This course addresses some of the central problems in the philosophy of law: questions such as the nature of law, the nature of justice, and the relationship between justice, legality and conceptions of human nature and human well-being. The following is an indication of some of the topics covered:

1. The Aristotelian tradition of political thought, and early-modern departures from Aristotle: Hobbes and Grotius.
2. Classical legal positivism: Hobbes and Bentham.
3. Classical common law theories.
4. Modern analytical legal positivism: Hart.
5. Critics of legal positivism: Dworkin, Fuller.
6. Modern theories of justice: Rawls.
7. Liberalism and public morality: Rawls, Devlin, Hart.
8. The natural law tradition: Aquinas and Finnis.

Twentieth century debates will be addressed within the context of the broader traditions of philosophical thought concerning law and justice. Continuities and discontinuities between the historic tradition and the modern debates will be acknowledged. The possibility that modern versions of the philosophical debate are to some extent impoverished or misconceived will be considered.

The course is suitable both for those who have already studied jurisprudence or philosophy of law, and for those with no previous knowledge of the subject.