Social or political philosophy is the area of philosophy concerned with the morality of major social institutions such as the state, the economy, and the family. This course may engage in the detailed examination of one or more of the following questions: what justifies the state’s claim to authority? What are the proper dimensions of individual liberty? What levels of material and social equality are required for a society to be just? These questions will be pursued through reading historical and/or contemporary philosophical texts. (Offered in even-numbered years.)
