Law and Philosophy: An Introduction with Readings

by Thomas W. Simon

This analytical anthology introduces students with little background in either to both law and philosophy using prominent classic political philosophers, legal theorists, and abundant landmark court cases. Legal issues are placed in their historical and philosophical contexts. The book considers critical issues such as civil disobedience, war crimes, and the death penalty. It teaches the basics of international, constitutional, and criminal law and shows how philosophy of law helps makes sense of and unifies the seeming “scraps and fragments” of law. The chapters focus on different areas of law and on different philosophers and philosophies. A classical political philosopher anchors each area of law covered. The anthology includes writings from prominent political philosophers (Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Kant, Mill, Nietzsche, and Rawls), from classical legal theorists (Aquinas, Grotius, Austin, Fuller, Hart, and Dworkin), and from judicial opinions (Justices Blackmun, Brennan, Marshall, Rehnquist, and Scalia).

544 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2000

About the author

Thomas W. Simon is Professor of International Law at Johns Hopkins University's School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, China. His books include: Laws of Genocide, Ethnic Identity and Minority Protection, Democracy & Social Injustice, Law & Philosophy, and China s Changing Legal System. He has held law fellowships at Harvard Law School (USA), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), and University of Malaya (Malaysia).