In the Mind of a Philosopher Assignment
Unit 1: Our Legal Heritage
CLN4U
We have spent this unit examining how various philosophers have grappled with
the complexities of law and justice. Your challenge will be to analyze and
effectively summarize the philosophy of justice for a particular philosopher and
to interpret the merits of actual or proposed laws based on that person’s theories.
You can use your textbook as a starting point but you must include two
additional resources.
Task
1) Select a legal philosopher studied in class or one found through
independent research.
2) Using library sources and/or the Internet, research your philosopher of
choice and his or her views regarding law and justice.
3) Write a clear and concise one to two page summary highlighting five main
points to explain your chosen philosopher’s ideas on law and justice.
Include examples to illustrate each. (Remember, this is not a biography.
Focus on highlighting their views on law and justice.)
4) For each of the following actual or proposed laws, summarize what you
think your chosen philosopher’s views would have been. Provide reasoning
for your analysis.
 A law that allows the use of random spot checks to catch possibly
impaired drivers
 A law that permits euthanasia
 A proposal by the government to legalize theft
 A proposed new law that permits members of certain ethnic groups
to be arrested and interrogated without legal representation for a
period of time in order to combat terrorism
 A proposed new law that would decriminalize crimes such as
prostitution, possession of drugs, and gambling.
This is a formal assignment and should be composed and presented as such.
Please submit with the following expectations:
a) A title page and page numbers. Title page should include, your name, my
name, course code and date.
b) References (use MLA style in-text parenthetical citations) and works cited
page.
c) Formatting: 12 point font, Times New Roman
**** Academic dishonesty is forbidden and will be punished accordingly.
Ignorance to the rules is not a legitimate defence. If you are unsure ask for help.
Check out https://owl.english.purdue.edu for formatting guidelines. ******
Criteria
Knowledge and
Understanding
• Philosophical
ideas of law
and justice
• Legal issues
and concepts
Thinking and
Inquiry
• Relevant
research
• Points of view/
philosophical
differences
Communication
• Clarity, style,
and
effectiveness
• Written
mechanics—
spelling,
grammar
Application
• Connections
between
philosophical
ideas and law
• Conclusions
K/U
/10
Level 1
50–59%
Level 2
60–69%
Level 3
70–79%
Level 4
80–100%
Limited
understanding of
philosophical
ideas
of law and justice
Limited
understanding of
legal issues and
concepts
Adequate
understanding of
philosophical
ideas
of law and justice
Adequate
understanding of
legal issues and
concepts
Good
understanding of
philosophical
ideas of law and
justice
Good
understanding of
legal issues and
concepts
Superior
understanding of
philosophical
ideas
of law and justice
Superior
understanding of
legal issues and
concepts
Limited relevant
research
Adequate, usually
relevant research
Varied and
relevant research
Inadequate
analysis of points
of view and
philosophical
differences
Attempted
analysis of points
of view and
philosophical
differences
Good analysis of
points of view and
philosophical
differences
Abundant, highly
varied, and
relevant research
Superior analysis
of points of view
and philosophical
differences
Limited clarity,
style, and
effectiveness
Written mechanics
have many errors
Adequate clarity,
style, and
effectiveness
Written mechanics
have several
errors
Good clarity, style,
and effectiveness
Limited
application of
connections
between
philosophical ideas of justice
and current law
Limited
conclusions drawn
from research
Adequate application of connections
between
philosophical ideas of justice
and current law
Good application
of connections
between
philosophical ideas of justice
and current law
Some conclusions
drawn from
research
Good conclusions
drawn from
research
T
/10
C
Written mechanics
have few errors
/10
A
Superior clarity,
style, and
effectiveness
Written mechanics
are mastered
Superior
application of
connections
between
philosoph-ical
ideas of justice and
current law
Superior
conclusions drawn
from research
/10