Jurisprudence

Detailed analysis of Hart-Fuller debate on Rule of Law (including Raz's view), a critique of legalism (Marxism, Robert Cover, Judith Shklar).

Detailed analysis of law and adjudication : Radical Scepticism (Singer); The Positivist Response: Partial Constraint (Hart, Raz;, Interpretation, Coherence (MacCormick), and the ‘One Right Answer’ Thesis (Dworkin); Incommensurability (Finnis) and Pluralism (Sunstein)

Detailed analysis of Hobbes' social contract, where a government is justified because without it we will destroy each other.

Detailed analysis of Kant's social contract, where the government is justified because it is required by our nature as free and rational beings.

Detailed analysis of Rawls and Political Liberalism, the role of the overlapping consensus and public reason in fostering a sense of justice.

Detailed analysis of Rousseau's concept of republicanism, where freedom is expressed through conformity with the ‘general will’.

Detailed analysis of Hannah Arendt's concept of the political, and in particular the notion of ‘political freedom’, as well as consider what new perspective on law this demands.

For Rousseau, ultimate authority must always remain in the hands of the people and be an expression of their sovereignty. This is how real freedom is attained. Freedom is expressed through conformity with the ‘general will’ (volonté generale), not in a private or personal sphere. For Rousseau, the social contract ideally transforms the individual into a citizen, one who will embrace the general will. This is a good to which all must contribute; the contract is thus based on an idea of virtu...

Hobbes - government is justified because without it we will destroy each other. What reason do you have to agree to be subject to government and its laws? Isn’t it much better to be free and do your own thing? Hobbes made a name for himself by arguing that if you were free of government, chances are that you would not be able to do your own thing at all. Without government, there’s nothing stopping others from killing you, or taking what you possess, or bursting your balloon. You and everyon...