A survey of the classic questions in legal philosophy, the study of the nature, norms, and justifications of legal systems. Questions addressed include: What is law? What makes something a rule of law? What is the relationship between law and morality? How should cases be decided when there is no controlling "law"? Can there be "right" answers to legal disputes or is legal reasoning essentially indeterminate? The course will cover a breadth of jurisprudential thought, especially American Legal Realism, Natural Law, Legal Positivism, and Critical Legal Theory.
