PHIL 327: Philosophy of Law Winter 2013: Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 10:30 11:20 pm. AL 211

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1 PHIL 327: Philosophy of Law Winter 2013: Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 10:30 11:20 pm. AL 211 Professor: Mathieu Doucet Office: Hagey Hall Phone: ext Office hours: Mon, Wed 2:00 3:00, or by Course website: Through LEARN, appointment or by chance accessible via Course Description This course explores some of the philosophical questions raised by the law. Our particular focus will be on the relationship between law and morality, since questions about the relevance of morality arise in several different aspects of the law. For instance, morality is sometimes thought to be relevant to our understanding of the nature of law, that is, of what the law is: Does law formalize morality, and if so, can there be immoral laws? Does the interpretation of law require the application of moral values? Morality is also sometimes thought to be relevant to our understanding of the obligations that law generates: do we have a moral obligation to obey the law? If so, why? When is disobedience morally permitted (if it is), and how should we obey unjust laws? And morality is central to the justifications of legal punishment: what makes it morally acceptable (if anything) for the law to punish wrongdoers with fines or prison? What conditions do people need to meet in order for punishing them to be justified? The aim of the course is to familiarize student with these philosophical debates about the law, and so to help them to critically evaluate legal principles and institutions. Learning Objectives (What you should get out of the course): By the end of the course, you should be able to: Summarize and distinguish several of the central concepts and positions in the philosophy of law, such as positivism, interpretation, deterrence, obligation, and mens rea. Clearly explain, in speech and in writing, key concepts and arguments in the philosophy of law Apply positions and concepts from the philosophy of law to contemporary political and legal debates. Critically evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, implications, and assumptions of positions and arguments in the philosophy of law. This course will help develop the skills to: Read and critically evaluate arguments in philosophical texts. Write clear, well-structured explanations and assessments of philosophical arguments. Understand and evaluate the complex legal, political, and moral debates of our day. PHIL 327: Philosophy of Law (Winter 2013) 1 of 6

2 Learning Activities (What you should do to get it): In order to achieve these objectives, you should: Do the readings prior to class. What you get out of the class is proportionate to what you put into it. Many of the readings are relatively short, but they can be difficult. You will get the most out of the class if you read them carefully and more than once, both before and after the class. Bring your copy of the text to class. Be in your seat ready to participate at the beginning of class, and remain until the end of class. Participate in discussion and debate ask and answer questions, offer arguments and objections, and share your views. Take notes in class and review them. Restrict the use of your laptop in class to taking notes and reviewing readings. Refrain entirely from the use of cell phones, including for texting. (Just put them away for 50 minutes.) Ask questions when you are unclear about concepts. Put serious thought into your assignments, including the in class debates. Text Arguing About Law, edited by Aileen Kavanagh and John Oberdiek. (NewYork: Routledge) Available at the University bookstore. Additional readings will be made available via the course LEARN site. Method of Assessment Work required Percentage of final grade Due In class quizzes 10% Throughout the term In class debates 5% Throughout the term Midterm quiz (online) 15% Monday, February 25th Final quiz (online) 15% Monday, April 8th Midterm paper 20% Friday, February 15th Final paper 35% Friday, Apr 12th In class quizzes (10%) At least 10 times during the term, class will begin with a brief (5 minute maximum) quiz on the day s reading. Dates for the quizzes will not be announced in advance. Quizzes will be graded Pass/Fail. There are no make-ups for in-class quizzes. In class debates (5%) At the end of each section, we will divide into small groups in order to debate a question related to the topic of the course section. At the end of the debate, each group must hand in a debate form. (Forms will be provided in class.) If you are not present, you will not receive credit. PHIL 327: Philosophy of Law (Winter 2013) 2 of 6

3 Online quizzes (30%) The quizzes will be completed online. Each quiz will be available for 24 hours, and you will have a total of 1 hour to complete it from the time you begin. The mid-term quiz will cover material from the first 2 sections of the course, while the end of term quiz will cover material from the final 3 sections of the course. Papers (55%) The first paper (worth 20%) will be 3 pages in length, and is due on Friday, February 15th by 5:00 pm. The final essay (worth 35%) will be approximately 6 pages in length. The paper is due Friday, April 12 th by 11:59 pm. Papers submitted after April 12 th but prior to Sunday, April 14 th at 11:59 pm will not receive late penalties, but will not receive comments. All late papers are subject to a penalty of 5% per day. No late submissions will be accepted once graded assignments have been returned to the class. Essay questions will be made available at least 2 weeks prior to the due date. All papers must be submitted online via LEARN in the relevant Dropbox in one of the following file formats:.doc,.docx,.rtf, or PDF. Hard copes will not be accepted. Essays must be prepared for anonymous review. This means that you should not include your name anywhere on the paper, or in the file name of the document you submit to the Dropbox. Special arrangements request form: If circumstances in your life pose an obstacle to your getting your work in on time, you may complete a special arrangements request form (available on the LEARN site for the course) to propose an alternative arrangement. This form must be submitted 48 hours before the due date for the work. Submitting the form doesn't guarantee that your proposed special arrangement will be approved. However, the professor will give all requests serious consideration. Special arrangements requests received after this 48 hour cut-off will not be considered without medical or similar documentation. PHIL 327: Philosophy of Law (Winter 2013) 3 of 6

