Spring 2003
Philosophy 38 (9 hour)
Political and
Social Philosophy
Rex Gilliland
Classroom: 212
Office:
Phone: 646-9390
Office Hours: MW
Course Description: In this course, we will explore three central issues in political and social philosophy, with an eye toward their relevance for contemporary debates. We will start by discussing the issue of the justification of legal and political authority: Does one ever have the right to revolt against one's rulers or to break the law through acts of civil disobedience or terrorism? Next, we will turn to the issue of distributive justice and will ask whether market forces are sufficient for determining the fair distribution of goods and services, both to the less fortunate within a society and to the third-world in an age of globalization. Finally, we will examine the nature of gender and race discrimination in light of recent debates about Affirmative Action.
Texts: (Available at Wheelock Books)
1.
James P. Sterba, ed., Social and
Political Philosophy, 3rd ed. (
2. Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience and Other Essays (Mineola, NY: Dover, 1993).
3. Course Reader
1. Regular attendance, participation in class discussions, and completing the assigned reading before class.
2.
Two in class essay exams and one take home exam, each weighed equally. Class
presentations may also be required.
I strongly encourage students with disabilities, including invisible disabilities like chronic diseases and learning disabilities, to discuss with me after class or during my office hours appropriate accommodations that might be helpful to them.
W 3/26 Introduction to Course
Individualism and Communitarianism
F 3/28 Lukes Individualism (Reader); Tönnies Community and Society (Reader)
M 3/31
The Justification of Political Authority
W 4/2 Hobbes Leviathan 141-157
F 4/4 Hobbes cont. 157-167
M 4/7 Locke Second Treatise on Government 186-196
W 4/9 Locke cont. 196-207
F 4/11 Rousseau Discourse on Inequality 227-235
M 4/14 Rousseau Social Contract 236-250
W 4/16 Derrida “The Force of Law” (Handout)
F 4/18 Thoreau Civil Disobedience
M 4/21 King
“Letter From
W 4/23 Valls “Can Terrorism be Justified?” (Handout)
F 4/25 Midterm Exam Study Guide
Distributive Justice
M 4/28 Hospers “Libertarian Manifesto”
W 4/30 Nozick “Distributive Justice” (Reader)
F 5/2 Rawls Justice as Fairness: A Restatement 412-419
M 5/5 Rawls cont. 419-427
W 5/7 Marx
and Engels Commmunist Manifesto; Marx
Critique of the
F 5/9 Engels The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State 382-392
M 5/12 Jones “Global Distributive Justice” (Handout)
Discrimination and Equality
W 5/14 Beauvoir The Second Sex (Reader); Du Bois The Souls of Black Folk (Handout)
F 5/16 Paper Due Paper Topics and Guidelines
M 5/19 Appiah (Reader); Omi and Winant (Handout)
W 5/21 Bernasconi “The Invisibility of Racial Minorities” (Reader)
F 5/23 Pojman “The Moral Status of Affirmative Action” (Reader)
M 5/26 Hettinger “What is Wrong with Reverse Discrimination?” (Reader)
W 5/28 Steele “Affirmative Action: The Price of Preference” (Reader); Aleinikoff “A Case for Race-Consciousness” (Reader)
M 6/2 Final Exam 8:00 am Study Guide