If you are a student in the class, please go to this page for links to the readings and additional information.
Description
A survey of important issues in contemporary political philosophy, with a particular focus on the questions of social justice and political legitimacy.
What is the reason for or purpose of political authority? How should a just society be organized? Should its decisions follow certain procedures? Should it display particular patterns and outcomes? How should we reach important social and political decisions for them to be (and not just appear) legitimate? Is the majority always right? Should we elect representatives or practice a more direct form of democracy? What are the rights of minorities?
In 2021, we’ll pay special attention in the last segment of the class to issues related to climate change.
Schedule
Thursday Sep 2
Introduction
Tuesday Sep 7
The Hobbesian state and beyond
- Hobbes, Thomas (1651) Leviathan, Oxford University Press, §§13-15
- Hobbes, Thomas (1651) Leviathan, Oxford University Press, §§17-18
Thursday Sep 9
The libertarian minimal state
- Nozick, Robert (1974) Anarchy, State, and Utopia, Blackwell, pp. 3-35 and 48-51
- Nozick, Robert (1974) Anarchy, State, and Utopia, Blackwell, ch. 5
Tuesday Sep 14
The Rawlsian state
- Rawls, John (2001) Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, Belknap Press, Part I
Thursday Sep 16
Rawls on justice: the two principles
- Rawls, John (2001) Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, Belknap Press, Part II, §§12-19
Tuesday Sep 21
Rawls on justice: the argument from the original position: risk aversion
- Rawls, John (2001) Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, Belknap Press, Part III, §§23-33
Thursday Sep 23
Rawls on justice: the argument from the original position: publicity, reciprocity and stability
- Rawls, John (2001) Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, Belknap Press, Part III, §§34-40
Tuesday Sep 28
The libertarian challenge
- Nozick, Robert (1974) Anarchy, State, and Utopia, Blackwell, pp. 183-204 and 213-232
- Mankiw, N. Gregory (2013) “Defending the One Percent”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, excerpt
- (Optional) Nozick, Robert (1974) Anarchy, State, and Utopia, Blackwell, pp. 149-164 and 167-183
Thursday Sep 30
Responding to the libertarian challenge: how much to socialize?
- Rawls, John (2001) Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, Belknap Press, Part II, §§20-22
Tuesday Oct 5
How to spend it? A capabilities approach.
- Nussbaum, Martha C. (2003) “Capabilities as Fundamental Entitlements: Sen and Social Justice”, Feminist Economics
Thursday Oct 7
How to spend it? Liberal neutrality and universal basic income.
- Van Parijs, Philippe (1995) Real Freedom for All: What (if anything) can Justify Capitalism?, Oxford University Press, ch. 1
- Van Parijs, Philippe (1995) Real Freedom for All: What (if anything) can Justify Capitalism?, Oxford University Press, ch. 2
Thursday Oct 14
Discussion and student presentations
Sunday Oct 17
Paper no. 1
Tuesday Oct 19
Market troubles
- Anderson, Elizabeth (1990) “The Ethical Limitations of the Market”, Economics and Philosophy
Thursday Oct 21
Beyond the labor market?
- Walzer, Michael (1983) Spheres Of Justice, A Defense Of Pluralism And Equality, Basic Books, ch. 6
Tuesday Oct 26
Beyond the market? A socialist proposal.
- (Optional) Friot, Bernard and Zech, Patrick (2014) Emanciper le travail, La Dispute, pp. 15-23
- (Optional) Friot, Bernard and Zech, Patrick (2014) Emanciper le travail, La Dispute, ch. 3
Thursday Oct 28
Discussion and student presentations
Tuesday Nov 2
Too little concern for social relations?
- Anderson, Elizabeth (1999) “What is the Point of Equality?”, Ethics
Thursday Nov 4
Against oppression
- Young, Iris Marion (1990) Justice and the Politics of Difference, Princeton University Press, ch. 2
- Young, Iris Marion (1990) Justice and the Politics of Difference, Princeton University Press, ch. 3
Tuesday Nov 9
Why democracy?
- Mouffe, Chantal (1993) The Return of the Political, Verso, pp. 1-21
- Bohman, James and Rehg, William (2017) “Jürgen Habermas” in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy edited by Zalta, Edward N., CSLI Publications, §§3.1-3.4 (you can skip the subsection about ethics in §3.4)
- (Optional) Habermas, Jürgen (1992) Between Facts and Norms: Contribution to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy, MIT Press, ch. 7
Tuesday Nov 16
Troubles with democracy
- Brennan, Jason (2016) Against Democracy, Princeton University Press, ch. 2
- Guerrero, Alexander A. (2014) “Against Elections: The Lottocratic Alternative”, Philosophy and Public Affairs, §1
Paper no. 2
Thursday Nov 18
Discussion and student presentations
Tuesday Nov 23
Institutions for participation
- Guerrero, Alexander A. (2014) “Against Elections: The Lottocratic Alternative”, Philosophy and Public Affairs, §§2-5
- Brennan, Jason (2016) Against Democracy, Princeton University Press, ch. 8
Friday Nov 26
Discussion and student presentations
Sunday Nov 28
Research project
Tuesday Nov 30
Climate change and the precautionary principle
- Gardiner, Stephen M. (2006) “A Core Precautionary Principle”, The Journal of Political Philosophy
Thursday Dec 2
Compensating for climate damages
- Wündisch, Joachim (2021) “A Framework for Compensating Climate Change Damages”, Philosophia
Sunday Dec 5
Comments on research project
Tuesday Dec 7
Climate change and the international order
- Tooze, Adam (2020) “After Escape: The New Climate Power Politics”, e-flux
Thursday Dec 9
Discussion and student presentations
Tuesday Dec 14
Review session
Thursday Dec 16
Final exam
Sunday Dec 19
Book review
Monday Dec 20
Research paper