PHIL 370.001 – Political Philosophy

Instructor: Dan Shahar. This course meets TR 2:00 – 3:15 p.m. in PH 328.

This course will focus on arguably the two most important political philosophers of the twentieth century, F.A. Hayek and John Rawls. Hayek is a hero of the political right: it is reported that the British leader Margaret Thatcher once responded to a disagreeable presentation by slamming Hayek’s The Constitution of Liberty on a table, declaring “this is what we believe!” Rawls, meanwhile, is a hero of the moderate left, laying out an ambitious account of the nature of social justice in a civilization marked by diversity. Over the course of the semester, we will dive deep into the writings of these influential writers and in the process grapple with some of the key ideas inspiring leaders and activists across the political spectrum today.

Prerequisite: at least 1 PHIL course