Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2026 - PHIL 825 G100

Selected Topics in Social and Political Philosophy (5)

Law and Emotion

Class Number: 4136

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 5 – Apr 10, 2026: Fri, 9:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

COURSE DETAILS:

Selected Topics: Law and Emotion

Important note regarding enrollment: All seats are reserved for philosophy graduate students. Philosophy honours students and graduate students in other departments will be considered only upon submission of the new online Course Add/Drop Form as required by Graduate Studies. All such enrollments will be done in or after the first week of classes, if there is capacity.

A consensus has emerged in the quickly expanding field of law-and-emotions scholarship according to which the traditional notion that there is a fundamental antipathy between law and emotion—that the law is essentially a dispassionate, rational practice that can only be distorted or contaminated by the influence of emotion—is profoundly mistaken. “Emotion,” as legal scholar Susan Bandes has observed, “pervades the law.”

And yet, there appears to be an element of truth imperfectly reflected in the traditional notion. In the absence of law—as well as in those areas of our lives to which the law does not extend—social life is regulated by a set of practices and responses in which direct, personal emotional reactions play a prominent role. The law, by formalizing, bureaucratizing, and depersonalizing interpersonal interactions, relegates personal emotional responses to a less central role.

The organizing idea of this seminar is that it is useful to characterize “law and emotion” as an area of focus in the philosophy of law in terms of the tension between these two thoughts: On the one hand, emotion pervades the law; on the other hand, the law—because of its formal, impersonal, institutional character—often displaces, attenuates, or transforms the emotions that pervade it. The seminar will (without any attempt to be exhaustive) explore this tension across several topics in philosophy of law; possible topics include (1) anger, punishment, and reparation; (2) promises, contracts, and intimacy; and (3) respect for law.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:


Successful completion of this course will satisfy the “Value Theory” distribution requirement toward the MA degree for philosophy graduate students.

Grading

  • Engagement in the seminar, including leading class discussion on a rotating basis 10%
  • Seminar paper presentation 10%
  • Seminar paper 80%

NOTES:

Written work for this course will be submitted via Turnitin, a third party service licensed for use by SFU. Turnitin is used for originality checking to help detect plagiarism. Students will be required to create an account with Turnitin, and to submit their work via that account, on the terms stipulated in the agreement between the student and Turnitin. This agreement includes the retention of your submitted work as part of the Turnitin database. Any student with a concern about using the Turnitin service may opt to use an anonymous identity in their interactions with Turnitin. Students who do not intend to use Turnitin in the standard manner must notify the instructor at least two weeks in advance of any submission deadline. In particular, it is the responsibility of any student using the anonymous option (i.e. false name and temporary e-mail address created for the purpose) to inform the instructor such that the instructor can match up the anonymous identity with the student.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

All readings will be made available on Canvas.

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Graduate Studies Notes:

Important dates and deadlines for graduate students are found here: http://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/current/important_dates/guidelines.html. The deadline to drop a course with a 100% refund is the end of week 2. The deadline to drop with no notation on your transcript is the end of week 3.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.

To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit: 


RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.