4 Schedule of Topics and Readings The final schedule of readings is subject to fine-tuning, with notice. Students are responsible for doing the assigned reading before the corresponding lectures. The lectures are intended to supplement, problematize, and clarify the readings, not to replace them. All listed readings are from Kavanagh and Oberdiek unless otherwise indicated. Introduction Mon, Jan 7: No readings Section 1: Morality and the Nature of Law Wed, Jan 9: Hobbes, Leviathan Chapter 13 (on LEARN) Fri, Jan 11: Fuller, 8 ways to fail to make law (on LEARN) Mon, Jan 14: Kavanagh and Oberdiek, pp. 7-13; Hart, Positivism and the separation of law and morals Wed, Jan 16: Hart, continued Fri, Jan 18: Fuller, Positivism and fidelity to law o Open enrollment ends Mon, Jan 21: Fuller, continued Wed, Jan 23: Dworkin, Law as interpretation Fri, Jan 25: Dworkin, continued o Last day to drop a course with 100% refund and no penalty Mon, Jan 27: In class debate, no readings Section 2: Duty to Obey the Law Wed, Jan 29: Kavanagh and Oberdiek, pp ; Plato, Crito (on LEARN) Fri, Jan 31: Raz, The obligation to obey Mon, Feb 3: Raz, continued Wed, Feb 5: Rawls, The justification of civil disobedience Fri, Feb 7: Rawls, continued Mon, Feb 11: King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail Wed, Feb 13: In class debate, no readings Fri, Feb 15: TBA o Midterm paper due Feb : Reading Week no class Friday, Feb, 22 nd : Deadline for 50% tuition refund Section 3: Punishment Mon, Feb 25: Kavanagh and Oberdiek pp ; Farrell, The justification of general deterrence o Midterm quiz (online) Wed, Feb 27: Farrell, continued Fri, Mar 1: Gardner, In proportion and in perspective Mon, Mar 4: Gardner, continued Wed, Mar 6: Duff, Penal communities PHIL 327: Philosophy of Law (Winter 2013) 4 of 6

5 Fri, Mar 8: Duff, continued Mon, Mar 11: In class debate, no reading Section 4: Responsibility Wed, Mar 13: Hundall v the Queen (on LEARN) Fri, Mar 15: Hart, Intention (on LEARN) Mon, Mar 18: Hart, continued Wed, Mar 20: Gerber, Is the insanity defense insane? (on LEARN) Fri, Mar 22: In class debate, no readings. o Drop period 1 ends. Last day to drop with a grade of WD Section 5: Critical approaches to the law Mon, Mar 25: Unger, The Critical Legal Studies movement Wed, Mar 27: Unger, continued Fri, Mar 29: No class Good Friday Mon, Apr 1: Phillips, Feminism and the politics of difference Wed, Apr 3: Phillips, continued Fri, Apr 5: Glazek, Raise the Crime Rate (on LEARN) Mon, Apr 8: In class debate, no reading o Final quiz (online) Friday, April 12: Term paper due LEARN SITE AND The LEARN site is an important component of the learning environment for the class. It is where you will submit your assignments, complete the online quizzes, and find several of the readings for the course, the most up-to-date version of this syllabus, links to further readings, and helpful links for writing philosophy assignments. It is the individual student s responsibility to check the LEARN site on a regular basis. I will occasionally send students s regarding class discussions, readings, assignments, and should they arise last minute emergencies that affect a scheduled lecture. I will also return marked assignments via . If you would rather receive these s at another account then you must update your WatIAM entry. To do so, follow this link: Log in and then click Update Profile. Then, select the configuration tab. It is your responsibility to stay current with course news by regularly checking whichever account is listed on your WatIAM entry. I aim to respond to s within 24 hours on business days. I typically do not respond to s on the weekend. To ensure a prompt response, put PHIL 327 in the subject line of the (along with the subject of the ). PHIL 327: Philosophy of Law (Winter 2013) 5 of 6

6 The Fine Print Academic Integrity: In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offences, and to take responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about rules for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean. When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under Policy 71 Student Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline, Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4, Appeals: A student may appeal the finding and/or penalty in a decision made under Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances (other than regarding a petition) or Policy 71 - Student Discipline if a ground for an appeal can be established. Read Policy 72 - Student Appeals, Academic Integrity website (Arts): Academic Integrity Office (University): Accommodation for Students with Disabilities: Note for students with disabilities: The Office for Persons with Disabilities (OPD), located in Needles Hall, Room 1132, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the OPD at the beginning of each academic term. PHIL 327: Philosophy of Law (Winter 2013) 6 of 6