OVERVIEW

The Philosophy of Law course aims to introduce students to the contemporary debate on how law influences the practical reasoning of its addressees and the resolution of practical conflicts. In exploring the broad range of topics in this debate, the course engages with key ethical and legal theories and reflects on the practical impact of these theories for the decisions of those who work with the law.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The central aim of the course is for students to develop their analytical and critical skills in relation to legal institutions. To this end, they will master the fundamental concepts necessary to analyse the proposed topics and learn to apply the methods of the different theoretical approaches, paying particular attention to the contributions of philosophy of language and political-moral philosophy.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Individual study and active participation in the course enable students to:

-understand the various theories of normative language and the ways in which they conceptualise normative (i.e. practical) conflicts;

-evaluate comparatively the different conceptions of law, morality and the relationship between law and morality;

-recognise the syntactic, semantic and pragmatic problems of legal language;

-distinguish between different types of norms and understand how each type justifies a particular behaviour;

-articulate the different conceptions of rule-based reasoning, their relevance and the criticisms levelled against them;

-formulate different types of arguments to support a normative conclusion;

-reconstruct and critically analyse the reasoning of a judicial decision;

-identify valid arguments and fallacies and generally weaken or strengthen arguments;

-apply fundamental legal concepts.

PREREQUISITES

The course does not have any prerequisites.

TEACHING METHODS

The course is taught primarily through face-to-face lectures totalling 54 hours (equivalent to 9 CFU). During the lectures, the main theoretical concepts covered in the syllabus are presented and analysed. The weekly lecture slides will be uploaded on Aulaweb.

As far as the development of the syllabus allows, the attendant students will take part in a seminar-debate, for which prior reading of the legal texts, doctrines or judicial decisions to be analysed is required.

Self-assessment quizzes with closed questions are organised during class time. The main objective of these quizzes is pedagogical, as they allow students to review topics where difficulties arise. The result of the final comprehensive quiz, if accepted by the student, can determine the final grade for the course. Active participation in class is also taken into account in the final grade.

Occasionally, scholars and experts in the field of legal theory are invited to give guest lectures on topics of particular interest related to the course content.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course is divided into two parts.

1 – Part One:
Different conceptions of norms. Norms as reasons for action. Practical reasoning and practical conflicts. Moral conflicts. Conflicts between legal norms. Conflicts between law and morality. Criteria for the resolution of conflicts. Conceptions of law. Conceptions of morality. The relationship between different conceptions of law and morality. Analysing moral and legal arguments in relation to a case chosen in class.

2 – Part two:
The legal system. Different types of legal norms. The distinction between rules and principles. Validity, applicability, effectiveness. The dogma of completeness. Gaps and defeasibility. Legal language. The difference between normative and descriptive language. The indeterminacy of language. Ambiguity and vagueness. Types of definitions. Internal and external justification of judicial decisions. Problems of external justification. The interpretation of law. Theories of interpretation and argumentation. Validity and soundness of an argument. Different types of arguments. Different types of fallacies.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

For attendant students (attendance at 2/3 of the lectures, participation in the discussion of practical cases and participation in intermediate examinations):

- the material provided on Aulaweb,

- D. Canale, Conflitti pratici. Quando il diritto diventa immorale, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2017 (all chapters except chapter VI: pp. 1–161 and 196–228 (193 pages),

- R. Guastini, La sintassi del diritto, Giappichelli, Torino, 2014, first, fourth and sixth parts (150 pages),

- A. Iacona, L'argomentazione, Einaudi Editore, Torino, 2005, chapter IV (41 pages),

The same syllabus can also be used by working students after consultation with the teacher.

For non-attendant students:

- The material provided on Aulaweb,

- D. Canale, Conflitti pratici. Quando il diritto diventa immorale, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2017 (228 pages)

- C.S. Nino, Introduzione all’analisi del diritto, Giappichelli, Torino, 1996, chapters II, III, IV, V, and VII (269 pages)

- A. Iacona, L'argomentazione, Einaudi Editore, Torino, 2005, chapter IV (41 pages)

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The course is held during the second semester.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

For attendant students, the final exam is only oral and consists of two parts. Firstly, the student must present in detail a topic of their choice that has been covered in the lectures and is included in the textbooks. The student can bring a written example of an exercise to the exam that is similar to the exercises covered in class, which they must be able to explain and justify.

In the second part of the exam, students answer questions from the examination board on theoretical and practical aspects of the syllabus.

The final grade for a participating student takes into account:

- their active participation in the lectures and the seminar and,

- if above 18/30, the average of the marks obtained in the partial examinations.

For non-attendant students, the final exam is oral only and consists of two parts. The examination begins with a detailed presentation of a topic chosen by the student from the syllabus. In the second part, the student answers questions from the examination board about the course content.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

It is assessed whether the student has acquired sufficient conceptual knowledge and analytical-argumentative skills in relation to the topics studied. In particular, the student must demonstrate the ability to argue effectively, clearly express the concepts studied and apply them using examples. In general, the student must demonstrate that they have achieved the expected learning outcomes specified in this syllabus.

Active engagement will be considered for participating students at each stage of the course: attendance at the lectures and seminar, performance in the partial examinations and the final exam. The partial exams consist of a series of closed multiple-choice questions, and the seminar requires the reading, presentation and analytical discussion of assigned texts.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information not included in the course syllabus, please contact the teacher.