Document Actions
PHILO 106, 002[1897]/Mr. Horowitz (Prof. Alcoff)/TF 12:45-2:00pm
PHILOSOPHY, POLITICS, & SOCIETY
This class will serve both as an introduction to politics (or "social
theory") and an introduction to forms or methods of philosophical
thinking. The texts have been selected to present a variety of
approaches to political or social problems. The style and manner of
the works are quite distinct; our texts will span roughly 2400 years
of written history (admittedly only from the western tradition).
Tackling this variety will aid you a great deal when approaching
other
works in the humanities, and generally as you read, more on this
below. Though the following different themes will certainly be
focused on in this class - the role and place of religious outlooks
in
society, the tension between critical citizenship and obedience to
political authority, the amoral dimensions of practical politics, the
relation between calculating social forces and framing a political
constitution, the role and efficacy of individual rights, the
development of an "economic" analysis and the ideal of class
revolution, and the anarchist critique of authority as such I will
attempt to construct a coherent chain of thought. Basic themes,
concepts, and problems will be developed and "carried over" through
our readings of the texts. The goal of this course is to impart a
historically informed perspective which can: 1) serve as a first
foundation to continued study in political theory; 2) further develop
the capacity for reading comprehension and critique; 3) give
confidence in (and perhaps a desire for) approaching texts from
different time periods and cultures; 4) help develop a perspective
from which the current culture or society can be critiqued; 5) give
one the opportunity to consider the role and place for differing
forms
of political action.
Books
Five Dialogues (Plato) 0872206335
Roman Lives (Plutarch) 019282502X
The Discourses On Livy (Machiavelli) 0140444289
The Essential Federalist and Anti-Federalist 0872206556
Karl Marx, Selected Writings 0872202186
Anarchism And Other Essays (Emma Goldman) - 1596052813
