- About
About USC Gould
USC Gould is a top-ranked law school with a 120-year history and reputation for academic excellence. We are located on the beautiful 228-acre USC University Park Campus, just south of downtown Los Angeles.
- Academics
Academics
Learn about our interdisciplinary curriculum, experiential learning opportunities and specialized areas.
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- Admissions
Admissions
USC Gould helps prepare you for a stellar legal career. You can pursue a JD degree, one of our numerous graduate and international offerings, or an online degree or certificate.
- Students
Students
Participate in an unparalleled learning experience with diversity of people and thought. Get involved in the law school community and participate in activities that enhance your studies.
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- Careers
Careers
We work closely with students, graduates and employers to support successful career goals and outcomes. Our overall placement rate is consistently strong, with 94 percent of our JD class employed within 10 months after graduation.
- Faculty
Faculty
Our faculty is distinguished for its scholarship, as well as for its commitment to teaching. Our 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio creates an intimate and collegial learning environment.
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Gary Watson
USC Gould School of Law
- FACULTY DIRECTORY
- LECTURERS IN LAW DIRECTORY
- EXPERTS DIRECTORY
- FACULTY IN THE NEWS
- SCHOLARSHIP AND PUBLICATIONS
- DISTINCTIONS AND AWARDS
- + CENTERS AND INITIATIVES
- CENTER FOR LAW AND PHILOSOPHY (CLP)
- CENTER FOR LAW AND SOCIAL SCIENCE (CLASS)
- CENTER FOR LAW, HISTORY AND CULTURE (CLHC)
- CENTER FOR TRANSNATIONAL LAW AND BUSINESS (CTLB)
- INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM INSTITUTE (IRI)
- PACIFIC CENTER FOR HEALTH POLICY AND ETHICS
- SAKS INSTITUTE FOR MENTAL HEALTH LAW, POLICY, AND ETHICS
- + WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES

Provost Professor Emeritus of Law and Philosophy
Email: gwatson@law.usc.eduTelephone: (213) 740-9046
699 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90089-0074 USA Room: 324
Personal Website: Link
Last Updated: August 9, 2019
Gary Watson is one of the country’s leading philosophers, whose writings have shaped our understanding of the nature of moral agency, moral responsibility, freedom of action, and freedom of the will. His interest in concepts of legal responsibility target the relations between moral and criminal responsibility and the criminal law’s conceptions of moral agency.
Articles and Book Chapters
- “Psychopathic Agency and Prudential Deficits,” 113 Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 269 (2013) Part 3.
- “Responsibility and the Limits of Evil: Variations on a Strawsonian Theme,” in The Philosophy of Free Will: Essential Readings from the Contemporary Debates (Paul Russell and Oisin Deery, eds., Oxford University Press, 2013).
- “Asymmetry and Rational Ability,” Book Symposium: Making Sense of Freedom and Responsibility, 86 Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 467 (2013).
- “The Insanity Defense,” in The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Law (Andrei Marmor, ed., Routledge, 2012).
FACULTY IN THE NEWS
Law360
May 18, 2022
Re: Elyn Saks
Elyn Saks was quoted in a story on state bar questionnaires that include questions about mental health, with some states deciding to eliminate such questions. "It may be that things are changing around the mental health story, and it may even be that COVID is helpful," she said. "It's kind of a silver lining that more people have experienced anxiety and depression and fear because of COVID, and may be able to empathize more with people who feel those things because of conditions." Story is behind paywall.
RECENT SCHOLARSHIP
Ariela Gross
March, 2022
“Becoming Free, Becoming Black: Race, Freedom, and Law in Cuba, Virginia, and Louisiana,” Centre International de Recherches sur les Esclavages at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris, France.
Camille Gear Rich
March, 2022
“No More Boxes to Check: Imagining The Anti-Racist Law Firm,” NALP Annual Education Conference, New Orleans, LA.
Thomas D. Lyon
March, 2022
“Disclosure Among Child Abuse Victims” (with K. London and M. Eisen), Fourth Zoom Psychology and Law Symposium: Children in Legal Settings, Maastrict University, Maastricht, Netherlands.