SOC050 Legal Philosophy

Faculty of Law
Autumn 2024
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
doc. JUDr. Martin Hapla, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. JUDr. Tomáš Sobek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
JUDr. PhDr. Jakub Valc, Ph.D., LL.M. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. JUDr. Martin Hapla, Ph.D.
Department of Legal Theory – Faculty of Law
Contact Person: Tereza Buchalová
Supplier department: Department of Legal Theory – Faculty of Law
Timetable
Mon 23. 9. to Fri 20. 12. Wed 14:00–15:40 215
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 32/20, only registered: 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The objective of the course is to provide students with basic knowledge of legal philosophy and to develop their analytical and critical thinking. The course should provide a deeper understanding of the sense and functioning of law.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, student should be able to: - summarize and describe the main issues of legal philosophy; - summarize arguments in support of the most important theories of legal philosophy (e.g. natural law theory and legal positivism); - clarify the various forms of relationship between law and morality and demonstrate them on specific issues; - apply the theoretical knowledge of legal philosophy to practical situations; - understand some of the problems of contemporary law in deeper theoretical contexts.
Syllabus
  • 1) Natural Law Theory; 2) Legal Positivism; 3) Brno Normativist School of Legal Theory; 4) Legal and Moral Obligations; 5) Law and Authority; 6) Social Contract Theory; 7) Legal and Moral Rights; 8) Justification of Human Rights; 9) Liberty and Tolerance (Devlin versus Hart); 10) Responsibility and Guilt; 11) Legal Philosophy and Punishment; 12) What is Justice?
Literature
  • GOLDING, Martin P. and William A. EDMUNDSON (eds.). The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2005, 355 p. ISBN 978-0-631-22831-8.
  • TEBBIT, Mark. Philosophy of Law. An Introduction. New York: Routledge, 2005, 249 p. ISBN 0-415-33440-3.
  • COLEMAN, Jules and Scott SHAPIRO (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Jurisprudence & Philosophy of Law. Oxford: Oxford Unviersity Press, 2004, 1072 p. ISBN 978-0-19-927097-2.
  • WACKS, Raymond. Philosophy of law : a very short introduction. 1st pub. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006, xvi, 127. ISBN 9780192806918. info
Teaching methods
Lectures with discussions
Assessment methods
Written test
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2018, Spring 2019, Autumn 2019, Spring 2020, Autumn 2020, Spring 2021, Autumn 2021, Spring 2022, Autumn 2022, Spring 2023, Autumn 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2024, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/law/autumn2024/SOC050