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The term ‘jurisprudence’ can carry a number of different meanings. Sometimes, it is used to refer to the branch of philosophy that delves into the nature of law in general. In some cases, it is used to refer to an inquiry into the nature of a particular area of law – say, torts or property.

The terms ‘general jurisprudence’ and ‘particular jurisprudence’ are often used to refer to these two kinds of jurisprudence. The approaches to thinking about law that this course invites you to take up belong squarely within philosophy, and more particularly for the most part the Anglophone legal philosophy of the last 60 or so years.

Modules A and B deal with philosophical inquiries about the nature of law in general, or with general jurisprudence, Module C deals with special jurisprudence of tort law and Module D deals with the metaphysical issue of causation in law.

Module A: The nature of law, Part I

LWM41A

• Theorising about the nature of law
• Austin’s command theory of law
• Hart on the explanatory shortcomings of command theories of law
• Hart’s dinomic theory of law
• Dworkin on discretion, principles and rules of recognition
• Dworkin on the soundest theory of law

Module B: The nature of law, Part II

LWM41B

• Dworkin on theoretical disagreements and wicked legal systems
• Some recent natural law theories
• Raz on authority and law
• Raz on precedent and statutory interpretation

Module C: Philosophy of tort law

LWM41C

• Theorising about the purpose of tort law
• Wealth maximisation
• Corrective justice
• Incompleteness and autonomy
• Luck, wager and liability
• Risk-distributive justice and other modifiers of corrective justice

Module D: Causation in the law

LWM41D

• Two types of causal minimalism
• Hart and Honoré’s common-sense conception of causation in the law
• Factual causation and overdetermination cases
• Stapleton’s neo-minimalism

Assessment

Each module is assessed by a 45-minute unseen written exam.

Sequence

It is strongly recommended that you attempt the modules in order.

How to apply

You can apply to study a module individually as a standalone unit or as part of a Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma or Master of Laws qualification. 

These modules also contribute towards the following specialist pathways for Laws:

• Common law
• Criminology and criminal justice
• Human rights law
• International justice
• Legal theory and history
• Public law