MP903K Moral Reasoning

Faculty of Law
Autumn 2026
Extent and Intensity
0/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
doc. JUDr. Tomáš Sobek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Zuzana Veselková (assistant)
Guaranteed by
doc. JUDr. Tomáš Sobek, Ph.D.
Department of Legal Theory – Faculty of Law
Contact Person: Martina Lemonová
Supplier department: Department of Legal Theory – Faculty of Law
Timetable of Seminar Groups
MP903K/01: Mon 28. 9. to Fri 18. 12. each odd Monday 14:00–15:40 030, T. Sobek
MP903K/02: Mon 28. 9. to Fri 18. 12. each odd Tuesday 10:00–11:40 215, T. Sobek
MP903K/03: Mon 28. 9. to Fri 18. 12. each even Tuesday 10:00–11:40 215, T. Sobek
MP903K/04: Mon 28. 9. to Fri 18. 12. each odd Tuesday 12:00–13:40 148, T. Sobek
MP903K/05: Mon 28. 9. to Fri 18. 12. each even Tuesday 12:00–13:40 316, T. Sobek
MP903K/06: Mon 28. 9. to Fri 18. 12. each odd Tuesday 14:00–15:40 259, T. Sobek
MP903K/07: Mon 28. 9. to Fri 18. 12. each even Tuesday 14:00–15:40 259, T. Sobek
MP903K/08: No timetable has been entered into IS. T. Sobek
Prerequisites (in Czech)
!NOWANY( MP909K Complex Cases , MP930K Professional Ethics of Lawyers )
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 178 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/178, only registered: 223/178
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
  • Law (programme PrF, PR_)
  • Law (programme PrF, M-PPV)
Abstract
The acquaintance with main theories of recent ethics; the understanding of the importance of the ethics in legal reasoning; the ability to do an ethical analysis of legal case; the ability to ethical argumentation; the development of moral intuitions.
Learning outcomes

Students will, upon completing the course, be able to: (1) understand the basic ethical theories; (2) apply these theories in moral and legal reasoning; (3) understand the significance of moral values in legal thinking.

Key topics
  • Examples of ethical argumentation.
  • The analysis of moral dilemmas.
  • The usage of ethical concepts in legal argumentation.
  • The choice of morally intuitive solution to legal case.
  • Justice vs. efficiency of law.
  • Objectiveness, subjectiveness and relativeness of moral belief.
Study resources and literature
    required literature
  • SOBEK T., Právní myšlení, Plzeň 2011.
    recommended literature
  • DWORKIN, R. Justice for Hedgehogs, Harvard 2011.
  • BESSON S., The Morality of Conflict: Reasonable Disagreement and The Law, Hart Pub 2005.
  • DEN OTTER R. C., Judicial Review in an Age of Moral Pluralism, Cambridge 2009.
  • ZAMIR E., MEDINA B., Law, Economics, and Morality, Oxford 2010.
  • KAPLOW L., SHAVELL S., Fairness versus Welfare, Harvard 2002.
  • WALDRON, J., Law and Disagreement, Oxford 1999.
  • SHAPIRO, S. J. Legality, Harvard 2011.
Approaches, practices, and methods used in teaching
1) Reflective equilibrium. 2) Value weighting. 3) Thought experiments. 4) Metaethical analysis. 5) Economical analysis.
Method of verifying learning outcomes and course completion requirements
colloquial - ethical analysis of legal case (written exam)
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2012, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2014, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023, Autumn 2024, Autumn 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/law/autumn2026/MP903K