The information contained on this page is designed to give students a representative example of material covered in the course. Any information related to course assignments, dates, or course materials is illustrative only. For a definitive list of materials, please check the online catalog 3-4 weeks before the course start date.
PHIL 105: Introduction to Philosophy of Law and Legal Ethics (GH) (3): Historical and contemporary philosophies of law; concepts of responsibility, property, rights, and justice; and ethical issues in legal practice.
Overview
It is an awesome thing, the law. It touches in some way every public thing we do and many private things as well; and, whether or not we are aware of it, it significantly determines how we view the world and even how we view ourselves. In substantial part, this course will address the law so--as a force in our lives, for good or ill.
Law is a function of society, which denotes a group of people united by a general, common conception of the meaning of human being and the goals of human culture, who choose to sacrifice the liberty of the jungle--where anything goes but life is "nasty, brutish and short" (Hobbes)--in order to enjoy the freedom of common physical security and commerce and of mutual fellowship and fulfillment. By our membership in society we affirm that its rights and benefits outweigh its obligations and duties. The law, in its legislation, execution and adjudication (corresponding to our three branches of government) is the name for the (constitutional) principles, (legal) rules, (executive) procedures and (judicial) decisions, which together define, implement and balance those rights and benefits, obligations and duties. The law by nature implies the concept of justice, which is the name for the way society strikes that balance.
The practice of law is divided into two general camps--civil and criminal--which differ fundamentally in theory and in the ways they impact our lives, directly and indirectly. A crime is essentially an offense against the entire community--it is an offense to the basic, "civilized" assumptions of a society. We naturally and understandably think of and commiserate with the specific victims of crimes; but it is not the victim who prosecutes the purported criminal, but the state--the government, "the people"--on behalf of all citizens. Thus, in many states--and the overwhelming majority of criminal law is prosecuted not by the federal government but by individual states--criminal cases are styled--officially named--according to the formula "The People of [state] versus [defendant]," or "The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. John Doe."
It is important to note that a crime victim can always bring a private, civil cause of action, or lawsuit, against the perpetrator of a criminal act, but this rarely happens, either because the money damages would be too low to make it worth the trouble, or more likely because the typical criminal has too few assets to make it possible to collect, a notable recent exception being the case of O. J. Simpson. Thus, as in that case, the estate of a murder victim could bring a lawsuit for the civil tort of "wrongful death" against the killer for money damages, or a victim of theft against the thief for "wrongful conversion," etc. ("tort" is the legal term for the actionable harm of one party by another).
As interesting and philosophically important as is the criminal law, however, in this course, so far as we consider the substance of the law--as we shall explicitly in Sections II and III, and except where we consider the adjudication of the constitutional principle of "privacy" in Section V--we shall limit our focus to civil law, which concerns disputes between private citizens and corporations; and where the government is involved in a civil matter, it is typically a defendant in a case where a citizen claims that it has failed in some duty it owes to the public. Criminal law is public, civil law is private; criminal law involves an offense to the civilized order itself, where civil law involves private harms and damages and is almost exclusively a matter of money.
The limitation of this course to civil law is in part arbitrary: we are limited in time and criminal law is so theoretically rich that we could not do justice to it in a course of this scope. But there is another more important reason for focusing on the civil law, with two parts. First, most students who choose the law as a career, in whatever capacity, will work primarily in some field of the civil law. Second, as a practical matter, and for most of us, the criminal law is not directly relevant to our lives, at least not on a constant and on-going basis. By contrast, as I have suggested, the provisions of the civil law affect us every day, whether we are employed in the law or not. In particular, civil law profoundly affects the lives of ordinary and poor people in ways they typically do not understand and never even realize. <
Required Course Materials
Most World Campus courses require that students purchase materials (e.g., textbooks, specific software, etc.). To learn about how to order materials, please see the Course Materials page. You should check LionPATH approximately 3–4 weeks before the course begins for a list of required materials.
Library Resources
Many of the University Libraries resources can be utilized from a distance. Through the Libraries website, you can
- access magazine, journal, and newspaper articles online using library databases;
- borrow materials and have them delivered to your doorstep—or even your desktop;
- get research help via email, chat, or phone using the Ask a Librarian service; and
- much more.
You must have an active Penn State Access Account to take full advantage of the Libraries' resources and service. The Off-Campus Users page has additional information about these free services.
Technical Specifications
| Operating System | Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8*; Mac OS X 10.5 or higher *Windows 8 support excludes the tablet only RT version |
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| Processor | 2 GHz or higher |
| Memory | 1 GB of RAM |
| Hard Drive Space | 20 GB free disk space |
| Browser | We recommend the latest ANGEL-supported version of Firefox or
Internet Explorer. To determine if your browser fits this criterion,
and for advice on downloading a supported version,
please refer to the following ITS knowledge base article: Supported Browsers and Recommended Computers.
Note: Cookies, Java, and JavaScript must be enabled. Pop-up blockers should be configured to permit new windows from Penn State websites. Due to nonstandard handling of CSS, JavaScript and caching, older versions of Internet Explorer (such as IE 6 or earlier) do not work with our courses. |
| Plug-ins | Adobe Reader [Download from Adobe]
Flash Player (v7.0 or later) [Download from Adobe] |
| Additional Software | Microsoft Office (2007 or later) |
| Internet Connection | Broadband (cable or DSL) connection required |
| Printer | Access to graphics-capable printer |
| DVD-ROM | Required |
| Sound Card, Microphone, and Speakers | Required |
| Monitor | Capable of at least 1024 x 768 resolution |
If you need technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the Service Desk.
For registration, advising, disability services, help with materials, exams, general problem solving, visit World Campus Student Services!
Assignments are due no later than the last day of the lesson at 11:59 pm ET unless otherwise noted.
