Introduction to the Philosophy of Law Readings and Cases

The primary challenge in introducing undergraduates to the philosophy oflaw is to treat the subject matter in a way which engages the students'curiosity about the law without sacrificing philosophical content. Onelimitation of law textbooks is that they do not adaquetly bring out theconnection between law and legal theory. In Introduction to the Philosophy ofLaw, White and Patterson address this limitation by using a combination ofcase-based and theory-based materials to show students how the philosophy of lawis related to concrete and actual legal practice.The book is divided into two parts. Part I consists of readings fromphilosophers representing eight influential types of jurisprudence; natural lawtheory, positivism, constructivism, consequentialism, critical legal studies,feminist theory, practice theory and 'new' natural law theory.In Part II, the authors present a variety of cases that allow students toapply the theories of Part I to the actual practice of law. Unlike competingtextbooks that focus primarily on public law, Introduction to the Philosophy ofLaw addresses both private and public law. Included are cases on statutoryinterpretation, contract law, tort law, and public law. After each case, theauthors provide questions for class discussion that address the philosophicaltheories covered in Part I.