Social Ethics and Political Thought (PHIL 170)

We’d like to live in a society – and for that matter, in a world – characterized by justice, among other things. But what is justice? What is injustice? What is the difference between just and unjust laws? What does it look like for citizens of a state to be treated justly? What does it look like for nations to interact justly with each other? How are scarce resources to be distributed justly? Can wars ever be just? These are the sorts of questions we’ll explore in this course, with the aid of both classic and contemporary philosophical texts. Class meetings will be largely discussion-based, so students should come prepared to participate.

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