anthony Kenny. (2014). Aristotle’s Ethics : Writings From the Complete Works - Revised Edition. Princeton University Press.
  • Aristotle's ethics, Bostock, D., 2000
  • Brooks, T. (2011). Hegel’s Philosophy of Right. Chicester: Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=411864
  • Burdon, P. (2017). Hannah Arendt : Legal Theory and the Eichmann Trial. New York: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1598224
  • Miller, D., & Dagger, R. (2006). Utilitarianism and Beyond: Contemporary Analytical Political Theory. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.3F97381B
  • Rawls, J. (DE-588)118598678, (DE-576)209078766. (1999). A theory of justice / John Rawls. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.08199320X
  • Ronald Dworkin, , 2013
  • Wortham, S. (2010). The Derrida Dictionary. London: Continuum. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=341723

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • Benson, H. H. (2006). A Companion to Plato. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=193221
  • Bykvist, K. (2010). Utilitarianism: A Guide for the Perplexed. London: Continuum. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=344279
  • Dworkin’s Constructive Interpretation as a Method of Legal Research. (2016). Recht En Methode in Onderzoek En Onderwijs, 2016, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.5553/rem/.000012
  • Essays on Aristotle's ethics, , 1980
  • Eucken, R. C. Thomas von Aquino und Kant / R. C. Eucken. — Санкт-Петербург : Лань, 2014. — 42 с. — ISBN 978-5-507-41341-6. — Текст : электронный // Лань : электронно-библиотечная система. — URL: https://e.lanbook.com/book/53180 (дата обращения: 00.00.0000). — Режим доступа: для авториз. пользователей.
  • Hegel : a very short introduction, Singer, P., 2001
  • Hegel's political philosophy : a systematic reading of the philosophy of right, Brooks, T., 2009
  • Hegel's practical philosophy : rational agency as ethical life, Pippin, R. B., 2008
  • Hugh J. Silverman. (1989). Derrida and Deconstruction. Routledge.
  • James, D. (2007). Hegel’s Philosophy of Right : Subjectivity and Ethical Life. London: Continuum. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=377450
  • JOHN STUART MILL. (2017). Utilitarianism. [S.l.]: BookRix. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1469830
  • Kain, P. J. (2018). Hegel and Right : A Study of the Philosophy of Right. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1854779
  • Leavitt, N. (2013). The Foreign Policy of John Rawls and Amartya Sen. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=648569
  • Martin McQuillan. (2007). The Politics of Deconstruction : Jacques Derrida and the Other of Philosophy. Pluto Press.
  • Orend, B. (2000). War and International Justice : A Kantian Perspective. Waterloo, Ont: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=50580
  • Qvortrup, M. (2018). The Oxford Handbook of Carl Schmitt. Political Studies Review, 16(1), NP19. https://doi.org/10.1177/1478929917723877
  • Ronald Dworkin's theory of equality : domestic and global perspectives, Brown, A., 2009
  • Rose, D. (2007). Hegel’s ’Philosophy of Right’ : A Reader’s Guide. London: Continuum. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=368536
  • Salikov, A. (2013). Kant and the contemporary theory of international relations. Vestnik IKBFU, 12, 97–103.
  • Sluga, H. (2004). Jan-Werner Muller. A Dangerous Mind: Carl Schmitt in Post-War European Thought. New Haven: Yale University Press. 2003. Pp. xi, 292. $30.00. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.7ECE6213
  • Susanne Lüdemann. (2014). Politics of Deconstruction : A New Introduction to Jacques Derrida. Stanford University Press.
  • WONG, S. G. (2008). The Cambridge Companion to Hobbes’s Leviathan. Renaissance Quarterly, 61(3), 920–921. https://doi.org/10.1353/ren.0.0197

Authors

  • GLUKHOV ALEKSEY ANATOLEVICH