Universität Wien

180166 SE The Dilemma of Legal Authority (2018W)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 18 - Philosophie
Continuous assessment of course work

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 30 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Friday 12.10. 09:30 - 12:15 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Saturday 13.10. 09:30 - 12:15 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Friday 09.11. 09:30 - 12:15 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
    Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Saturday 10.11. 09:30 - 12:15 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Friday 16.11. 09:30 - 12:15 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Saturday 17.11. 09:30 - 12:15 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Friday 23.11. 09:30 - 12:15 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Saturday 24.11. 09:30 - 12:15 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The topic of the nature of legal authority is of great importance in legal philosophy as it concentrates on whether legal authorities can legitimately change our lives.
We will attempt to disentangle the dilemma of legal authority in light of theories of action and ancient and contemporary notions of practical reason. We will evaluate different texts to advance the sound conception of practical reason and action that would ground legal authority.
You will learn to evaluate and analyse in depth texts in legal philosophy, and develop a capacity to argue in a sophisticated manner. These are essential intellectual virtues for life. Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel (Socrates).

Assessment and permitted materials

The sessions require prior reading and comprehension of the texts. Each session will begin with one-hour lecture on the topic, followed by a presentation of the texts and a discussion to achieve both a deeper comprehension and a critical perspective of the arguments of the texts. You will require to read the material prior to the session and answer some questions which you will find on moodle. Each student will be asked to give a 20-30 minutes presentation of a selected material. In the first session, there will be no presentations. Active participation of all students is essential.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

The course will be assessed by a final essay (3 000 words, excluding bibliography and footnotes) and a presentation. The weight of each will be as follows:
Presentation: 15%
Essay: 85%
There will be a choice among different essay questions which will be given on Friday 25th May. You will be asked to submit the final essay on Monday 25th June.

Examination topics

Reading list

Anscombe, Elisabeth, Intention (Cambridge, Mass.: HUP, second edition 2000, first edition 1957), pp. 1-15; pp. 32-84.
Aquinas, Thomas, Summa Theologicae Ia2ae, Vol. 17, questions 6-17, translated by Thomas Gilby (Cambridge: CUP, corrected edition 2006).
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book III.
Davidson, Donald, ‘Actions, Reasons and Causes’, Journal of Philosophy (1963) 60, pp. 685-700.
Hart, Herbert L.A., The Concept of Law (Oxford: OUP, 1994, 2nd edition).
Kant, Immanuel, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (translated by Thomas Hill and Arnulf Zweig) (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 2002, some sections), or original text.
Pauer-Studer, Herlinde and Velleman, J. David, Distortions of Normativity. In: Ethical Theory and Moral Practice (2010):14, pp. 329-356.
Raz, Joseph, Practical Reason and Norms pp. 15-84 (Chapters 1 and 2) (Oxford, OUP, reprinted in 2001).
Raz, Joseph, The Morality of Freedom pp. 21-69, (Oxford: OUP, 1986).
Reath, Andrews, ‘Legislating the Moral Law’, 28 Noûs, 1994, pp. 435-464.
Rodriguez-Blanco, Veronica, Law and Authority Under the Guise of the Good (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2014).
Setiya, Kieran, Reasons Without Rationalism (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007), pp. 59-67.
Velleman, J. David, The Guise of the Good. In: Nous (1992):3, pp. 3-26.
Wolff, Robert P., In Defense of Anarchism (London: Harper Torch Books, 1970), chapters I, II and III.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:36