Uploaded October 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Philosophy professor Geoffrey Sayre-McCord gives 4 dimensions that the justice of a legal system can be evaluated on: 1) The origin of the laws; 2) The content of the laws; 3) The application of the laws by the criminal justice system; and 4) The effect of those laws (given how they are applied and enforced). Within these dimensions, there is a lot of room for very different legal systems to be consistent with the demands of justice, at least in principle. This is because the question of what is rightfully whose is highly contingent on the circumstances in that society.
This video is part of a series exploring basic philosophical questions of justice, and is also part of a larger series on foundational topics in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) courses. Videos in the series feature six professors who teach in university PPE programs.
Watch the rest of the videos in the Justice playlist here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNeQlRoOOIMkxgrMHX-5QtQnQoKQFOB7W
Watch all 23 videos in the PPE series here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNeQlRoOOIMnPu92i-V0alFYHuGTkexfP
For additional PPE curriculum resources, including suggestions for further readings on each topic, visit our website: theihs.org/ppe
Subscribe to our channel to see upcoming videos: youtube.com/c/TheIHSorg?sub_confirmation=1
The Institute for Humane Studies supports and partners with professors to promote the teaching and research of classical liberal ideas and to advance higher education’s core purpose of intellectual discovery and human progress.
About Us: theihs.org/who-we-are
Twitter: twitter.com/theihs?lang=en
Facebook: facebook.com/InstituteforHumaneStudies
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/instituteforhumanestudies
Instagram: instagram.com/theihs
Philosophy professor Geoffrey Sayre-McCord gives 4 dimensions that the justice of a legal system can be evaluated on: 1) The origin of the laws; 2) The content of the laws; 3) The application of the laws by the criminal justice system; and 4) The effect of those laws (given how they are applied and enforced). Within these dimensions, there is a lot of room for very different legal systems to be consistent with the demands of justice, at least in principle. This is because the question of what is rightfully whose is highly contingent on the circumstances in that society.
This video is part of a series exploring basic philosophical questions of justice, and is also part of a larger series on foundational topics in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) courses. Videos in the series feature six professors who teach in university PPE programs.
Watch the rest of the videos in the Justice playlist here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNeQlRoOOIMkxgrMHX-5QtQnQoKQFOB7W
Watch all 23 videos in the PPE series here: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNeQlRoOOIMnPu92i-V0alFYHuGTkexfP
For additional PPE curriculum resources, including suggestions for further readings on each topic, visit our website: theihs.org/ppe
Subscribe to our channel to see upcoming videos: youtube.com/c/TheIHSorg?sub_confirmation=1
The Institute for Humane Studies supports and partners with professors to promote the teaching and research of classical liberal ideas and to advance higher education’s core purpose of intellectual discovery and human progress.
About Us: theihs.org/who-we-are
Twitter: twitter.com/theihs?lang=en
Facebook: facebook.com/InstituteforHumaneStudies
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/instituteforhumanestudies
Instagram: instagram.com/theihs
