Intro to Social and Political Philosophy
An introduction to major historical and contemporary philosophical theories about society and the prerequisites of an ethical human culture. 'Culture' includes those qualities that we tend to take for granted, such as fairness and justice, autonomy and dignity, equality and opportunity. The philosophical nature of legitimacy and limits on power and domination in a liberal society are discussed and include readings from Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill, Rawls, Nozick, Marx and Walzer. While contemporary arguments, both good and bad, about what kind of society America should be surround us daily, a discussion of the philosophical justification for such arguments is a meaningful way of understanding the competing claims about social justice.