PHILOSOPHY OF LAW

'Philosophy of Law: An Introduction' provides a starting point for students of philosophy and law, assuming no prior knowledge of either subject.
The book is structured around the key issues and themes in philosophy of law: What is the law? - the major legal theories including realism, positivism and natural law; The reach of the law - authority, rights, liberty, privacy and tolerance; Criminal responsibility and punishment - legal defenses, crime, diminished responsibility and theories of punishment. The edition expands the original focus on mainstream legal theory to look at contemporary critical perspectives such as feminist theories on pornography and freedom of speech, and Foucault's radical approach to criminal responsibility. This book has also been updated to include recent developments such as cases of conjoined twins, and the Human Rights Act. With study questions at the end of each chapter, and a conclusion assessing both traditionallegal theory and the various critical perspectives.