The Role of Virtues in Legal Education

Authors

  • Antal Szerletics National University of Public Service

Keywords:

Legal Education, Virtue Theory, Intellectual Virtues, Moral Virtues, CEE Region, Educación Jurídica, Teoría de La Virtud, Virtudes Intelectuales, Virtudes Morales, Europa Central y Oriental

Abstract

The author applies virtue theory (virtue epistemology and virtue ethics in particular) to the question of legal education and examines the prospects of a virtue-based discourse in this context. Following the Aristotelian distinction between intellectual and moral virtues, he argues that law schools need to equip students – besides appropriate skills and knowledge of legal regulations – with intellectual and moral virtues necessary for a socially productive legal practice. Identifying lawyerly virtues and exploring the ways they can be fostered in a university environment might be the first steps to change the exaggeratedly formalistic thinking that seems to characterize legal education and legal practice in the CEE region.

El autor aplica la teoría de la virtud (epistemología y ética de la virtud, en particular) a la cuestión de la educación jurídica, y, en ese contexto, examina las perspectivas futuras de un discurso basado en la virtud. Siguiendo la distinción aristotélica entre virtudes intelectuales y morales, el autor argumenta que las escuelas de Derecho deberían educar, además de en las destrezas apropiadas y en el conocimiento de la ley, en las virtudes intelectuales y morales necesarias para un ejercicio del Derecho socialmente productivo. Los primeros pasos para cambiar el pensamiento exageradamente formalista que parece caracterizar la educación jurídica y la práctica de la profesión en la región de Europa central y oriental podrían ser la identificación de las virtudes del jurista y la reflexión sobre cómo aquéllas podrían ser fomentadas.

DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3075146

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Published

29-01-2016

How to Cite

Szerletics, A. (2016) “The Role of Virtues in Legal Education”, Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 7(8), pp. 1679–1691. Available at: https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/746 (Accessed: 25 December 2024).

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 8 (2017): Legal Education in Europe. Challenges and Prospects

Section

Prospects and alternative methods

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