PSCI221: History of Political Philosophy: The Modern Quest for Justice

Professor D. Leibowitz

This course examines and evaluates the world revolutionary challenge to classical political philosophy posed by such writers as Machiavelli in his Prince and Discourses, Hobbes in the Leviathan, and political writings of Locke, Rousseau, and Nietzsche. We will consider the differing views of these authors about how best to construct healthy and successful political societies; the role of ethics in domestic and foreign policy; the proper relations between politics and religion, and between the individual and the community; the nature of our rights and the origin of our duties; and the meaning of human freedom and the nature of human equality. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Enrollment limited.