Unlike Robinson Crusoe, we don’t live on a deserted island.  We are surrounded by people, social institutions, and a history that limits and directs many of the ways in which we live.  It is the purpose of this class to become aware of some of these limits and directions and in doing so to be able to approach them critically.  We will do this by studying some of the main philosophical approaches to the core ideas such as justice, liberty, community, and democracy.