Philosophical Issues in Tort Law
Philosophy Compass, Vol. 3/4, pp. 734-748, 2008
15 Pages Posted: 18 Mar 2009
Date Written: July 25, 2008
Abstract
The union of contemporary philosophy and tort law has never been better. Perhaps the most dynamic current in contemporary tort theory concerns the increasingly sophisticated inquires into the doctrinal elements of the law of torts, with the tort of negligence in particular garnering the most attention from theorists. In this article, I examine philosophically rich issues revolving around each of the elements constituting the tort of negligence: compensable injury, duty, breach, actual cause, and proximate cause.
Keywords: tort law, tort theory, negligence, legal philosophy, risk, duty, breach, causation
JEL Classification: K13
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation