HUK218

School of Law \ Law

4

6

Compulsory

English

-

Law

This course aims to provide students with knowledge about the nature, purpose, and sources of law, equity, and justice, while examining the philosophical foundations of different legal theories from a historical perspective. The course introduces the four main schools of legal philosophy: natural law theory, legal positivism, legal realism, and the historical school of law. Initially, the fundamental arguments of these schools are presented, and then a detailed analysis of each thinker's original ideas is provided.

"Ağaoğulları, Mehmet Ali, Cemal Bali Akal, ve Levent Köker. Kral Devlet ya da Ölümlü Tanrı. Ankara: İmge Yayınevi, 1994.
Ağaoğulları, Mehmet Ali, Filiz Çulha Zabcı, ve Reyda Ergün. Kral Devletten Ulus Devlete. Ankara: İmge, 2005.
Ağaoğulları, Mehmet Ali, ve Köker Levent. Tanrı Devletinden Kral Devlete. Ankara: İmge Yayınevi, 1991.
Dunning, William Archibald. A History of Political Theories: Ancient and Medieval. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1957.
—. A History of Political Theories: From Rousseau to Spencer. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1957.
Engels, Friedrich. Ailenin, Özel Mülkiyetin ve Devletin Kökeni. Ankara: Sol Yayınları, 1978.
Furtun, Ayşen. Hukuk Felsefesi Dersleri. İstanbul: Beta Yayınları, 2014.
Gökberk, Macit. Felsefe Tarihi. İstanbul: Remzi Kitabevi, 2017.
Güriz, Adnan. Hukuk Felsefesi. Ankara: Siyasal Yayınevi, 2018.
Torun, Yıldırım. Hukuk Felsefesi. Ankara: Orion Yayınevi, 2012.
Wacks, Raymond. Hukuk Felsefesine Kısa Bir Giriş. Çeviren Engin Arıkan. İstanbul: Tekin Yayıncılık, 2017.
—. Hukuk Kuramını Anlamak. Çeviren Fatma Süzgün, Şahin Ünver ve Serdar Ünver. Ankara: Astana Yayınları, 2017.
Wolff, Jonathan. Siyaset Felsefesine Giriş. 3. Çeviren Fahri Bakırcı. Ankara: Lykeion, 2021.
Wood, Ellen Meiksins, ve Neal Wood. İsyan Borusu: Kapitalizmin Yükselişi ve Siyasal Teori. Çeviren Fahri Bakırcı. Ankara: Epos Yayınları, 2008.
Yetiş, Mehmet. «Antik Atina'da Demokrasinin Gelişimi: Soloncu Pasif Devrimden Peisistratos'un Tiranlığına.» SBF Dergisi 54, no. 2 (Nisan-Haziran 1999): 163-197."

This course aims to delve into the historical roots of legal philosophy and make a comparison with modern legal philosophy theories. The course introduces mainstream legal philosophy approaches such as natural law theory, positivism, legal realism, and the historical school of law, enabling students to understand the ontology, epistemology, and ethical dimensions of law. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to question the role of law in societal contexts and the relationship between individual rights and justice when evaluating modern legal systems.

1. Defines the fundamental concepts and historical development of legal philosophy.
2. Compares different legal theories (natural law, positivism, legal realism, historical school of law) and explains each of their views on the nature of law.
3. Analyzes the function of law in the social context and discusses the relationship between justice and individual rights.
4. Addresses the ethical dimensions of law and gains the ability to discuss ethical issues related to law.
5. Evaluates the philosophical foundations of modern legal systems.
6. Defines the relationship between law and moral values and links this relationship to legal decisions.
7. Analyzes the concept of social justice in legal philosophy and its impact on legal systems.
8. Applies philosophical concepts and legal theories to everyday legal issues and provides solutions.
9. Reads and understands classical and contemporary texts of legal philosophy in English.

Week 1: Examination of law in a non-legal context, explanation of natural law theory, and evaluation of ethical issues like abortion and euthanasia within this theory.
Week 2: Explanation of the decline of traditional natural law theories and introduction of contemporary natural law theories by Lon Fuller and John Finnis.
Week 3: Birth of legal positivism and the theories of its founders, Jeremy Bentham and John Austin.
Week 4: Study of contemporary legal positivism by H.L.A. Hart and Hans Kelsen.
Week 5: Legal realism by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Alf Ross, and Karl Llewellyn.
Week 6: Historical School of Law and the views of Karl von Savigny and Henry Maine.
Week 7: Positioning of social contract theorists Thomas Hobbes, J.J. Rousseau, and John Locke within the Natural Law/Legal Positivism debate (1).
Week 8: Positioning of social contract theorists Thomas Hobbes, J.J. Rousseau, and John Locke within the Natural Law/Legal Positivism debate (2).
Week 9: Study of legal understandings from Ancient Greece to Rome and from Rome to the Middle Ages: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
Week 10: Study of legal understandings from Ancient Greece to Rome and from Rome to the Middle Ages: Cicero.
Week 11: Study of legal understandings from Ancient Greece to Rome and from Rome to the Middle Ages: Augustine and Thomas Aquinas.
Week 12: Study of legal understandings from Ancient Greece to Rome and from Rome to the Middle Ages: Montesquieu.

• Midterm 40 %
• Final 60 %