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Social and Political Philosophy (Phil 02) Instructor: Anthony Hanson anthanson@live.com (Use this address for a timely response and not my De Anza account)
Objectives
The primary objective of this course is to present, compare and evaluate social and political philosophies and try to reason clearly about contemporary ethical and political controversies, using these theories. The course will teach the basic skills necessary to critically analyze and evaluate claims and arguments that people make to support moral and political judgments as well as the beliefs that we ourselves hold to be true. The hope is that students will leave the course more sensitive, informed, and better moral and political thinkers, or at least with the tools to become these. By the end of the course, students should be able to:
Identify and analyze the philosophical problems pertaining to social and political philosophy
Analyze and assess solutions to these problems from a variety of social and political traditions
Articulate and defend your own position on at least one issue in social and political philosophy
Demonstrate an application of these tools to one's own actions and decisions
Texts
Political Thought, Michael Rosen & Jonathan Wolff, Oxford University Press. Available in bookstore.
A Guided Tour of Five Works By Plato, Christopher Biffle. Available in bookstore.
Both texts above should be brought to class EVERY DAY
Various web sites on Political Philosophy will be used also.
Class Web Site: http://faculty.deanza.fhda.edu/hansontony/info
Please check our web page regularly for announcements and links.
Assessments
Five mid-terms = 20 points each (100 total)
Final Exam = 40 points
A Guided Tour of Five Works By Plato Workbook and Activities = 30 Points
Political Thought, Homework Folder = 10
Paper/presentation = 20
Grade Scale:
A =169 -180
A- = 162 -168
B + = 156 - 161
B = 150 - 155
B- = 144 - 149
C = 126 - 143
D+ = 119 - 125
D = 113 - 118
D- = 108- 114
Below 108 = F
You get 20 points of play in the sense that your lowest score on one midterm test will be thrown out. You can therefore choose not to take one exam since the 0 will be thrown out. However, it is initially to your advantage to plan on completing all the tests to the best of your ability since you may need to miss one later in the course, and you do not want to spend your 20 points frivolously. For this same reason, no make up tests will be given. If you miss a test, it is your freebie. If you miss more than one test, then perhaps you should take the class at another time after you organize your life in such a way that you can attend class regularly and fulfill its requirements.
Testing - You must purchase from the bookstore, six scantron forms with options a-e as answers.
The Final Exam is comprehensive.
You will be given an incomplete or fail if you miss the final exam, depending on the circumstances. Incompletes are only given if a verifiable documented emergency prevents you from taking the final exam, and the final exam is the only thing you need to make up.
There is no "extra credit" in this class since in my experience it just encourages students not do the required work in a timely mannerer, because they think they can do easier "extra credit" work later. You need to make an effort to do well on the REQUIRED WORK right from the start.
Attendance, Punctuality, Classroom Etiquette
Attendance will be taken and your presence in class will be monitored. If you miss more than 6 hours, you may be dropped unless you have at least a C average. If you choose to withdraw at any time please be aware of the withdrawal deadlines in your course catalogue. It is your responsibility to do the paper work to drop the class, if you choose to withdraw. It is also your responsibility to make sure you have been dropped if you stop attending class. Don't just assume that I have withdrawn you. If you have obligations that often prevent you from regularly attending class, then you should probably take the class at another time. Be prepared to sit in class for the duration, without leaving. If you are late, it is your responsibility to see me after class the same day so that I can change the roster from an absence to a tardy. If you do not, the record will remain as an absence. Please make an effort to positively participate in classroom discussions. Excessive absences, tardies and etiquette considerations can affect your grade insofar as I will be less likely to give you the benefit of the doubt in borderline grading circumstances. You should make a couple "study buddies" and exchange email addresses so that when you are absent you can find out what you missed or whether you need to turn in homework. I do not respond to emails asking what you missed during an absence, since you are responsible for getting this information in class or in the Syllabus.
No laptop computers will be allowed in class except in the case of disability as it is my experience that they are often not used for class note-taking. Take notes as they have been taken for hundreds of years - in hand writing.
A Guided Tour of Five Works of Plato Workbook
Through the class, you will be assigned reading/writing exercises from the Plato workbook. The purpose of this workbook is to give you the opportunity to do a close reading of the work of one of the greatest philosophical thinkers and writers in the history of philosophy. You will write directly in the book in response to your reading. There are numerous annotation assignments, exercises and quizzes. I will assign particular sections of the book through the quarter, and collect them, sometimes unannounced, to check your work. I will collect all the books on the 11th week of class to give you a final score (out of 30). The workbook will be graded on completeness, accuracy, and depth of thinking and reflection.
