There is an emphasis area within the philosophy major specifically designed for students interested in going on to Law school. The Philosophy major with a Law, Liberty, and Justice Emphasis Area listed officially on transcripts and diplomas. It combines specific Philosophy courses with selected social science courses as follows: Philosophy: consists of Logic (PHIL 102), Moral Philosophy (PHIL 304) or Social and Political Philosophy (PHIL 320), Ancient and Modern Philosophy (PHIL 315 and 316), Philosophy of Law (PHIL 343), and a senior Philosophy seminar (PHIL 401 or 402). Other: United States Legal History to 1890 (HIST 328), United States Legal History since 1890 (HIST 329), and nine additional credits in philosophy selected with the advice and consent of the departmental pre-law advisor. Students with this emphasis area are strongly advised to partially fulfill their advanced social science requirement by taking one or more of American Constitutional Law I and II (POSC 432 and 433), Law Courts and Politics (POSC 434). Additional electives are added as needed to meet the minimum of 120 semester hours required for graduation.

Why Choose Philosophy for Pre-Law?

The study of philosophy develops the skills that the American Association of Law Schools has identified as important for pre-law education as proven by the fact that philosophy majors consistently score very high on the Law School Admissions Test (see data tables below). In fact, the philosophy major is the eleventh most common pre-law major and philosophy students handily beat out all the more popular majors in their average LSAT performance. Therefore, Philosophy truly is one of the best undergraduate majors for students intending to go to law school. It's not surprising then that two members of the current Supreme Court of the United States were undergraduate philosophy majors (Justice Souter and Justice Breyer) In its guidelines on suitable undergraduate education, The Association of American Law Schools says the following: "What the law schools seek in their entering students is not accomplishment in mere memorization but accomplishment in understanding, the capacity to think for themselves, and the ability to express their thoughts with clarity and force." Those who aspire to a career in law need to develop "perception and skill" in the use of language as well as sensitivity to its "fluidity" and "deceptiveness." they also need to "develop insight into, rather than merely information about, the institutions and values with which human beings are concerned." Among other things, potential law students need to have a grasp of the nature of human beings,..... internal and external limitations upon the development of understanding and reason,.... the function of value choices in planning,.... (and the) cultural heritage of Western Societies, including philosophy and ethics." Moreover, students need to develop "the power to think clearly, carefully and independently." In this connection, the AALS emphasizes, skill in recognizing, differentiating and marshaling facts, "avoidance of preconception and fiction masquerading as fact, (and the) disciplined ability to withhold judgment until all facts are 'in'." Facility in deductive, inductive and analogical reasoning, critical analysis and constructive synthesis are also stressed.

According to the author of How to Get Into Law School, what emerges from the Association of American Law Schools Policy on Pre-legal Education is that "education for the law should be a broad and liberal education in the classic sense." Law schools, he continues, "do not build upon any particular body of knowledge acquired during undergraduate studies. The prospective lawyer should select a course of study that takes a broad view of mankind, one that requires tight reasoning and stimulates deep thought. .... Law is life and the study of law must begin with the study of life." This point is confirmed by the advice provided in law school catalogues, such as, "The best advice for the pre-law student is to get as challenging, as stimulating, as provocative an undergraduate course as his own interests and resources of the particular college or university permit." Students are advised to choose a course of study that will develop writing skills- - "Take courses in which work is edited vigorously "- - and analytical skills to obtain breadth in the humanities and social sciences. A pre-law student ought "to acquire a college education that will last a lifetime. The Policy on Pre-legal Education of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) directs attention to the elements of an "undergraduate education which the AALS believes fundamental to the later attainment of legal competence," recommending the "development in pre-law students of basic skills and insights." Three areas are stressed: a. "Comprehension and expression in words" b. "Critical understanding of the human institutions and values with which the law deals" c. "Creative power in thinking."

As philosophers Jeffrie Murphy (Arizona State University) and Jules Coleman (Yale University School of Law) point out, "The goal of philosophy... is to articulate and maintain the standards of rational criticism and to fight off the darkness that surrounds any practice when it starts being discussed, not in terms of public and objective reasons, but in terms of unexamined feelings, dogmas, faiths and conventions." Thus, Philosophy teaches precisely the kinds of skills needed to excel in law school, so it is hardly surprising that our majors do so well on the LSAT. What is more important in the long run, however, is that a major in philosophy is a "college education that will last a lifetime" and, hence, be of value whatever one's career goals happen to be.

back

back