Curated playlist
Philosophy of law
- TortureMost torture victims are poor people suspected of crimes. Public debate focuses on political prisoners instead.
- Freedom of speechVoltaire never said the most famous line about free speech. A biographer wrote it in 1906 to illustrate his beliefs.
- JusticeDoes justice come from God, nature, a contract among strangers, or the strongest? Thinkers have argued it since Plato.
- Separation of powersMontesquieu wrote in 1748 that united legislative and executive power leaves no liberty.
- Laws (dialogue)Plato's Laws is his longest dialogue, and Socrates never appears in it. Three old men plan a city on a walk.
- Dignitas (Roman concept)When his career ended, Cicero rewrote what dignitas meant. He redefined the Roman idea as "lifetime impact."
- Human rightsThe Cold War split the Universal Declaration of Human Rights into two separate treaties.
- Positive lawPositive law gets its name from a Latin word meaning laid down. Law is positive when a recognized authority declares it.
- ImperiumIn ancient Rome, you could read a magistrate's power by counting his attendants. A consul had 12 lictors, a praetor 6.
- Law and economicsWhat if laws were judged by costs, benefits and consequences? That question started law and economics.