This volume represents the main papers delivered by both prominent and rising philosophers at the 1999 SOFIA conference in Mazatlan, Mexico. The volume contains twenty substantial papers spanning important issues of current interest including sexuality and consent, rights and scarcity, democracy and individualism, and the nature of law and the value of punishment.

Legal and Political Philosophy, edited by Enrique Villanueva, is the first volume in the series Social, Political, and Legal Philosophy, published by Rodopi also under his editorship. It contains six original essays by leading political philosophers and philosophers of law (Waldron, Coleman, Postema, Shapiro, Sayre-McCord, and Kraus), along with critical papers on those essays, and replies. This is cutting edge work that elicits sharp responses already as it is published, with the debate joined as the authors reply. Social, Political, and Legal Philosophy is a new book series, edited by Enrique Villanueva, and published by Rodopi Publishers as part of Rodopi Philosophical Studies. The series will publish collections of new essays on topics in social or political or legal philosophy. New volumes will be published approximately every year or every other year.

Is government justified? This perennial question is central to political philosophy and has never been more alive than at the present time, in the midst of continuing political and social upheaval worldwide. This collection of new essays by thirteen philosophers addresses questions of political authority in light of recent work in political theory. Whether supporters or critics of the state, the authors make their arguments using up-to-date analytical tools, such as game and decision theory, and the hindsight provided by modern history. For and Against the State will be an important collection for students of philosophy, politics, economics, and history.

This the first volume in the series Social, political, and legal philosophy. It contains six original essays by leading political philosophers and philosophers of law (Waldron, Coleman, Postema, Shapiro, Sayre-McCord, and Kraus), along with critical papers on those essays, and replies. This is cutting edge work that elicits sharp responses already as it is published, with the debate joined as the authors reply."

The Law and Economics approach to law dominates the intellectual discussion of nearly every doctrinal area of law in the United States and its influence is growing steadily throughout Europe, Asia, and South America. Numerous academics and practitioners are working in the field with a flow of uninterrupted scholarship that is unprecedented, as is its influence on the law. Academically every major law school in the United States has a Law and Economics program and the emergence of similar programs on other continents continues to accelerate. Despite its phenomenal growth, the area is also the target of an ongoing critique by lawyers, philosophers, psychologists, social scientists, even economists since the late 1970s. While the critique did not seem to impede the development of the field, it certainly has helped it to become more sophisticated, inclusive, and mature. In this volume some of the leading scholars working in the field, as well as a number of those critical of Law and Economics, discuss the foundational issues from various perspectives: philosophical, moral, epistemological, methodological, psychological, political, legal, and social. The philosophical and methodological assumptions of the economic analysis of law are criticized and defended, alternatives are proposed, old and new applications are discussed. The book is ideal for a main or supplementary textbook in courses and seminars on legal theory, philosophy of law, jurisprudence, and (of course) Law and Economics.

This anthology of classical and contemporary philosophical essays and legal cases focuses on legal philosophy as its own subject-rather than as merely a topic in applied ethics or an aspect of social/political philosophy. The essays within this reader focus on the different aspects and areas of law and the particular philosophical issues that they raises. The book requires students to think through actual debates--many of them still currently in the courts.

The concept of law lies at the heart of our social and political life. Legal philosophy, or jurisprudence, explores the notion of law and its role in society, illuminating its meaning and its relation to the universal questions of justice, rights, and morality. In this Very Short Introduction Raymond Wacks analyses the nature and purpose of the legal system, and the practice by courts, lawyers, and judges. Wacks reveals the intriguing and challenging nature of legal philosophy with clarity and enthusiasm, providing an enlightening guide to the central questions of legal theory. In this revised edition Wacks makes a number of updates including new material on legal realism, changes to the approach to the analysis of law and legal theory, and updates to historical and anthropological jurisprudence. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.