PHIL 330 - Seminar: Ethics & Theory of Value

Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)

330-01a: Capitalism, Globalization, Economic Justice and Human Rights. This seminar focuses on questions about capitalism, globalization, and economic justice. A central project of this course is to understand the different ways in which capitalism is conceptualized by various thinkers and philosophical perspectives. We will critically evaluate the benefits and problems attributed to capitalism as a global economic system. We address debates on private property and the division of labor, and examine the functions of states, markets, corporations, international institutions like the IMF and WTO, and development agencies in economic globalization and their roles in securing or undermining human rights. Readings will include the works by figures such as Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Karl Polanyi, Peter Singer, Thomas Pogge, Antonio Negri, Immanuel Wallerstein, and Zygmunt Bauman. Ms. Narayan.

Prerequisites: two 200-level courses in Philosophy, one of which must be PHIL 234 , PHIL 236 , PHIL 238 , or PHIL 250 .

330-51b: The Rule of Law. This seminar explores the philosophical literature on the rule of law, focusing on the purported legal, political, and moral value of the rule of law. We will examine how legal norms can help to promote liberty and equality, and will confront criticisms of the rule of law from radical democrats, Marxist theory, and critical legal studies. Mr. Kelly.

Prerequisites: two 200-level courses in Philosophy, one of which must be PHIL 234 , PHIL 236 , PHIL 238 , or PHIL 250 .

330-52b: Love, Agency, and the Self. When William Godwin (1756 - 1836) asked, “what magic is there in the pronoun ‘my,’ to overturn the decisions of everlasting truth?” he expressed the widely held belief that ethical truth must issue from a point of view that is impartial. According to this compelling thought, the fact that someone is my lover, my friend, or my child can have no bearing on the question what is right for me to do. But many people, especially outside of philosophy, think otherwise. In this seminar, we take seriously the common-sense idea that loving someone or something changes what I have reason to do, and maybe even what it is morally right for me to do. In the course of considering how this could be so, we ask: how should we understand the connection between what or whom I love, and who I am? Do we have, or need, reasons to love something? Is it necessary, as the clichés have it, to love something or someone in order to lead a life one finds meaningful? If so, why? And, lying in the background behind all these questions: what is it to love or care about something? Reading by: Bernard Williams, Susan Wolf, Michael Bratman, David Velleman, Niko Kolodny, Samuel Scheffler, Agnieszka Jaworska, Harry Frankfurt, Gary Watson, Daniel Dennett, and others. Mr. Seidman.

Prerequisites: two 200-level courses in Philosophy.

One 3-hour period.