PHILOSOPHY OF

LAW
BR./ ATTY. IROL “ERROL” TORRES, SVD
DIRECTOR, CLINICAL LEGAL EDUCATION PROGRAM /
CLINICAL ECO-JUSTICE ADVOCACY
Philosophy of Law

► A study of the historical roots of law from

[Graeco-] Roman times, the schools of legal
thought that spurred its growth and
development, and the primordial purpose of law
and legal education. (LEB MO No. 1, Series of 2011)
Philosophy of Law
At the end of the course, the students should be able to:
► 1. Trace the historical roots of law, from the Graeco-Roman
times to the present, including the Filipino Legal Philosophy;
► 2. Know the primordial purpose of the law and legal
education;
► 3. Have a better understanding of the laws as well as their
provisions and the philosophy or spirit behind them.
PHILAWSOPHIA: Philosophy and Theory
of Philippine Law
by Atty. Nicolo F. Bernardo and Atty. Oscar B. Bernardo

► Main Issues in Law

Chapter 1: The Case for ► Law and Truth
Law ► Law, Authority, and Force
► Law and Mores
Chapter 2: Legal and ► Law, Justice, and Equality
Philosophical Issues ► Law on Property and Economics
► The four elements ► Law, Freedom, and Duty
► Law, Guilt, and Personal
► Branches of Law Liability
PHILAWSOPHIA: Philosophy and Theory
of Philippine Law
by Atty. Nicolo F. Bernardo and Atty. Oscar B. Bernardo

Chapter 3: Theories of Law ► Schools of Jurisprudence

► Legal Theories ► Historical School
► Teleological or Natural Law ► Functional or Sociological
► Positivist School
► Interpretivist or ► Economic Approach
Constructivist Theory
► Formalist and originalist
► Realist Theory
School
► Critical Theory
► Practice Theory
PHILAWSOPHIA…
by Atty. Nicolo F. Bernardo and Atty. Oscar B. Bernardo

► Chapter 4: Natural Law, International ► Chapter 9: Political Law: Reform,

Law, and the Classic Philosophers
► Chapter 5: Civil Law: The Roman Jurists
► Chapter 6: Criminal Law and Family
Law: The Christian Philosophers
► Chapter 7: Lex Mercatoria: From
Custom to Law
► Chapter 8: Remedial Law: The Empirical
Philosophers
Revolution, and Resistance The
Neo-Classical Philosophers
► Chapter 10: Labor Law: Socialism
and Communism
► Chapter 11: Everyone “In”?:
Post-Modernism and the Future of
Law
► Chapter 12: The “X” Factors of
Philippine Legal Paradigm
The Philosophy of Law
by Atty. David Robert Aquino

Chapter 1: Preliminary
Considerations
Chapter 2: Schools of
Thought
► Classical Theories
► Natural Law
► Legal Positivism
► Modern Theories
► Legal realism
► The Path of Law
► Bad Man Theory
► Legal Interpretivism
► Pure Theory of Law
The Philosophy of Law
by Atty. David Robert Aquino
► Chapter 3: Law and
Government
► Chapter 4: Law and
Morality
► Chapter 5: Law and
Equality
► Chapter 6: Law and Justice
► Chapter 7: Crime and
Punishment
► Chapter 8: Torts and
Damages
► Chapter 9: Legal
Philosophy and Legal
Education
Introduction to Legal Profession
► Law Profession
► most popular
► most glamorous
► most misunderstood
► most maligned
Introduction to Legal Profession
► Lawyers
► murder the truth
► twist the law
► defend the scum of society
► good in torturing the English language
Introduction to Legal Profession
► Napoleon: starve lawyers by legislation
► Shakespeare’s play “Henry VI”, Dick the
Butcher: “The first thing we do, let’s kill all
lawyers.”
► “The Devil’s Advocate”: legal system “is a
pyramid with Satan on top.”
► “Liar Liar”
Introduction to Legal Profession
► But:
► neither trade nor business, but a noble profession
► a form of public trust, entrusted to those qualified and
with good moral character
► vested with public interest, all his/her acts involve public
concerns
► the prestige lies in the objective function of bringing
about justice
► has the broadest educational background for leadership
in the community
Philosopher
► “pilosopo” (Pilosopong Tasyo)
► Greek: “philos” and “sophia” (love and
wisdom)
► intellectual
► offer his wisdom; gets around things by
argument
vs. lawyer: offer his counsel; gets his client off
the hook by wordsmith
What is Philosophy?
► 1. The Historical Approach – study of historical figures: philosophers.
► 2. The Analysis of Language - only truths of logic and empirically verifiable
statements are meaningful.

► 3. A Program of Change - role of philosophy is to change the world.

► 4. A Set of Questions and Answers – questions with proposed
answers/ solutions, e.g. of question: Are were born with knowledge?

► 5. World-view (Weltanschaüung) - the attempt to come to a total view of the

universe as it relates to the make-up of matter, man, God, the right, the nature of politics, values, aesthetics, and any other
element in the cosmos that is important.

► 6. Criticism - critical thinking involving a dialectic in the conversation.

Divisions of Philosophy
► 1. Epistemology- the theory of knowledge, which involves: (l) the source or ways to
knowledge; (2) The nature of knowledge; (3) The validity of knowledge.

► 2. Metaphysics – an attempt to describe the nature of reality; involves questions such

as the nature and makeup of the universe, etc.

► 3. Logic - a term used to describe the various types of reasoning structures, the relationship of
ideas, deduction and inference, and in modern times.

► 4. Ethics - a discipline concerning human moral behavior and raises the questions of right or
wrong.

► 5. “Philosophies of”- concerned with the basic structures of the discipline and
the presuppositions needed for the study.
Philosophy of Law
- “love of the wisdom of the law”; a branch of philosophy, and therefore deals primarily with philosophy;
broader than legal philosophy.

► 1. Legal Philosophy - a discipline in law, and therefore deals

primarily with law.

► 2. Jurisprudence - In US, commonly means philosophy of law; In

the Philippines, commonly used to refer to case law or the legal decisions which have developed and
which accompany statutes in applying the law against situations of fact.

► 3. Legal Theory- theoretical study of law; jurisprudence.