University of San Carlos

SCHOOL OF LAW & GOVERNANCE

Cebu City

JD 11101

Philosophy of Law
Edmar D. Lerios
2023 Edition

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course examines the fundamental philosophies behind ‘law’. It introduces
the students with the concept of law, including its nature and content, and the
principles on which it is based. This includes the relation of law to logical argument, to
rights, and justice.
This is also a study of the historical roots of law from Roman times, the schools
of legal thought that spurred its growth and development, and the primordial purpose
of law and legal education.

The beginning of the course will, however, be devoted to the law school
experience, legal analysis and the study of law—knowing what counts, what helps, and
what matters.
This course uses the most effective way of learning the law. It utilizes the
Socratic Method. It simplifies its rules and concepts through the learner-centered and
outcomes-based education (OBE). With diligence and right preparation, the student
will be equipped with the basic principles to deeply understand this “crazy little thing
called law.”

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1. To enable students to acquire a rich understanding of the major theories and
debates in legal philosophy with the ability to describe, explain and distinguish
them;
2. To gain an ability to think in a reasoned manner about the philosophical issues
concerning law by using materials to enhance learning and teaching strategies
that facilitate learning;
3. To be able to analyze and critically evaluate facts, issues and the deep practical
problems involved in law by asking questions that adequately test the students’
knowledge and competencies;
4. To develop an ability to read, write and argue critically about questions of legal

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 University of San Carlos
SCHOOL OF LAW & GOVERNANCE
Cebu City
significance in order to orient a student in the bar examinations; and
5. To serve as guide through the choices a law student faces everyday in class and
to prepare or orient them about law school and the practice of law.

THRESHOLD LEARNING OUTCOMES (TLOs)

Upon completing the course, the Carolinian Law student will demonstrate the
following:
§ TLO2: ETHICS
§ TLO3: THINKING SKILLS
§ TLO5: COMMUNICATION
§ TLO6: SELF-MANAGEMENT

PROGRAM LEVEL LEARNING OUTCOMES (PLLOs)

Upon completing the law program, a Carolinian law graduate will demonstrate the
following:
§ PLLO 1: KNOWLEDGE;
§ PLLO 2: ETHICS, PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY, WITNESS TO THE WORD;
§ PLLO 3: THINKING SKILLS;
§ PLLO 4: RESEARCH SKILLS;
§ PLLO 5: COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION;
§ PLLO 6: SELF-MANAGEMENT

At the end of the law program, the Carolinian law graduate is expected to be a
Witness to the Word and to embody the following graduate attributes:

Scientia: A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL

Critical Thinker
Lifelong learner
Skilled researcher
Sound decision-maker
Innovative problem-solver
Effective and articulate communicator
Virtus: A VIRTUOUS EXEMPLAR
Incorruptible servant leader
Ethical and values-driven practitioner
Devotio: A DEDICATED ADVOCATE
Committed peacemaker
Culture-sensitive patriot
Socially-engaged citizen
Passionate worker for the marginalized

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 University of San Carlos
SCHOOL OF LAW & GOVERNANCE
Cebu City

COURSE POLICIES & REQUIREMENTS

1. Show up. Be on time. Attendance is a must. A student who leaves the meeting
or arrives late (15 minutes) will be marked absent.
2. Be prepared for a Socratic Dialogue and interactive discussions during face to
face and synchronous learning activities. Active participation in class is
required. You are expected to study carefully the reading materials.
3. All cellphones and electronic devices must be turned off. No one can use other
gadgets, except the laptop, computer or tablet. No one is allowed to play with
smartphones and visit unrelated websites and social media during class.
4. Students are not allowed to study reading materials from other classes while
the class is on-going. You are expected to give your full attention and focus in
the class.

