ABSTRACT
Jurisprudence is a difficult but rewarding subject, consisting as it does of philosophical enquiry applied to the study of the social institution and cultural phenomena called ‘law’.
Jurisprudence allows us to step back from the grinding detail and rote learning of case law and statute inherent in other law subjects and allows us to ask fundamental questions of our and other legal systems. Jurisprudence then is a self-reflective exercise for law students asking such questions as: How is the law to be distinguished from the demands of a gangster? What are the minimum conditions necessary for the existence of a legal system? Is there an ideal form of law to measure our own legal system against?
