1 - 1 of 1 results for: PHIL 187B: Advanced Undergrad seminar on Philosophy of Action and the Criminal Law

In modern-day Anglo-American criminal legal systems, convictions generally require proof of the defendant's "guilty mind" - mens rea - as well as proof of the defendant's "guilty act" - actus reus. An equally foundational (yet thus far undertheorized) requirement is that the mens rea and the actus reus "correspond" - that the defendant's mental states stand in the right relationship to the non-mental elements of the crime. This seminar begins by focusing on the mens rea and actus reus conditions, and then turns to the question of what the required correspondence relation might amount to. Students will gain familiarity with foundational principles (both settled and unsettled) of the Anglo-American criminal legal system as well as with how philosophical methodology and research might be leveraged to shed light on those principles. Prerequisite: philosophy 80 and philosophy of action, or permission of instructor.