PPE 300 - Liberalism

Credits: (3)
This course focuses on liberalism as both a general philosophical view and, in particular, as the foundation of the modern liberal democracy, through an exploration of topics such as the nature of the human person and political society, human rights, the limits of political authority, justice, and political legitimacy. The course will also include a consideration of the philosophical differences between liberalism and rival theories, such as natural law and conservatism, and how these differences are manifest in contemporary debates concerning issues such as economic equality, religion in the public square, and the relationship between morality and law. Students will make use of the concepts discussed in the course to develop critical analyzes of contemporary social and political institutions. This is a seminar course that requires the students to take what they have learned in the PPE sequence, go back to the philosophical roots of a key concept in contemporary political and economic thought - liberalism - and come to a new and in depth philosophical understanding of it. Prerequisite(s): PHIL 103 and PHIL 203.