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Lesson
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Reading
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Submission
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| 1: Getting Started |
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2: The Case of the Speluncean Explorers |
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| 3: Natural Law, the Social Contract, and Liberalism |
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| 4: Jurisprudence, the Problem of Legal Interpretation |
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| 5: Naturalism and Positivism |
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| 6: Formalism and Realism |
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| 7: Mid-Course Exam |
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| 8: Hart and Dworkin, Positivism and Naturalism in Conversation |
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9: Case Studies, Interpretation and Theory |
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| 10: Property, Economic Realism, and Marx |
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| 11: Legal Pragmatism |
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| 12: Case Studies in Property and Gender |
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| 13: Aspirations in Legal Practice |
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14: Actualities of Legal Practice |
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| 15: Final Exam |
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Note: If you are planning to graduate this semester, please communicate your intent to graduate to your instructor. This will alert your instructor to the need to submit your final grade in time to meet the published graduation deadlines. For more information about graduation policies and deadlines, please refer to Graduation at the Chaiken Center for Student Success.
Formal instruction will end on the last day of class. Provided that you have an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password, you will continue to be able to access the course materials for one year, starting from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered (with the exception of library reserves and other external resources that may have a shorter archival period). After one year, you might be able to access the course based on the policies of the program or department offering the course material, up to a maximum of three years from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered. For more information, please review the University Course Archival Policy.
Grading
At the end of each lesson there will be a written assignment, consisting typically of a short essay. In completing each assignment, I expect you to think through, for yourself, the issues we will be dealing with throughout the course. What I expect will be your summary and analysis of the readings and your thoughtful and informed opinion evidencing your understanding. The weekly assignments, together, will comprise 50 percent of your final grade. There will be an online midterm exam worth 20 percent and a final exam, worth 30 percent. The basis of evaluation in this course will be my judgment of your personal comprehension and understanding of the readings and your ability to articulate it clearly, organizedly, coherently and convincingly.
The World Campus follows the same grading system as the Penn State resident program. The grades of A, B, C, D, and F indicate the following qualities of academic performance:
| A (Excellent) | Indicates exceptional achievement |
| B (Good) | Indicates extensive achievement |
| C (Satisfactory) | Indicates acceptable achievement |
| D (Poor) | Indicates only minimal achievement |
| F (Failure) | Indicates inadequate achievement necessitating a repetition of the course in order to secure credit |
Please refer to the University Grading Policy for Undergraduate Courses for additional information about University grading policies.
Academic Integrity
According to Penn State policy G-9: Academic Integrity , an academic integrity violation is “an intentional, unintentional, or attempted violation of course or assessment policies to gain an academic advantage or to advantage or disadvantage another student academically.” Unless your instructor tells you otherwise, you must complete all course work entirely on your own, using only sources that have been permitted by your instructor, and you may not assist other students with papers, quizzes, exams, or other assessments. If your instructor allows you to use ideas, images, or word phrases created by another person (e.g., from Course Hero or Chegg) or by generative technology, such as ChatGPT, you must identify their source. You may not submit false or fabricated information, use the same academic work for credit in multiple courses, or share instructional content. Students with questions about academic integrity should ask their instructor before submitting work.
Students facing allegations of academic misconduct may not drop/withdraw from the affected course unless they are cleared of wrongdoing (see G-9: Academic Integrity ). Attempted drops will be prevented or reversed, and students will be expected to complete course work and meet course deadlines. Students who are found responsible for academic integrity violations face academic outcomes, which can be severe, and put themselves at jeopardy for other outcomes which may include ineligibility for Dean’s List, pass/fail elections, and grade forgiveness. Students may also face consequences from their home/major program and/or The Schreyer Honors College.
How Academic Integrity Violations Are Handled
World Campus students are expected to act with civility and
personal integrity; respect other students' dignity, rights, and
property; and help create and maintain an environment in which all
can succeed through the fruits of their own efforts. An environment
of academic integrity is requisite to respect for oneself and
others, as well as a civil community.
In cases where academic integrity is questioned, the Policy on Academic Integrity indicates that procedure requires an instructor to inform the student of the allegation. Procedures allow a student to accept or contest a charge. If a student chooses to contest a charge, the case will then be managed by the respective college or campus Academic Integrity Committee. If that committee recommends an administrative sanction (Formal Warning, Conduct Probation, Suspension, Expulsion), the claim will be referred to the Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response.
All Penn State colleges abide by this Penn State policy, but review procedures may vary by college when academic dishonesty is suspected. Information about Penn State's academic integrity policy and college review procedures is included in the information that students receive upon enrolling in a course. To obtain that information in advance of enrolling in a course, please contact us by going to the Contacts & Help page .
Accommodating Disabilities
Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University’s educational programs. Every Penn State campus has an office for students with disabilities, including World Campus. The Disabilities and Accommodations section of the Chaiken Center for Student Success website provides World Campus students with information regarding how to request accommodations, documentation guidelines and eligibility, and appeals and complaints. For additional information, please visit the University's Student Disability Resources website.
In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus's disability services office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.
Additional Policies
Formal instruction will end on the last day of class. Provided that you have an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password, you will continue to be able to access the course materials for one year, starting from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered (with the exception of library reserves and other external resources that may have a shorter archival period). After one year, you might be able to access the course based on the policies of the program or department offering the course material, up to a maximum of three years from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered. For more information, please review the University Course Archival Policy.
For information about additional policies regarding Penn State Access Accounts; credit by examination; course tuition, fees, and refund schedules; and drops and withdrawals, please see the World Campus Student Center website.
Disclaimer: Please note that the specifics of this Course Syllabus are subject to change, and you will be responsible for abiding by any such changes. Your instructor will notify you of any changes.