The objective of this course is to examine the central philosophical question raised by criminal law: What are the just standards for criminal liability?  For example, is legal culpability for inchoate offenses (those that may involve no harm) and strict liability offenses (those that may involve not fault) morally justified?  If so, what sorts of standards ought to be used?  More generally, what sorts of mental states and physical acts justify one’s criminal liability, and in what way do those mental states and physical acts relate to moral culpability?  These and other questions will be addressed through a careful reading of actual legal cases that draw out the implications of legal and philosophical theory.