Political philosophy

Honors / CORE 282

Spring 2002

INSTRUCTOR: WILLIAM IRWIN, Ph.D. EXT. 5493. wtirwin@kings.edu

Webpage: http://www.kings.edu/wtirwin

OFFICE HOURS: HAFEY-MARIAN 503 MWF 2-3, TuTh 2-3, and by appointment.

INSTRUCTOR: GREGORY BASSHAM, PH.D. EXT. 5784 ghbassha@kings.edu

OFFICE HOURS: HAFEY-MARIAN 508 M-F 9-10

 

Prerequisite: Core 280: Fundamentals of Philosophy. Students who have not taken Fundamentals of Philosophy will not be permitted to take this course.

 

Satisfies Requirements: Core 282 fulfills elective credit requirements for Philosophy Majors and Minors, and fulfills the requirement for a second course in philosophy for others. With permission of the Political Science Department Chair, this course fulfills elective credit for Political Science Majors.

 

Course Description: This course will be a discussion-driven, issues and problems-based survey of political philosophy. Topics we shall discuss include liberty, property, justice, equality, multiculturalism, the family, punishment, and the function and purpose of legitimate government. Although we shall draw on such classic sources as Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau, Locke, Mill, and Marx, we shall direct most of our attention to contemporary political philosophers such as Nozick, Rawls, Walzer, Taylor, and Moller Okin.

 

Objectives: Students will develop and refine the ability to offer criticism of philosophical positions, and will develop the ability to form their own educated positions on philosophical issues. Students will gain new insight into the issues and questions surveyed, and will pursue an independent project on a topic not covered in class.

 

Required Texts:

 

Social and Political Philosophy: Contemporary Readings, edited by George Sher and Baruch A. Brody. 

Handouts. (H)
Internet sources.

 

GRADES TO BE DETERMINED AS FOLLOWS:

 

ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION 10% (Active participation in class discussions is expected and appreciated. More than 3 unexcused absences (i.e. without a note from a physician or college official) will result in no credit for attendance.

 

MIDTERM EXAM 30% (ESSAY)

 

FINAL EXAM 30% (ESSAY)

 

TERM PAPER 30%

 

Exams

Midterm and Final exams. Essay questions exactly as they will appear on the exam will be given 2 classes in advance of the exam. 5 questions will be given in advance; 3 will appear on the exam; of the 3 students will pick 2. Essays will ask for exposition of a topic, criticism of views discussed, and your argument for your position on the topic in question. The final exam is not cumulative.

 

TERM PAPER

The term paper asks for exposition of a topic in political philosophy, criticism of views offered in print, and your argument for your position on the topic in question.

 

Possible topics include: The Case for Reparations, Justice and the College Financial Aid System, Affirmative Action, Cyberspace and Intellectual Property Law/ Rights, English as the National Language, Critical Legal Studies, Legal Positivism, Natural Law, World Government, Right of Secession, Human Rights, Welfare Reform, Green Politics, Religious Freedom, Separation of Church and State, Military Tribunals, Drug War, Equality of Opportunity in Education, Character Education, School Vouchers, Campus Hate Speech Codes, Same-sex Marriage, Anti-globalization, and Economic Democracy. Other topics are possible, but students should discuss alternative ideas with the instructors before proceeding.

 

A Paper proposal, giving your topic and three sources from Philosopher’s Index is due in class Tuesday February 12 . The paper, 8-10 pages in length, is due in class Thursday April 27. The instructors will provide a handout indicating the precise format and expectations for the paper.

