Why Is Philosophy Good for Law

“In a new generation of students, many are opting for the studied life,” New York Times. “When you study humanities, political systems or science in general, philosophy is really the mothership from which all these disciplines develop.” In a philosophy class, your professors and classmates will challenge you to engage in reasonable debate on complex problems, argue for or against certain theses, and defend your views against objections. You should read arguments carefully, analyze the structures and assumptions of those arguments, and write logically, clearly, and concisely. In short, we train you to think and write like a lawyer. The Faculty of Law offers an extremely broad and in-depth program of interdisciplinary studies in law and philosophy, with particular attention to the most important historical figures and contemporary issues. Whether you come to law school with a bachelor`s or master`s degree in philosophy, or simply with an interest in philosophical issues without significant formal training in the field, you will find a wide range of opportunities to pursue these interests and develop your knowledge during your three years in law school. The Faculty of Law particularly welcomes students with philosophical interests who may be interested in careers in law and jurisprudence; The law school has long been one of the leading producers of new law professors in the United States Courses in metaphysics (PHIL 420), philosophy of science (PHIL 330), theory of knowledge (PHIL 421), and philosophy of human nature (PHIL 390) can deepen your understanding of the methods, assumptions, and implications of the natural and social sciences. Courses in History of Ideas (PHIL 324, 325 and 326) can deepen your understanding of academic activities in general. Courses in ethics (PHIL 122, 270, 320) and political philosophy (Phil 323) direct you to work in social sciences, economics, criminology, health professions or safety sciences. Philosophers also take a distinctive perspective on aesthetic issues of interest to art students (PHIL 223) and mind questions of interest to psychology majors (PHIL 360). Martha C. Nussbaum made fundamental contributions to the study of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy (especially Aristotle and the Stoics), to the central problems of political philosophy (especially to the development of the capability approach to human well-being and to the re-evaluation and extension of Rawls` theory of justice), to the defense of cosmopolitanism as a moral ideal, politics and education, to the philosophy of emotions and to the philosophy of emotions and to the philosophy of emotions.

The study of literature as a source of moral knowledge. Zu ihren zahlreichen Büchern gehören Frontiers of Justice: Disability, Nationality, Species Membership (Harvard, 2006), Hiding from Humanity: Disgust, Shame, and the Law (Princeton, 2004), Upheavals of Thoughts: The Intelligence of Emotions (Cambridge, 2001), Women and Human Development: The Capabilities Approach (Cambridge, 2000), Sex and Social Justice (Oxford, 1999), The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Greek Ethics (Princeton, 1994), Love’s Knowledge: Essays on Philosophy and Literature (Oxford, 1990) et The Fragility of Goodness: Luck and Ethics in Greek Tragedy and Philosophy (Cambridge, 1986). Alle ihre Arbeiten haben sich intensiv mit wichtigen Persönlichkeiten der Geschichte der Philosophie beschäftigt, darunter nicht nur die großen griechischen und römischen Philosophen, sondern in der Neuzeit insbesondere Kant und Mill. Sie ist Mitglied der American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Philosophical research has also played an important role in the development of law. The two greatest legal philosophers of the last hundred years, the Austrian Hans Kelsen and the Englishman H.L.A. Hart, have both had a profound impact on the law. Kelsen`s legal work shaped his influential contributions to the development of international law, including the creation of a “constitutional court” to review the constitutionality of laws, a model adopted in all civil law countries around the world. Hart, through his influential expansion of John Stuart Mill`s utilitarian philosophy, was the intellectual driving force behind the decriminalization of homosexuality in Britain in the 1960s. “The methods of analytic philosophy and legal reasoning, the careful distinction and definitions, the determination of logical coherence by constructing and examining hypothetical cases, introducing hypotheses buried on the surface, breaking down a problem into manageable components, meticulously exploring the implications of an opponent`s arguments are essentially the same.” (Overcoming Law, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995, p. 9) “The unexpected way philosophy majors are changing the business world” Huffington Post. “Every tech executive, from LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman to Flickr founder Stewart Butterfield, says studying philosophy was the secret to their success as digital entrepreneurs.” Of all pre-law majors, philosophy majors have the highest average score on LSAT (related to economics majors).

Here are the average LSAT scores for the 12 largest disciplines, with at least 1,900 students entering law school: According to the Law School Admissions Council on LSAT scores over the past few decades, philosophy majors have the highest or nearly the highest average scores on the annual LSAT. For example, the following table for the 2007-2008 exams shows that philosophy majors scored the highest average LSAT scores among the twelve most popular pre-law majors associated with economics. “Top students commit to using their knowledge” USA Today.