PHIL 470.001 – Political Philosophy from Hobbes to Kant

Instructor: Gerald J. Postema. This course meets W 1:00 – 3:30 p.m. in CW 213.

This course offers the second in a two-course sequence which explores the foundations of modern political philosophy, from the late medieval period to Kant. It focus on key doctrines of modern political philosophy—authority, law, justice, rights, political community, and the rule of law. The first course in the sequence (PHIL 474) sought to enrich our understanding of these ideas by tracing their development in medieval, renaissance, and seventeenth century political philosophy. The sequel (PHIL 470) follows these same topics in the works of modern political philosophy into the early nineteenth century. The main figures to be discussed are Grotius, Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Bentham and Kant.