Political Thought homework folder
This consists of your classwork/homework and small writing assignments. I will initial/stamp homework as on time and return it to you. It is your responsibility to collect it when I hand it back. You must save it and turn it all back in on Final Exam Day for credit. I do not have a predetermined homework schedule that I can give you in advance, since I like to tailor the homework to current events and discussions which often change. Therefore, I strongly advise you to exchange emails with one or more "study buddies," so if you miss class, you can find out what the homework is for the next meeting from them. You should get a cheap paper folder to keep your homework in, since I will collect these at the end of the quarter. You should do all homework assignments by yourself. Answers that are obviously duplicates of other student's answers will result in a 0 for the assignment for the person who copied, as well as the person who allowed their work to be copied. I do not give homework assignments through email. This is another reason you should find a "Study Buddy" - to get assignments if you are absent. I do not accept any homework through email. You will get half credit for late (unstamped) work for homework assignments, unless the answers are given later in class. In that case, late work is not accepted.
Paper/ Write a 750-1000 word typed paper addressing the following prompt: Identify and explain a political battle in current events. Explain the main sides of this controversy and the reasoning the opponents give to support their positions. Then trace their positions back to the philosophical positions we have discussed in class, and show how these positions incorporate political philosophies we have discussed in class. In other words you goal is to show how current political controversies are the result of certain basic opposing philosophical positions which we have studied in class. Use direct quotes sparingly, but you should use them to support the connections you make, Due day of final.
Academic Honesty
You are expected to honestly complete the homework, tests, and paper. The failure to do this will result in an F and possible administrative action. Plagiarism in the final paper or homework is the most common form of such dishonesty and is easily spotted by an experienced reader of student writing (me).
Reading, Lecture and Test Schedule
Test 1 - End of week two. Attend lectures and read selections under Unit 1 to prepare (See below)
Test 2 - End of week four. Attend lectures and read selections under Unit 2 to prepare(See below).
Test 3 - End of week six. Attend lectures and read selections under Unit 3 (See below) to prepare.
Test 4 - End of week eight. Attend lectures and read selections under Unit 4 (See below)to prepare.
Test 5 - End of week ten. Attend lectures and read selections under Unit 5 (See below) to prepare.
Review, Paper/Presentations - Week 11
Final Exam - Week 12. Political Thought homework folder due.
Please print out the Syllabus above
and bring it to class the first day.
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Detailed Reading and Test Schedule
The list of writers and links below roughly follow the order of reading selections covered in class and in the texts. The web pages are included to provide biographical information about the writers. In addition to reading the selections you should read up on the authors and their backgrounds.
Unit 1 Human Nature, The State of Nature, The Legitimacy of the State, The Social Contract
Aristotle - Selection 1 - The State Exists by Nature
http://www.iep.utm.edu/aristotl/
Thomas Hobbes - Selection 2 - The Misery of the Natural Condition of Mankind
http://www.iep.utm.edu/hobmoral/
John Locke - Selection 3 - The State of Nature and the State of War
http://www.iep.utm.edu/locke-po/
Jean Jacques Rousseau - Selection 5 - The Noble Savage
http://www.iep.utm.edu/rousseau/
Robert Owen - Selection 6 - Man's Character is Formed for Him
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/IRowen.htm
Thomas Hobbes - Selection 20 - Creating Leviathan
John Locke - Selection 21 Express and Tacit Consent
Jean -Jacques Rousseau - Selection 22 - Natural Freedom and the Freedom of the Citizen
Social Contract Theory - Here is a good summary of the social contract theories of Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau, as well as some criticisms:
http://www.iep.utm.edu/soc-cont/
John Locke Study Questions, Selection 3. Answer each in a developed paragraph in your groups.
1. What moral rules or laws of nature exist in the state of nature, for Locke? Contrast this view with Hobbes' view of the morality in the state of nature. Which philosopher fo you think is correct on this issue?
2. What is the difference between license and liberty? Do you think this is a valid distinction?
3. Who has the right to punish transgressors of the state of nature? Why do they have this this right? What is the purpose of this punishment?
4. What moral rules apply in determining the degree of harshness of punishment?
6. Some people object that there really is no such thing as a "state of nature" where people lived without government. What is Locke's response to this?
