POSC 080
JUSTICE AND
POWER
Spring 2003
Rhodes WW448 83420 MWF 2-4
THE COURSE: Justice and power are thought
to be the elements of politics.
However, it is necessary to inquire whether there is such a thing as
justice, how it is known, and how it can be distinguished from power. It also must be asked what power is, and
what its uses are. This course studies
these basic problems and themes as an introduction to the principles of
political philosophy. Further, the
course aims to help students acquire the discipline and skills needed in
theoretical reading and rigorous analytic writing.
BOOKS TO BE PURCHASED:
Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War; Plato, Republic
(Larson trans.); Locke, Second Treatise of Civil Government; Rousseau, The
Basic Political Writings.
ATTENDANCE: It is necessary to attend all
of the class sessions to do well in the
course. Repeated absences will have
natural consequences, in the sense that they certainly will cause students to
do poorly on papers, to fail to achieve distinction in class discussions, and,
hence, to receive low grades. This will
occur automatically, so the instructor will not have to take role more than
occasionally.
REQUIREMENTS:
Students will prepare the readings assigned below for class
discussion. The readings are
difficult. They cannot be skimmed. Understanding will come only with careful
study and reflection. There will be
three take-home examinations, or papers, to be done in keeping with the
instructions given below. Paper topics and dates will be determined on the
basis of discussions between the instructor and the class.
GRADING: Papers will be expected to
display cogent reasoning, mastery of information (factual accuracy, knowledge
of arguments, and appropriate selection of texts and data for use in the
analysis of problems), elegance of style, and grammatical correctness. Each paper will count one third of the
course grade. Effective class
participation will result in upward adjustment of grades.
Thucydides pp. 118-123, 143-151, 212-223, 400-408.
Plato 327-367 (Stephanus margin numbers).
Plato 368-445.
Plato 449-541.
Locke chs. 1-9.
Locke chs. 10-end.
Rousseau Discourse on Origins of Inequality.
Rousseau Social Contract Bks I, II.
Each paper will be an essay no longer than
1500 words. Students will write
on topics and follow outlines provided
by the instructor. The essays will have
these tasks: (1) Identify the question
that the philosophers raise in the passages mentioned, and explain why it is
problematic. The question posed by the
instructor will begin this work, but not complete it. (2) Analyze the reasoning about the question that the
philosophers offer. (What are the
assumptions? What are the
arguments? To what evidence do the
arguments appeal? What difficulties
might render the assumptions or the arguments unacceptable, and how do the
philosophers handle them?) (3) With
regard to what is problematic in the question, explain how the philosophers'
arguments guide us in our own search for truth. (Reason this section especially carefully. This section best shows the student's
ability to carry an inquiry beyond recitation of text and
lecture notes.)