Curriculum Guide · Courses

Professor Flores

J.D. Course 252 | 3 credit hours

This course constitutes an introduction to the methods and problems of philosophy of law. It examines, on the one hand, the different general approaches to law: 1) Natural Law Theory --from classical theories to contemporary theories; 2) Legal Positivism --from the command theory to the normative theory and analytical legal positivism, including the debate between exclusive and inclusive legal positivists; and 3) Legal Realism --from the critique to legal formalism, the legal realists and some reactions from the sociological jurisprudence and so on to contemporary alternative perspectives, such as the critical legal studies movement, the law & economics movement, among others; and, on the other hand, the concept of law, the nature of legal authority and legal system; the relationship between law and morality, including the debates on the legal enforcement of morals and on the separation between law and morals; the conceptual analysis and its functional limits; the nature and role of principles, i.e. rights and policies; the obligation to obey the law; the forms and limits of adjudication and legislation; the importance of interpretation and legal reasoning; the objectivity of law and the right answer thesis, and so on. Students will gain a general knowledge of the methods and problems of jurisprudence, as well as of the different approaches available.