Test 1
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Unit 2 The Social Contract, Utilitarianism, Deontology, Anarchism, Obedience, Civil Disobedience.
David Hume
http://homepage.newschool.edu/het//profiles/hume.htm
Write a one page (300 words) typed paper explaining Hume's conclusion in this selection and expaining the three arguments
he gives to support it.
Watch this Youtube video on Michael Sandel's Justice lectures. Understand the difference between consequentialist/utilitarian moral theories and Categorical/deontological moral theories. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBdfcR-8hEY
Jeremy Bentham
http://www.utilitarianism.com/bentham.htm
H.L.A. Hart
http://www.law.ox.ac.uk/jurisprudence/hart.shtml
Robert Paul Wolff
http://en.allexperts.com/e/r/ro/robert_paul_wolff.htm
http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache:4TM6sXl-8qkJ:paws.wcu.edu/dhale/documents/WolffInDefenseofAnarchism.pdf+robert+paul+wolff+anarchism&hl=en&gl=us&sig=AFQjCNHCavDLqokvrUB73Xnn6KfYTAJXkg
Plato, Crito - A Guided Tour of Five Works by Plato. Complete all the questions and activities for "Crito" in the workbook.
Bio on Plato:
http://www.philosophypages.com/ph/plat.htm
Henry David Thoreau
http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/thoreau/
Martin Luther King
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html
John Rawls
http://www.policylibrary.com/rawls/ and http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rawls/
Wolff, Plato contrast paper. Due Monday.
Robert Paul Wolff and Plato (Socrates in the Crito) represent opposite extremes on the question of the state's legitimate authority over
us. Wolff argues the state has no legitimate moral authority over us. Socrates in the the Crito argues why he should not
disobey the laws of the state, or Athens at least, even if he could easily do so, to save his life. In a 400 word typed
paper explain the arguments for their respective positions, and critically evaluate their positions. Whose position makes
more sense? Or are they both wrong?
Test 2
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Unit 3 Freedom, Rights, Classical Liberalism, Enforcing Private Morality
IEP article on Negative and Positive Liberty: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberty-positive-negative/#TwoConLib
Isaiah Berlin "Two Concepts of Freedom"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84wJlDC8--o
Here is a competent presentation of 10 principles of Classical liberalism:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp3t-Ee1J5k
Michael Sandel on the Libertarian view of freedom http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw4l1w0rkjs&feature=channel
Charles Taylor "In Defense of Positive Freedom"
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/939950/Charles-Taylor
John Stuart Mill "One Simple Principle"
http://www.utilitarianism.com/jsmill.htm
Lord Patrick Devlin "The Enforcement of Morals"
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/11/world/lord-devlin-86-a-british-judge-who-became-critic-of-the-system.html
H.L.A Hart (See above) "The Changing Sense of Morality"
Jeremy Bentham (See above) "Nonsense on Stilts"
Karl Marx "The Rights of Egoistic Man"
http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/marx.html
Video on Obama's creation of the new Consumer Protection Bureau:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMduZSAl2tE
What would theorists of negative liberty think of the creation of this new tax funded governmental agency? Are we just a bunch of
simpletons who cannot figure out what fixed and variable rates on a mortgage are? Or understand interest rates on credit cards and late fees? Is this example of paternalism overstepping the proper scope of government?
There will be one test question on one of the following selections:
Quentin Skinner "The Republican Ideal of Political Liberty"
Robert Nozick "Rights as Side Constraints"
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2002/01.17/99-nozick.html
Paper Assignment: In a 400 - word typed paper, clearly contrast Patrick Devlin's view of how far the state can go in restricting freedom (The Enforcement of Morals) with John Stuart Mill's view of how far the state can go. Use examples to explain the difference. Then, after you have reflected on the issue, in your conclusion state who you agree with and why? Due Monday, May 15.
