PHIL234L - Social and Political Philosophy

3 Credit(s)

Liberal Arts
Given that we human beings do and must live together, what form of government should we have, if any? Assuming that we do need a government, what purpose is it supposed to serve? Should the individual serve the state or should the state serve the individual? Do groups have rights or only individuals? What are rights? What is the proper relationship between the government and religion? Should they indeed be separate? This course will address questions such as these. In the course of doing so, it will examine some of the forms of government held up as ideally serving the purpose a government is supposed to serve: absolute monarchy, theocracy, a constitutional republic limited to protecting individual rights, communism, fascism, and the welfare state. The course will examine the views of thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, and Rawls, among others.

Offered When: Every three years.
Prerequisite(s): PHIL 101L