Philosophy of law is concerned with the the foundations of law.

This master’s programme introduces the student to philosophical issues arising at the intersection of law, politics, and policy. This master’s programme is meant for students who wish to combine a master’s in Law, Political Science, Public Administration, or an adjacent discipline with a master’s in…

This dissertation explores Aristotle’s use of teleology as a principle of explanation, especially as it is used in the natural treatises.

The master's programme in Philosophy of Knowledge at Leiden University is your opportunity to investigate the connections between philosophy and science in historical perspective.

The master's programme in Philosophy of Humanities at Leiden University allows you to specialise in conceptual and methodological issues in the Humanities.

In what way is constructivist logic able to account for both the role of the judging agent in inference and the universal claims of logical validity?

If you want to maintain a valid penal system, you have to continue to ask the big questions on punishment. Why do we punish people? What is permissible for the government and what is not? Philosopher of Law Jeroen ten Voorde examines these kinds of questions and keeps his academic colleagues and the…

This dissertation is a study of the view of the Neoplatonist Proclus (Athens, 411-485) on to what extent and how the changing and unreliable world of sense perception can itself be an object of scientific knowledge.

This project studies the theory and practice of moral education in the (Neo)Platonic tradition.

The two-year master’s programme in Philosophy at Leiden University investigates the fundamental principles underpinning human knowledge while cultivating your capacity for reason and sound argumentation.

Most people know what law is. But what it should be or where it comes from is what interests the researchers from the Institute for the Interdisciplinary Study of the Law. Key to their approach are topics that go right to the heart of philosophy of law. What is a state? What are the limitations of…

Research within the department of Philosophy of Law is mainly focused on the history of the philosophy of law.

Nietzsche’s concept of the agon or Wettkampf, a measured and productive form of conflict inspired by ancient Greek culture, has attracted a good deal of interest in Nietzsche studies and beyond. This book, by a leading expert on the topic, brings together research conducted over 20 years with a focus…

The Philosophy of Law Department is responsible for various courses both in the Bachelors and the Masters.

While acknowledging prominent legal-philosophical debates, this project proposes a radically different approach to provide insights into the concept of the rule of law.

The department Philosophy of Law is located at the Kamerlingh Onnes Gebouw.

Find out how to apply for Philosophy of Law at Leiden University by following our step-by step guide.

The thesis reconstructs Carl Schmitt's 1956 monography on 'Hamlet'. By scanning and unearthing books, essays, think-pieces, articles, personal diaries and private correspondence, this investigation fully addresses the unwritten philosophy of history -partially developed- in Schmitt's late thought. The…

The Institute for Philosophy at Leiden University is host to the NWO programme,

It is good for a judge to have some empathy with victims and offenders. But too much empathy can be harmful to the practice of the law, as PhD candidate Claudia Bouteligier has found. Literature may offer a solution. PhD defence 18 September.

The research within eLaw is mainly (but not exclusively) connected to the Faculty of Law research program Effective Protection of Fundamental Rights in a Pluralist World. The central research question of this program is: What opportunities and threats flow from the existence of institutional and normative…

Nature and History, Towards a Hermeneutic Philospohy of Historiography of Science

In this dissertation, Boethius’ mathematics and logic and their roles in philosophy are reassessed, and on the basis of these, the connections between mathematics and logic in Boethius and their applications to theological or philosophical topics are explored.

To be eligible for Philosophy of Law, Governance and Politics at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

Legal education initiative of the Leiden University, the University of Groningen and Universitas Indonesia.

Eline van Slijpe wrote her Master of Philosophy thesis on intergenerational justice: does the current generation have obligations towards future generations? With this thesis she won the biannual J.C. Baak Prize.

This research project focuses on the thoughts of ethnicity and political orthodoxy in Medieval China by investigating Wang Tong’s works.

A comprehensive analysis of Nietzsche's conception of conflict and the way in which relations of struggle condition the organisation of complex systems (with a specific focus on the human psyche and the body politic).

On 18 May 2011, Dr. Ben Knapen, Minister for European Affairs and International Cooperation, delivered the annual Van Vollenhoven Lecture on “Rule of Law and Development”.

The Leiden Centre for Theoretical Philosophy (LCTP) is a platform for analytic philosophy in a broad sense at Leiden University. Its members do research in philosophy of science, philosophy of logic and metaphysics, with a keen interest in the history of topics such as mind, knowledge, truth, and ti…

Kazimierz Twardowski (1866-1938) is the founder of the Lvov-Warsaw School with its strong tradition in logic and its scientific approach to philosophy. Twardowski’s unique way of doing philosophy, his method, is of central importance for understanding his impact as a teacher.