Introduction to Philosophy: Political Philosophy

Spring 2024 Courses

Introduction to Philosophy: Political Philosophy 
10108 01 (31916)
Rush
2:00-3:15 TTH
First Year Students Only

Humans are social animals. Some ethnologists and evolutionary biologists even argue that we are eusocial, i.e., social at the highest level of cooperation. One way that we humans are social is by thinking with one another about how we should be social. In this seminar we consider
philosophical answers to that question by looking at a central aspect of human society: politics. Topics for discussion include: freedom, equality, solidarity, power, rights and obligation,authority and legitimation, and the state. Readings are drawn from historical and contemporary
sources, and the main approaches taken to these issues from the seventeenth century forward are canvassed: liberal, socialist, and anarchist.

Introduction to Philosophy: Political Philosophy 
10108 02 (31917)
Rush
3:30-4:45 TTH
First Year Students Only

Humans are social animals. Some ethnologists and evolutionary biologists even argue that we are eusocial, i.e., social at the highest level of cooperation. One way that we humans are social is by thinking with one another about how we should be social. In this seminar we consider
philosophical answers to that question by looking at a central aspect of human society: politics. Topics for discussion include: freedom, equality, solidarity, power, rights and obligation,authority and legitimation, and the state. Readings are drawn from historical and contemporary
sources, and the main approaches taken to these issues from the seventeenth century forward are canvassed: liberal, socialist, and anarchist.