Social Ethics and Political Thought (PHIL 170, SECTION 001)

We will explore various questions in social/political philosophy via an examination of historical writings.  The authors read include: Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Kant, J.S. Mill, Russell, and Rawls.  The questions considered include: Is there an overall best form of government?  If so, which is it?  What is justice?  What separates a just State from an unjust State?  What do citizens owe the State?  What does a State owe its citizens?  Under what conditions is resistance to the State (violent or nonviolent) legitimate?

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