Social Justice (PHIL 273.001)
Instructor: Gerald Postema. This class meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 – 10:45 a.m. in Caldwell 105.
This course will explore philosophical accounts of justice and the public good. Orienting the inquiry, we will begin with a consideration of ancient (Greek, Hebrew, Roman) understandings of focal concerns of justice and parties that fall within the scope of those concerns. We will then consider the most widely discussed contemporary theories of justice—Utilitarian (Bentham, Mill), Libertarian (Locke, Nozick), Liberal Egalitarian (Rawls), and Capability (Sen) theories—and the positions they tend to support on specific issues in contemporary politics, including homelessness and property, human rights, the moral status of markets, and others. Throughout, we will consider the public dimension of demands of justice.
Gerald Postema’s webpage