Course syllabus in pdf and html.
The aim of the PHIL 320a is to explore the philosophical foundations of market society’s implicit commitment to individual liberty and individual responsibility. We’ll compare and contrast several philosophical traditions that might be thought to provide answers to questions such as:
- What are the nature, scope and limits of individual rights? How do we know?
- What do we owe each other as a matter of justice? To what extent are principles of equality relevant to what we owe each other as fellow citizens and as fellow agents in the marketplace? What about principles of reciprocity? Does it matter whether people in a market society get what they deserve? Does it matter whether people get what they need? Are we obliged as individuals to try to make sure people around us get what they need and deserve, or is that someone else's (society's?) job? What is involved in fair dealing? How do we know?
- What is the nature of the good life for human beings? Is being moral an essential part of living a good life, or merely a means to an end--a good strategy? Is freedom an end, or merely a means? How do we know? Why should we take responsibility for the consequences of our actions? Is it only because we owe that to other people? Or do we also, in some way, owe it to ourselves?
