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.
GRADES TO BE DETERMINED AS FOLLOWS:
MIDTERM EXAM 30% (ESSAY)
FINAL EXAM 30% (ESSAY)
TERM PAPER 30%
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.
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):
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.
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.
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