Test 3
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Unit 4 Private Property, Economic Justice, Socialism, Libertarianism
John Locke "Labour as the Basis of Property" selection 73(See bio above)
Michael Sandel "This land is Your Land - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGyygiXMzRk
Herbert Spencer "The Right to the Use of the Earth" selection 76
http://www.victorianweb.org/philosophy/spencer/spencer.html
Robert Nozick "Difficulties with Mixing Labour" selection 81
(See link above for bio)
Aesop "The Grasshopper and the Ants" selection 87
http://www.online-literature.com/aesop/
Edward Bellamy "Looking Backward" selection 93
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/59737/Edward-Bellamy
Scroll down for Edward Bellamy study questions
John Rawls "Two Principles of Justice" selection 95
(See link above for bio)
Robert Nozick "The Entitlement Theory" selection 96
Michael Sandel, " Free to Choose" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw4l1w0rkjs&feature=channel
(See above)
ABC Special Report: Freeloaders - by John Stossel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OQjlzh279E
Test 4
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Unit 5
A Guided Tour of Five Works by Plato
Read and complete all activities for the Euthyphro in workbook.
Read and complete all activities for the Apology in workbook.
Read and complete all activities for the Allegory of the Cave in workbook.
Your Plato workbook is due the Friday before Finals Week.
Please view this presentation on the Apology and political philosophy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFglU_ED4h0
It is required and questions about the presentation will be on Quiz 5.
Unit 5 Objectives:
You should be able to answer the following questions:
Euthyphro
1. What is the first definition of holiness offered by Euthyphro?
2. What is Socrates refutation of it?
3. What is the second definition of holiness offered by Euthyphro?
4. What is Socrates refutation of it?
5. What is the third definition of holiness offered by Euthyphro?
6. What are the two possible meanings of his third definition?
7. Which meaning is ruled out and why?
8. How does Socrates show the remaining meaning does not answer his question about what holiness is?
9. How does Socrates analysis of the third definition refute what is known in moral philosophy as the divine command theory?
10. What is the logical relationship between moral rightness and holiness according to Socrates?
11. How does Socrates show Euthyphro's fourth definition is just a restatement of the third definition, and that Euthyphro is arguing in circles?
12. How does the dialogue end? In what sense might the discussion have been productive for Euthyphro?
Apology
1. Who are Socrates' first group of accusers and what do they accuse him of?
2. Who are Socrates' second group of accusers and what do they accuse him of?
3. Who are the Sophists and why does Socrates despise them?
4. What is the story of Chaerephon, and what does Socrates do in response to it?
5. What does Socrates think of poets and artists in general?
6. In Socrates view, what is the real reason Meletus and others want to get rid of Socrates?
7. Why does Socrates think the masses do not know how to teach the youth to be virtuous?
8. Explain Socrates argument against Meletus concerning whether he intentionally or unintentionally corrupts the youth.
9. What is a gadfly, and how can gadflys benefit the state?
9. What does Socrates think his punishment should be and why?
10. What penalties does Socrates reject and why?
11. What does Socrates mean when he says the unexamined life is not worth living?
Allegory of the Cave
1. Describe the basic set up of the cave and what is inside and outside.
2. What do the prisoners symbolize?
3. What do the shadows on thew wall symbolize? Why are these thigs not real?
4. The puppets? WHy are these not real?
5. The fire?
6. The journey up the cave?
7. What do the objects outside the cave symbolize? WHat does the sun symbolize?
8. Why do people (the masses) laugh at a person who has been outside the cave and returns to the cave?
9. Why should people who have left the cave return to it?
10. What is metaphysics?
11. What is epistemology?
12. How is Plato's political philosophy a direct result of his metaphysics and epistemology?
In the spirit of Soscrates, here is one of the quickest and most powerful philosophical refutations in history: http://www.mandm.org.nz/
Test 5
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Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy 1887
A Utopian Novel which was the third best selling novel of its time, behind only Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Ben-Hur. It influenced a large number of intellectuals. �Bellamy Clubs� sprang up all over the country. It also inspired many actual utopian communities.
The main character Julian West falls asleep and wakes up a hundred and thirteen years later. He finds himself in a totally changed world in the year 2000. The U. S. has been changed into a socialist utopia. He finds a guide, Dr. Leete, who shows him the wonders of this strange modern world. Most of the book involves Dr. Leete explaining the principles on which the society is built in response to Julian's questions.
Answer the following questions:
1)Workers get credit rather than money for their labor. How is this credit distributed among workers?
2)Dr. Leete concedes that some people, given their varying talents, can be a lot more productive than others. Why does Dr. Leete say credit should not depend on the amount of productivity? What characteristic of the laborer does Dr. Leete say should be the criterion for distributing credit? Is this realistic in your view?
3)Dr. Leete says in his utopia people are not motivated by self interest. What are they motivated by? Do you think these motivations could really be the basis of work?
