This is a module in political theory. We read critics of ‘Western’ and liberal political thought, including readings from class, race, gender, and disability theory. Central to Western political theory is the social contract tradition, which suggests that the exercise of political power is justified by the popular consent of the people. The readings this term argue that the contract is not consented to by everybody (‘we the people’) but between just the people who count, and so hides the ugly realities of oppression and domination. We will discuss how purportedly universal ideas of reason, freedom, and equality, excluded many people. GV151, which teaches the development of western political thought, is recommended as a prerequisite.

Study some fundamental texts in the “Western” philosophical tradition. We examine the assumptions underlying these texts, as well as the implications they have for us today. We explore profound themes of truth, justice, equality, freedom, democracy, liberalism, republicanism, and morality.

We all know that it’s good to know things. Knowledge, as the saying goes, is power, because without it we cannot hope to accomplish our most important goals. But what about the concept of knowledge itself? What good does it do? What practical work does it accomplish for us? Are there epistemic virtues, ie traits that reliably lead us to knowledge? Can we flourish without such virtues? And are those virtues sufficient to ensure that we possess reliable knowledge? Or is it possible for our social and political world to be so divorced from that truth that our individual traits cannot help us? What would the ideal knowledge community look like? What makes knowledge communities dysfunctional? This module will explore these questions and more. By the end of it, you will better understand how individual, social, and political factors interact in the human pursuit of knowledge.

Begin your study of philosophy by exploring questions about selfhood and identity. What role does self-responsibility play in effective knowing? What is it to be a self? How does that differ from having an identity or identities? To what extent are our identities determined by others? Are they up to us? How can the study of philosophy help us with these questions?