Therefore if jurisprudence is such a broad and undefined subject, does it have an essential role in a system of legal education, which has conventionally comprised of black-letter law subjects? This essay proposes to address that question by examining whether knowing 'the law' is sufficient for a comprehensive legal education or does the

Jurisprudence is also important in legal education in order for the student to form her own intellectual opinion of the law and to be able to criticise and analysis the law. By encouraging the student to think ethically about the law will make her aware that the practice of law is not just about providing a service for a fee but it is an integral part of the administration of justice. Quinn has noted that there is no university law school in the Republic of Ireland that exposes its students in a systematic manner to theories of ethics and the practice of thinking ethically. He says "one result has been the relative absence of any pronounced reflectiveness in the teaching and research of many mainstream legal subjects." It is argued that education in its widest sense is a whole person process and therefore that legal education should not be confined to learning off cases and statutes and then to apply the law to the facts. N.K Sam Banks has argued that "[o]ne of the fundamental principles of education, then, is that it is a means to an end (developing life long intellectual skills) rather than an end in itself...." It is argued that the study of jurisprudence will enlarge the student's perception of the context of law. It is essential for student to appreciate that the law has a place in history, economics, culture and politics. It is also important for the student to be able to judge for herself how morality forms a part of the law. Morality is to some extent a comprehensive part of the law even if the student argues that law and morals are distinguishable. It may be useful for the student to be able to analyse the law from this perspective considering that studies have shown that fewer than half of all law graduates go on to become practising lawyers.

It is usually at undergraduate level at university that the student begins to study law. It is customary for the teaching emphasis to be placed on 'learning off' the law by concentrating on statutes and case law. The student is encouraged to accept that precedence takes priority in law and to learn 'correct' decisions whilst being able to distinguish the 'wrongly decided' c

Some common words found in the essay are:
Sam Banks, RWM Dias, Gerard Quinn, , Republic Ireland, legal education, social sciences, law student, study jurisprudence, law subjects, practice law, underlying ethical, legal profession, student able, law legal,
Approximate Word count = 1444
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)