JURISPRUDENCE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Examines fundamental questions about the nature and content of law, addressing both analytic and normative jurisprudence. Questions in analytic jurisprudence include: What does it mean for something to be the law? Why are some things a matter of law, while others are not? What is the relationship between law and morality? Is the law exhausted by the meaning of words in constitutions and statutes? Questions of normative jurisprudence concern the proper content of law, such as, what should the law permit, prohibit, and promote? These questions are examined by looking at a number of topics that are at issue in U.S. (and other nations') laws. These will include interpreting criminal law statutes, policies promoting public welfare, and the justifications for property, especially intellectual property rights.