17th Century Political Philoso

Catalog description

This course will focus on the most important political philosophers of the 17th century , e.g., Hugo Grotius, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke--authors who founded and set the agenda for much of modern western political philosophy. A central theme of the course will be the attempts by these authors to reconcile the autonomous pursuit by individuals of their own self-preservation and happiness with moral order and social cooperation. What sort of state (if any) with what sort of authority (if any) facilitates individual freedom, justice, and social order? (Optional Capstone)