COURSE OUTLINE

MODULE 1. The Study of Law

A. The Law and the Legal System for Beginners
1. The Lawyer
2. Law’s Simple Meaning
3. The Functions of Law
4. The Constitution and its Supremacy
5. Statutory and Case Laws
6. Who Implements the Law
7. The Litigation Process and the Court System
8. Trial Courts and the Court Room
9. The Overview of Trial Procedure
10. The Appeals Process and the Supreme Court
11. Classifications of Laws and Cases

B. Probing the Legal Mind

1. How to Think Like a Lawyer
2. The Investigative Mind of a Lawyer
3. The Critical Mind of a Lawyer

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 University of San Carlos
SCHOOL OF LAW & GOVERNANCE
Cebu City
4. The Analytical Mind of a Lawyer
5. The Strategic Mind of a Lawyer
6. The Persuasive Mind of a Lawyer
7. The Way Forward

Required Readings:
§ Lerios, Edmar & Fornolles, Angelo. Legal Method & Techniques (Chapters 1
and 3), Rex Bookstore: 2023.

MODULE 2. The Logic of Law

A. Identifying and Analyzing the Facts
1. What is a Fact?
2. The Statements, Allegations, and Claims.
3. The Evidence
4. Investigating the Facts
5. Your Opponent’s Facts
6. Dealing with Bad Facts
7. Filtering Your Facts
8. Arranging and Presenting Your Facts
9. Presenting Your Facts

B. Spotting and Framing the Issue

1. What is an ‘issue’?
2. Question of Law vs. Question of Fact
3. Gut Feel, Instinct and Experience
4. The Academic and Practice Gap
5. Cause of Action
6. Components of a Cause of Action
7. Competing Factual and Legal Factual Theories
8. Fundamental vs. Dermal issues
9. Important and Threshold Issues
10. Granular Analysis of Issues
11. Framing the Issue

C. Finding and Understanding the Law

1. The Sources of Law
2. The Primary Sources of Law

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 University of San Carlos
SCHOOL OF LAW & GOVERNANCE
Cebu City
The Constitution
Treaties and International Agreements
Statutes
Presidential Issuances
Administrative Rules and Regulations
Local Ordinances
Decisions of the Supreme Court
3. Secondary Sources of Law
4. Using the Law
Elements
Factors
5. Applying the Law
6. Basic Structure of a Statute
7. Interpreting Statutes
8. Tools of Interpretation
Plain Meaning Rule
Not So Plain After All
9. Substantive vs. Procedural Laws
10. The Interplay of Research, Statutory Construction, and Procedures

F. Reading Case Law

1. Purposeful Reading
2. Examining the Context
3. Distilling the Legal Rules
4. Analyzing the Reasoning
5. The Anatomy of a Court Opinion
a. Caption or Citation
b. Procedural History
c. Facts
d. Issues
e. Holding or Ruling
f. The Rule of a Case or the Reasoning
g. Obiter Dictum
h. Disposition
6. The Stare Decisis Doctrine
7. Controlling and Persuasive Cases

Required Readings:
§ Lerios, Edmar & Fornolles, Angelo. Legal Method & Techniques (Chapters 3,
4, 5, and 6), Rex Bookstore: 2023.

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 University of San Carlos
SCHOOL OF LAW & GOVERNANCE
Cebu City

MODULE 3. The Genesis of Law

A. Law’s Roots
1. The Western Legal Tradition
2. Civil Law and Common Law
3. Other Legal Traditions
4. The Allure of the Law
5. The Functions of Law
6. The Sources of Law

B. Crazy Little Thing Called Law

1. The Invention of Law
2. How is Law Possible?
3. A Note on Norms
4. Possible Solutions
5. Positive vs. Natural
6. Nino and Dino
7. Pick Your Poison

C. What is Law?
1. The Rule of Law
2. Necessity
3. Democracy
4. Discrimination
5. The Outcome of the Case

Required Readings:
§ Wacks, Raymond. Law’s Roots (in Law: A Very Short Introduction),
Oxford University Press: 2016.
§ Shapiro, Scott. Crazy Little Thing Called Law (in Legality), Harvard
University Press: 2011.
§ McBride, Nicholas. ‘What is Law?’ (Lesson 1 in Letters to a Law Student),
Pearson Education: 2018.

