Jurisprudence & Legal Philosophy
What law is, and whether unjust law is law.
8 topics · 3 curated works
Topics
Curated reading
3Start here
No prior grounding assumed.
- EssayLetter from Birmingham JailMartin Luther King Jr., 1963· ≈7,000 words
Distinguishes just from unjust law and defends civil disobedience as a way of respecting law rather than rejecting it.
Then
Assumes you know the vocabulary.
- EssayThe Path of the LawOliver Wendell Holmes Jr., 1897· 22 pages
Predicts what courts will do in fact; strips morality out of legal analysis and founds American legal realism.
Go deeper
Primary sources and full treatments.
- BookThe Concept of LawH. L. A. Hart, 1961
Law is a union of primary and secondary rules, which explains legal systems better than commands backed by threats.
Also covered elsewhere
This subject genuinely sits in more than one domain. These fields approach the same ground with different methods.