From Socrates to the Supreme Court
an introduction to philosophy through the law
- ISBN: 9781032744261
- Editorial: Routledge
- Fecha de la edición: 2026
- Lugar de la edición: London. Reino Unido
- Encuadernación: Rústica
- Medidas: 24 cm
- Nº Pág.: 344
- Idiomas: Inglés
Philosophy and law are separate disciplines, but they deal with many of the same issues-from the meaning of equality and liberty, the nature of knowledge, reasoning, and mental states, to the indeterminacy of language, causation, free will, luck, and personal identity. This textbook introduces philosophy to undergraduates in a new and refreshing way-by using cases, concepts, and doctrines from the law to illustrate philosophical issues. From Socrates to the Supreme Court: An Introduction to Philosophy through the Law introduces the major areas in the discipline-moral and political philosophy, epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind and language-and philosophy's great thinkers, from Plato, Aristotle, Hume, and Kant to Russell, Wittgenstein, Austin, and Anscombe. It shows how ideas in philosophy are not academic but play out in Supreme Court rulings and other court cases. Through example after example-the concept of mens rea in criminal law, the rules governing the admissibility of evidence in court, statutory interpretation, free speech, perjury, the analogical nature of legal reasoning, the use of the Socratic method in deciding cases, and the laws against discrimination-this book deepens the student's understanding of philosophy by driving home the fact that philosophical questions matter in the real world.
Part 1: Foundations
Part 1: Foundations
1. The Wisest Man in Athens: Socrates, His Method, and the Law
2. Runaway Trolleys and Veils of Ignorance: An Introduction to Moral and Political Philosophy and Their Relationship to the Law
3. Courts, Cases, and the Constitution: An Overview of the American Legal System
Part 2: Knowledge, Reasoning, and Belief
4. Even a Broken Watch Is Right Twice a Day: Knowledge, Justification, and Evidence
5. The Dog That Didn’t Bark: Types of Inferential Reasoning
6. What Did Oedipus Know and When Did He Know It? Beliefs, Desires, and Intentions
Part 3: Language, Meaning, and Context
7. “This Meeting Is Adjourned”: Speech Acts in Philosophy and Law
8. Is a Hot Dog a “Sandwich”? Is Pluto a “Planet”? Indeterminacy in Language and Law
9. “The King of France Is Bald”: Meaning and Context
Part 4: Causation, Luck, Free Will, and Identity
10. Pinholes in a Poisoned Canteen: Causation in Philosophy and Law
11. Skulls as Thin as Eggshells: Resultant Luck in Life, Philosophy, and the Law
12. Cannibals and Conscious Cannonballs: Luck, Free Will, and Conduct
13. The Ship of Theseus: The Puzzle of Identity
Bibliography