MODULE 4. The Morality of Law

A. Law and Morality
B. Natural Law

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 University of San Carlos
SCHOOL OF LAW & GOVERNANCE
Cebu City
1. Natural Rights: Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau
2. The Fall and Rise of Natural Law
3. Lon Fuller: the ‘Inner Morality of Law’
4. Contemporary Natural Law Theory: John Finnis

C. Legal Positivism
1. Law as Commands: Bentham and Austin
2. Law as Social Rules: H.L.A. Hart
3. Law as Norms: Hans Kelsen
4. Law as Social Fact: Joseph Raz

Required Readings:
§ Wacks, Raymond. Law and Morality (in Law), Oxford University Press:
2016.
§ Wacks, Raymond. Natural Law (in Philosophy of Law), Oxford University
Press: 2014.
§ Wacks, Raymond. Legal Positivism (in Philosophy of Law), Oxford
University Press: 2014.

MODULE 5. The Primordial Goal of Law

A. Justice & Injustice
B. Utilitarianism
C. The Economic Analysis of Law
D. Justice as Fairness
E. The Rule of Law and its Executors

Required Reading:
§ Wacks, Raymond. Rights and Justice (in Philosophy of Law), Oxford
University Press: 2014.
§ Wacks, Raymond. Justice: A Beginner’s Guide, OneWorld: 2017.
§ Sandel, Michael. Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? Penguin: 2010.

MODULE 6. The Application of Law

A. Lon Fuller’s Case of the Speluncean Explorers
1. Opinion of Chief Justice Truepenny
2. Opinion of Justice Foster

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 University of San Carlos
SCHOOL OF LAW & GOVERNANCE
Cebu City
3. Opinion of Justice Tatting
4. Opinion of Justice Keen
5. Opinion of Justice Handy
6. Opinion of Justice Tatting
7. Postscript
B. Nine New Opinions
1. Opinion of Chief Justice Burnham
2. Opinion of Justice Springham
3. Opinion of Justice Tally
4. Opinion of Justice Hellen
5. Opinion of Justice Trumpet
6. Opinion of Justice Goad
7. Opinion of Justice Frank
8. Opinion of Justice Reckon
9. Opinion of Justice Bond

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
1. MASTERY OF THE READING MATERIALS. Analyze the concepts, examples,
theories and the lessons in the reading materials assigned to you. The students
will be evaluated based on their demonstrated preparation and understanding
of the reading materials.
2. CLASS PARTICIPATION. Participate in the Socratic dialogues, oral presentations,
interactive discussions, group work, role-playing (e.g. oral arguments) and other
student-centered learning activities. Attendance and active participation will be
recorded. The Instructor will randomly call on students to engage and answer
questions in class. Failure to give a satisfactory answer because of absence and
lack of preparation will affect your class performance.
3. SURPRISE EXAMS. Test your preparation and ability to understand and
appreciate the lessons in the reading materials by participating in the
unannounced written examinations.
4. MAJOR EXAMINATIONS. Learn how to solve problems and present a case
through reflective essays, case analysis, and practical exams (i.e. closing
arguments, debates, moot court). As much as possible, assessment tasks will be
aligned with the intended learning outcomes.

TEACHING METHODS THAT FACILITATE LEARNING:

Learner-Centered Teaching. Research shows that student-centered learning
leads to increased student engagement with the content. It also leads to increased

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 University of San Carlos
SCHOOL OF LAW & GOVERNANCE
Cebu City
student learning and long-term retention. Hence, the instructor will be an active
facilitator of learning through activities and strategies that better engage the students
(e.g. small-group discussion, Socratic questioning, peer instruction, case studies,
problem-based learning, writing with peer review, interactive lecture demonstrations,
and role-plays).

Constructive Alignment. The course is designed so that the learning activities

and assessment tasks are aligned with the learning outcomes that are intended in the
course. This is the basic premise of ‘constructive alignment’. This is extremely difficult
to achieve. But we will try to design assessment tasks that is constructively aligned with
the learning outcomes of this course. An appropriate assessment task shows how well
a student has achieved the learning outcomes it is meant to address and/or how well
the task itself has been performed.

Intellectual Dishonesty, Cheating & Plagiarism

Plagiarism constitutes an academic dishonesty—a serious scholastic offense.
This will be met with severe consequences. Hence, always observe proper citations
when quoting or using the ideas of others. Cheating during exams or oral recitations
will be dealt with harshly.

EVALUATION AND GRADING SYSTEM

Class Participation & Activities….................... 50%
Midterm Examination…………..……………….. 25%
Final Examination……...…………………....…… 25%
Total: 100%
Passing Grade: 70%