 

 

Reading (subject to addition and revision):

 

 

GETTING STARTED

 

1. “The Lottery in Babylon” (H)

2. “The Matrix, Marx, and the Coppertop’s Life” (H)

 

I. FUNCTIONS AND PURPOSES OF LEGITIMATE STATES

 

A. Simmons, “Philosophical Anarchism,” 10-17.

B. Nozick, “The Minimal State,” 18-34.

C. George, “Government and Character,” 52-60.

 

II. THE LIMITS OF LEGITIMATE STATE ACTION

 

A. Mill, “The Harm Principle,” 70-83. 

B. Feinberg, “The Offense Principle,” 84-96.

C. Kleinig, “Two Arguments for State Paternalism,” 130-143.

 

III. IS THERE AN OBLIGATION TO OBEY THE LAW?

A. Plato, Crito: http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/text/plato/crito/crito.htm

B. Beran, “Political Obligation and Consent,” 158-169.

C. Nozick, “The Principle of Fairness,” 170-172.

 

IV.  PUNISHMENT

 

A. Bentham, “A Utilitarian Theory of Punishment,” 844-852.

B. Morris, “A Retributive Theory of Punishment,” 853-860.

 

V. CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITS ON MAJORITARIAN DECISION MAKING

 

A. Dworkin, “Taking Rights Seriously,” 363-382.

 

MIDTERM EXAM

 

VI. COSMOPOLITANISM, MULTICULTURALISM, AND COMMUNITY

 

A. Kymlicka, “Cultural Membership and Choice,” 430-441.

B. Taylor, “The Politics of Recognition,” 443-456.

C. Waldron, “Minority Cultures and the Cosmopolitan Alternative.” 457-472.

 

VII. JUSTICE

 

A. From Plato’s Republic: http://plato.evansville.edu/texts/jowett/republic.htm

 

1.Cephalus. Justice as Honesty in Word and Deed (327a-331d)
2. Polemarchus. Justice as Helping Friends and Harming Enemies (331e-336a)
3. Thrasymachus. Justice as the Interest of the Stronger (336b-347e)
4. Thrasymachus. Is Injustice More Profitable than Justice? (347e-354c)

 

B. Rescher, “A Pluralistic Conception of Justice,” 484-490.

C.  Mill, “A Utilitarian Theory of Justice,” 491-502.

D. Nozick, “An Entitlement Theory of Justice,” 503-516.

E. Rawls, “Justice as Fairness,” 517-533.

 

VIII. THE FAMILY

 

A. From The Republic, Plato on the Abolition of the Family:

http://plato.evansville.edu/texts/jowett/republic20.htm

B. Fishkin, “Justice, Equal Opportunity, and the Family,” 804-811.

C. Moller Okin, “Justice and Gender,” 812-823.

 

IX. EQUALITY

 

A. Walzer, “Multidimensional Equality,” 562-575

B. Singer, “Equality of Interests,” 576-579.

C. Hayek, “Formal Legal Equality,” 580-582.

 

X. LIBERTY, RIGHTS, PROPERTY AND SELF-OWNERSHIP

 

A. Shue, “Basic Positive Subsistence Rights,” 652-669.

B. Nozick, “The Importance of Liberty and Self-Ownership,” 670-676.

FINAL EXAM

 


 

Classics of political philosophy

 

Plato, The Republic: http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/text/plato/rep/rep.htm

 

Plato, The Crito: http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/text/plato/crito/crito.htm

 

Aristotle, The Politics: http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/politics.html

 

Aquinas, Treatise on Law: http://www.ccel.org/a/aquinas/summa/FS.html

 

Machiavelli, The Prince: http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/projects/digitexts/machiavelli/the_prince/title.html

 

Hobbes, Leviathan: http://www.orst.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/hobbes/leviathan-contents.html

 

Rousseau, The Social Contract: http://www.constitution.org/jjr/socon.htm

 

Locke, Second Treatise of Government: http://www.swan.ac.uk/poli/texts/locke/lockcont.htm

 

Marx and Engels, The Communist Manifesto: http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/classics/manifesto.html

 

Mill, On Liberty: http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/text/mill/liberty/liberty.htm

 

The Declaration of Independence: http://memory.loc.gov/const/declar.html

 

The Constitution of the United States of America: http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.overview.html

 

The Federalist Papers: http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/federalist/

 

Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail: http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/flashbks/black/mlk.htm

 

General site for Political Philosophy and Political Theory:

http://www.library.ubc.ca/poli/theory.html