Philosophy of Law and the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

If you’re ever in the mood to drop back a good few yards to get some perspective, you might want to take a look at the Philosophy of Law section of the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP). You’ll have almost a dozen essays to choose from:

• Feminist Jurisprudence
• Human Rights
• Just War Theory
• Law and Economics
• Philosophy of Law
• Legal Positivism
• Legal Pragmatism
• Natural Law
• Punishment
• Right to Private Property

The essay on Philosophy of Law might be a good place to start, as it does a tour d’horizon of various theories of jurisprudence: analytical, normative, and critical.

The IEP is like Wikipedia in that it’s a volunteer effort but differs from that online encyclopedia in that all the pieces here are peer-reviewed for quality. The acting Editor for the philosophy of law section is Christopher J. Piranio, Director of the Cambridge International Justice Project, and Doctoral Researcher at the University of Cambridge.