2 The ideal of law

Law and legal meaning are affected by the perspective from which they are viewed. Whatever your background and motivation for taking this course, you already possess some knowledge about the law. You know what ‘law’ means to you.

Figure 2 Words associated with law

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Picture of words associated with law set out as a completed jigsaw.

Figure 2 Words associated with law

As individuals we all have preconceptions about what the ‘law’ is and its role, and this inevitably affects our understanding. During this week you are being asked to examine your ideas about ‘law’ in order to develop, and in some cases challenge, your initial perceptions of law. You will also be asked to think about the views of others. An appreciation of the views of others is essential to understanding how the role of law within society is perceived. The role and place of law is often miscommunicated in the media and this also has an impact on perception.

Figure 3Images associated with the law in Scotland

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A montage of eight photographic images through which ideas about the law are framed. They show respectively a pile of law books, shelf of law books, the scales of justice, an image of the scales of justice with words ‘IT justice not fair’, the outside of a court building with the words ‘law and justice’, two police officers, the inside of a courtroom showing the swearing in of a judge, the Lord Advocate giving evidence to a committee.

Figure 3Images associated with the law in Scotland