The Social Contract: Early Modern European Political Theory

Semester and Year	FA 2012
Course Number	IDSEM-UG1698
Section	001
Instructor	Justin Holt
Days	Fri
Time	12:30 PM - 3:15 PM
Units	4.0
Level	U
Foundation Requirement	SOC, EARLY

Description

What holds a society together? This course will explore one influential answer to this foundational question within philosophy and social theory, namely social contract theory as it developed within early modern European political philosophy. Modern assumptions about the relationship between individual and society, private property and ownership, rationality, economics and the market, and rights and responsibilities of citizenship have all been shaped by social contract theory. But, even though this theory has enjoyed great influence, it has been severely criticized as unrealistic and biased towards individualism and property holders. We will read the foundational social contract works in this course and try to understand their assumptions, strengths, and weaknesses. The works to be read will include: Shakespeare's Richard III,  Hobbes' De Cive,  Locke' Two Treatises of Government,  Rousseau's  The Social Contract,  and   Kant's The Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals. 

Syllabus

IDSEM-UG1698

Course Type

Interdisciplinary Seminars (IDSEM-UG)