Back to Philosophy of
Law Syllabus
Fall 2005 Prof. Christian Perring
Second Paper.
3-5 pages, double-spaced. (800 words minimum)
Use MLA or APA style for references.
Due by midnight, Wednesday November 2, 2005. (Early papers are welcome)
Please submit papers via turnitin.com. If you have difficulty using this, you can send me your paper in email as an attachment.
The turnitin.com class ID is: 1360699
The password is: dworkin
Assignment.
In its 1989 decision on Texas v. Johnson, the US Supreme Court decided that there is a constitutional right to burn the American flag as a form of political protest. Clearly John Stuart Mill would agree with this decision, but explain how his reasoning could be applied to this particular case. Make sure in the process of explaining Mill, you also make clear how one might try to justify laws prohibiting flag burning. Explain whether Mill's arguments as you have applied them to this case are successful, in your opinion.
Guidelines.
In order for you to get a passing grade, you must show a basic understanding of Mill's justification of freedom of action, especially freedom of political expression. Clarity is the most important virtue to aim for in writing your paper. Good grammar and spelling are essential, and well-structured sentences are very helpful. A good paper (B grade) will go into more subtle details of the relevance of Mill's reasoning to the Texas v. Johnson case. An excellent paper (A grade) will bring in some of the other philosophers from the course who have discussed rights, and will use them to evaluate Mill's arguments.
NB: Any student who incorrectly spells John Stuart Mill's name will go down a letter grade on this paper.
Collaboration.
It is often a good idea to get someone else from the class to read a draft of your paper to give you comments about its strengths and weaknesses. You can form study groups and discuss the readings with other students. However, you must do your own writing. If you want, I will be ready to give you feedback on drafts of papers, if they get to me by October 24. You can send them by email.