Welcome - Ethics, Law & Society LJSO 4300   Ethics, Law & Society
CREDIT HOURS: 3
The aim of this advanced seminar is to examine the relationship between law (a system of authoritative rules that is typically enforced by states) and ethics (normative principles that guide ethical or just conduct). The very reference to ethics and the law speaks to possible tensions between what is lawful and what is just, that is, between actions that are legal but potentially unethical, as well as conduct that is potentially ethical but prohibited by law. We begin by studying the background sources of both ethics and law as interpreted through different disciplines and traditions. We then look more closely at specific debates touching on ethics and the law, as well as how these debates have been expressed in landmark legal cases. Readings will be drawn from legal, political, and social theory, as well as case law. By the end of the seminar, students should have a good grasp of fundamental legal concepts and be better positioned to navigate the complex relationship between ethics and the law in contemporary social and political life.
FORMAT: Seminar
PREREQUISITES: LAWS 2520.03 AND any one 3000-level Core LJSO course (LJSO 3000, HIST 3226.03, HIST 3227.03, POLI 3505.03, or SOSA 3285.03)