printer friendly pagePHIL 274D: Moral Luck (PHIL 174D)
We draw a fundamental distinction between what a person voluntarily does, and what is beyond her control. Such a distinction seems central to how we think about what it is to justify our actions (whether to ourselves or to one another), as well as to our practice of holding one another morally responsible for what we do. Yet under pressure, this distinction can appear to collapse ¿ we find that we cannot successfully disentangle what a person controls from what she does not when she acts. This course examines this problem in depth, and considers how we might respond in the face of it: Is it really a problem? If so, does it threaten our moral practices? How should it influence the way in which we make choices, or the way we understand those choices once we¿ve made them?
Last offered: Spring 2014
PHIL 274L: Betrayal and Loyalty, Treason and Trust (ETHICSOC 174L, ETHICSOC 274L, PHIL 174L)
The main topic of the seminar is Betrayal: its meaning as well as its moral, legal and political implications. We shall discuss various notions of betrayal: Political (military) betrayal such as treason, Religious betrayal with Judas as its emblem, but also apostasy (converting one's religion) which is regarded both as a basic human right and also as an act of betrayal, social betrayal - betraying class solidarity as well as Ideological betrayal - betraying a cause. On top of political betrayal we shall deal with personal betrayal, especially in the form of infidelity and in the form of financial betrayal of the kind performed by Madoff. The contrasting notions to betrayal, especially loyalty and trust, will get special consideration so as to shed light or cast shadow, as the case may be, on the idea of betrayal. The seminar will focus not only on the normative aspect of betrayal - moral or legal, but also on the psychological motivations for betraying others. The seminar will revolve around glaring historical examples of betrayal but also use informed fictional novels, plays and movies from Shakespeare and Pinter, to John Le Carre. SAME AS
LAW 520.
Last offered: Winter 2014
PHIL 275A: Ethics and Politics of Public Service (CSRE 178, ETHICSOC 133, HUMBIO 178, PHIL 175A, POLISCI 133, PUBLPOL 103D, URBANST 122)
Ethical and political questions in public service work, including volunteering, service learning, humanitarian assistance, and public service professions such as medicine and teaching. Motives and outcomes in service work. Connections between service work and justice. Is mandatory service an oxymoron? History of public service in the U.S. Issues in crosscultural service work. Integration with the Haas Center for Public Service to connect service activities and public service aspirations with academic experiences at Stanford.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
Instructors:
Schnaubelt, T. (PI)
;
Terra, L. (PI)
PHIL 275M: Two Ethical Theories and Being a Person (PHIL 175M)
The distinction between the ethics of being a person and the ethics of rules as opposed to the distinction between Kantian ethics and utilitarianism or consequentialism consequentialism. Comparison of these two types of ethics with respect to their relationship to agency and being a good person. Relations between Western ethics and those of other continents.
PHIL 275P: Philosophy of Law and Conceptions of Agency (PHIL 175P)
In this course we will explore the connections between recent work in philosophy of law and philosophy of action. Current philosophy of law draws on philosophy of action. One example is the work of Scott Shapiro, who interprets legal activity as a form of social planning that enables citizens to coordinate their activities as agents. We will consider what normative requirements are necessary to make citizens self-legislating autonomous agents. Are formal requirements like consistency and coherence sufficient, or does law have to meet substantial normative and moral requirements? We will also discuss whether the deficiency of ¿evil legal systems¿ can be explained in terms of agency. Can distorted legal system provide agents a coherent form of self-understanding? We will explore these questions through readings by Scott Shapiro, Ronald Dworkin, Lon F. Fuller, David Dyzenhaus, Kristen Rundle, Michael Bratman, David Velleman, and Christine Korsgaard.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
Instructors:
Pauer Studer, H. (PI)
PHIL 275R: Roads Not Taken, 1880-1960 (AMSTUD 275R, ETHICSOC 275R, POLISCI 335L)
This course is intended to illuminate ideas about justice, freedom, equality, democracy, peace, and social conflict, and to raise persisting questions about such topics as the role of violence in politics through looking at the ideas of America writers such as Edward Bellamy, W.E.B. DuBois, Eugene Debs, Jane Addams, Emma Goldman, John Dewey and Reinhold Niebuhr.
Last offered: Spring 2015
PHIL 276: Political Philosophy: The Social Contract Tradition (PHIL 176, POLISCI 137A, POLISCI 337A)
(Graduate students register for 276.) Why and under what conditions do human beings need political institutions? What makes them legitimate or illegitimate? What is the nature, source, and extent of the obligation to obey the legitimate ones, and how should people alter or overthrow the others? Study of the answers given to such questions by major political theorists of the early modern period: Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Kant.
Last offered: Autumn 2014
PHIL 276B: The Economic Individual in the Behavioral Sciences (PHIL 176B)
(Graduate students register for 276B.)
Last offered: Autumn 2005
PHIL 276C: Religion and Politics: a Latin American Perspective (ETHICSOC 276R, ETHICSOC 376R, PHIL 176C)
Religion has traditionally been banished from politics in some places in Latin America. Religious symbols may not be displayed in public buildings, political discourse is expected to be free from all religious content, and religious ministers are not allowed to run for public office, among other measures. This course examines the political motivation for this kind of policies towards religion taking a comparative perspective with American and French variants of secularism.
Last offered: Spring 2014
PHIL 277B: EMOTIONS: MORALITY AND LAW (ETHICSOC 202, ETHICSOC 302, PHIL 177B)
If emotions are the stuff of life, some emotions are the stuff of our moral and legal life. Emotions such as: guilt, shame, revenge, indignation, resentment, disgust, envy, jealousy and humiliation, along with forgiveness, compassion, pity, mercy and patriotism, play a central role in our moral and legal life. The course is about these emotions, their meaning and role in morality and law. Issues such as the relationship between punishment and revenge, or between envy and equality, or St. Paul¿s contrast between law and love, or Nietzsche¿s idea that resentment is what feeds morality, will be discussed alongside other intriguing topics.
Last offered: Winter 2015
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