Could you own the ocean? If you alter a song written by someone else, when (if ever) should it become your property? If you let land lie fallow when others are needy, do they have a right to use it? Should a harmless crossing of a property boundary be considered wrongful? These are some of the sorts of questions and problems involved in thinking about property, one of the most pervasive, important, contested, and slippery concepts in our world. This course will approach the concept of property from three main perspectives: the history of ideas about it, philosophical disputes about it, and current legal issues involving it.

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