4)In discussing motivation, Dr. Leete compares the workers to what? Is this a good analogy to establish what he thinks should be the proper motivations?
5)Why does Dr. Leete think the notion of self-support in a civilized society is a misnomer? Is his argument a good one or not? Explain.
6)Explain the disagreement between Dr. Leete and West on the notion of brotherhood.
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Thomas Hobbes Group Activity
Respond on individual sheets of paper that will be submitted as part of your work folder.
1. Does Psychological Egoism sound reasonable to you? To explore it pick two people in your group to
defend it and two to oppose it and debate the theory.
Write down what seem to be the main defenses and criticisms.
2. Is Hobbe's general view about human nature and social life in the state of nature accurate
in your view. What examples seem to confirm it? What examples seem to disconfirm it?
3. Does legal positivism, or moral relativism sound like a reasonable ethical theory to you? Give some reasons in defense and opposition.
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John Locke Study Questions, Selection 3. In your groups, read selection 3 and answer the following questions on individual papers as you go.
1. What moral rules or laws of nature exist in the state of nature, for Locke? Contrast this view with Hobbes' view of the morality in the state of nature.
2. What is the difference between license and liberty?
3. Who has the right to punish transgressors of the state of nature? Why do they have this this right? What is the purpose of this punishment?
4. What moral rules apply in determining the degree of harshness of punishment?
5. Does a nation have a right to punish aliens (non-citizens)? Why or why not? How might this differ from Hobbes?
6. Some people object that there really is no such thing as a "state of nature" where people lived without government. What is Locke's response to this?
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Jean Jacques Rousseau Study Questions, Selection 5. In your groups, read selection 5 and answer the following questions on individual papers as you go.
1. What is Rousseau's description of the "Noble Savage?" What characteristics and passions does he have?
2. Why can't the noble savage be judged by our moral standards?
3. What mistake does he say Hobbes makes in describing humans in the state of nature? How does Roussaeau derive the opposite conclusion about
the character of the noble savage from one of Hobbes' principles?
4. What does Rousseau say about the noble savage's capacity for compassion?
5. Contrast Rousseau with Locke on their visions of the state of nature, and the question of moral rules in the state of nature.
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Robert Owen Study Questions Selection 6
1. What is Owen's position with respect to human free will? Does this view seem right to you? Why? or Why not?
2. What implications about morality and social philosophy does he draw from this view?
3. What would a society organized around Owen's principles look like?
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Study Guide - Social Contract Theory - Leaving the State of Nature, Selections 20, 21 and 22
Explain in a well developed paragraph for each, the social contract theories of Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau. Provide
a quotation from each which presents their assertion of the existence of the social contract. In each paragraph your quote should
be fewer words than your own words.
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The Black Book of Communism. If you don't think political philosophy is a matter of life and death read the description of this book, here: http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/COUBLA.html
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A Guided Tour of Five Works of Plato Workbook Assessment Codes.
1. Good engagement with the text.
2. Annotations/activities missing
3. Many annotations and responses are too brief or sketchy. Need elaboration, explanation.
4. Annotations/responses are not accurate. Do not correctly address the prompts.
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Final Exam Study Guide
If you can answer these questions accurately, you will be prepared to answer the final exam questions.
1. Explain the social contract theory of John Locke including his conception of the state of nature.
2. Explain the social contract theory of Thomas Hobbes, including his conception of the state of nature and the sovereign.
3. Explain Hume�s criticisms of tacit consent to a social contract.
4. Contrast Bentham�s utilitarian reasoning for obeying the government to H.L.A Hart�s deontological reasoning for obeying the government.
5. Give at least three arguments from Socrates why we should obey the laws of the state.
6. Explain the theories of civil disobedience of Thoreau, M.L. King Jr. and John Rawls.
7. Contrast the views of John Stuart Mill and Patrick Devlin on what aspects of people�s lives the government should be able to control. Then give a criticism of each view.
8. Explain the difference between positive and negative freedom. Give an example of a theorist who supports each.
9. Explain Karl Marx�s criticism of classical liberalism.
10. Give at least two criticisms of the principles of Edward Bellamy�s socialist utopia.
11. Explain Locke�s theory of property rights and some problems with it as pointed out by Nozick and others.
12. Explain Rawls� Difference Principle and some problems with it.
13. Explain why Nozick would disagree with Rawls� Difference Principle.
Discuss
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