Freedom and Necessity
GOVT 393
Spring 2013 not offered
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| Certificates: Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory |
Are freedom and necessity opposed or complementary? Am I at liberty to choose to do what I wish? Or does social life require "the freedom to bind oneself in the pursuit of one's ultimate ends to the available means" (Lowith)? Does freedom require reason to understand freedom's grounds and virtues? What is the relation of freedom to reason, will, and emotion? Are there necessary conditions to social life, such as nature, gender, recognition, war, and death? We will examine the idea of necessity--natural, existential, military, and political--to see whether it affects political freedom. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS GOVT |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (GOVT)(GOVT-Theory) |
Major Readings:
Berlin, I., FOUR ESSAYS ON LIBERTY
Aristotle, POLITICS (excerpts)
Hobbes, T., LEVIATHAN (excerpts)
Rousseau, J.-J., SOCIAL CONTRACT
Hegel, F.W., PHILOSOPHY OF RIGHT (excerpts)
Lowith, K., MAX WEBER AND KARL MARX
Niebuhr, R., MORAL MAN AND IMMORAL SOCIETY
Arendt, H., THE HUMAN CONDITION
Robinson, J., FREEDOM AND NECESSITY
Walzer, M., JUST AND UNJUST WARS (excerpts)
Wollheim, R., THE THREAD OF LIFE
Jouvenel, B. de, THE CHAIRMAN'S PROBLEM
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Examinations and Assignments:
An essay, class presentation and paper, and final project. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Some background in political or social theory, from GOVT, SOC, HIST, PHIL, CSS, COL, or REL, is
helpful. This course is part of the Political Theory concentration in the Government major. |
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