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Home , Robert Nozick, Utilitarianism (book)

01-730-255: Intro to Social and 1:10-2:30 TTh in FH-B6, Spring 2009 Instructor: Evan Williams Schedule and Reading Assignments

There is one required reading for each class meeting: on average about 20-30 pages of dense material. You are expected to do the reading before the class in which it will be discussed. Do not fall behind. If you know that you will have a midterm or other crisis in a given week, read ahead the week before, taking good notes on the reading so that you can quickly review them before class.

Many of the readings are in the public domain. Those that are not can be accessed (if you are connected to the campus network) via the Rutgers University Libraries' subscription to the JSTOR journal archive. From off-campus, it will be easiest to get the readings from the course Sakai page instead. I have suggested some materials as "further reading". You are not expected to do these readings. However, if you find yourself with free time and want to read more, or if you plan to pursue a career in political philosophy, it might be a good idea.

Introduction January 20: Introduction

No required reading.

Justification of the

Why should we even have a ? January 22: Might Makes Right

Required: The "Melian Dialogue", from 's History of the Peloponnesian War. http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/melian.htm Further Reading: You might want to read Book 2 of 's Republic. The Republic is an extremely important work of ancient political philosophy. http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.3.ii.html January 27: Theories

Required: Chapters 13-18 of 's Leviathan. http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/hobbes/leviathan-c.html January 29: Instrumental Justifications

Required: "Authority and Justification" by Joseph Raz, in Philosophy and Public Affairs Vol 14., No. 1 (Winter 1985), pp. 3-29. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2265235

Political Obligation

If we disagree with a given law, should we obey it anyway? February 3:

Required: "Civil Disobedience" by . http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Literature/Thoreau/CivilDisobedience.html

Further Reading: You might find it interesting to read the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Dr. King Jr., to see how the idea of civil disobedience was applied in practice. http://www.mlkonline.net/jail.html February 5: Gratitude

Required: "Crito" by Plato. http://www.bartleby.com/2/1/2.html February 10: Fairness

Required: "Presumptive Benefit, Fairness, and Political Obligation" by George Klosko, in Philosophy and Public Affairs Vol. 16, No. 3 (Summer 1987), pp. 241-259. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2265266

Further Reading: You might want to look at the article which pioneered the fairness view: "Are There Any Natural ?" by H. L. A. Hart, in The Philosophical Review Vol. 64, No. 2 (April 1955), pp. 175-191. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2182586 February 12: Consent

Required: "Political Obligations and Derivative Duties" by Peter J. Steinberger, in The Journal of Politics Vol. 64, No. 2 (May 2002), pp. 449-465. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2691856

First paper assignment handed out on February 12.

Liberty

Are there behaviors with which the government should refrain from interfering? February 17: Natural Rights

Required: Chapters 2-5, 9-11, and 18 of 's Second Treatise of Government. http://www.liberty1.org/2dtreat.htm (note that only part of the linked text has been assigned)

Further Reading: Locke's classic book is at the heart of our political system, so you might want to read the rest of it if you find the time. You might also want to look at the Universal Declaration of Rights adopted by the United Nations, which is the most widely accepted list of human rights in existence. http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html February 19: Instrumental

Required: Chapters 1-2 of 's On . http://www.constitution.org/jsm/liberty.htm (note that only part of the linked text has been assigned)

Further Reading: You might want to read the rest of Mill's important and excellent book. February 24: Paternalism

Required: "Mill versus Paternalism" by Richard J. Arneson, in Vol. 90, No. 4 (July 1980), pp. 470-489. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2380448 February 26: Victimless Crimes

Required: "Victimless Crimes" by Alan Wertheimer, in Ethics Vol. 87, No. 4 (July 1977), pp. 302-318. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2379900 First paper due on February 26. March 3: Liberty as

Required: "The Priority of the Right and Ideas of the Good" by , in Philosophy and Public Affairs Vol. 17, No. 4 (Autumn 1988), pp. 251-276. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2265400 March 5: Communitarian Worries

Required: "A Moderate Communitarian Proposal" by Amitai Etzioni, in Political Theory Vol. 24, No. 2 (May 1996), pp. 155-171. http://www.jstor.org/stable/192113

Criminal

How much should the government punish law-breakers? March 10: Deterrence

Required: Chapters 1 ("Of the Principle of Utility", 13 ("Cases Unmeet for Punishment"), and 14 ("Of the Proportion between Punishments and Offences") of Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation by . http://www.utilitarianism.com/jeremy-bentham/index.html (note that only part of the linked text has been assigned)

Further Reading: Bentham was an important figure in the history of the philosophy, and the main inspiration for John Stuart Mill, so you might want to read the rest of his book. March 12: Retribution

Required: "The Right of Punishing and of Pardoning" by , in The of Morals (Item E of the General Remark in Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Volume 1). http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Philosophy_of_Law/Part_2#E._The_Right_of_Punishi ng_and_of_Pardoning. (note that only part of the linked text has been assigned) March 17 and March 19

Spring break! No classes or readings. March 24: Compromises Between Deterrence and Retribution

Required: "Punishment" by J. D. Mabbott, in Mind Vol. 48, No. 190 (April 1939), pp. 152-167. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2250856

Further Reading: You might want to read the view to which Mabbott is responding: "Punishment as a Moral Agency: An Attempt to Reconcile the Retributive and the Utilitarian View" by A. C. Ewing, in Mind Vol. 36, No. 143 (July 1927), pp. 292-305. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2249539 March 26: Problems with Compromising

Second paper assignment handed out on March 26.

Required: "The Paradox of Punishment" by Alan H. Goldman, in Philosophy and Public Affairs Vol. 9, No. 1 (Autumn 1979), pp. 42-58. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2264866

Distributive Justice

Should the wealthy be better off than the poor? March 31:

Required: Chapter 2 ("Proletariats and Communists") of and 's "Communist Manifesto". http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ch02.htm

Further Reading: You might want to read the entire "Communist Manifesto", since it is an important historical document. April 2:

Required: Chapter 2 ("What Utilitarianism Is") of John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism. http://www.utilitarianism.com/mill2.htm April 7: Prioritarianism

Required: "Justice as Fairness" by John Rawls, in The Philosophical Review Vol. 67, No. 2 (April 1958), pp. 164-194. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2182612 Further Reading: If you can afford it, Rawls's book, , is probably the most important work of 20th-century political philosophy. http://www.amazon.com/Theory-Justice-John-Rawls/dp/8175341750/ April 9: Procedural Approaches

Required: Part 1 ("The ", pp. 45-78) of Robert Nozick's "Distributive Justice", in Philosophy and Public Affairs Vol. 3, No. 1 (Autumn 1973), pp. 45-126. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2264891 (note that only part of the linked article has been assigned)

Further Reading: You may find the rest of Nozick's article helpful in linking together some of the theories we have discussed in this course. If you can afford it, you might also consider buying Nozick's excellent book, Anarchy, State, and Utopia, which is looming in the background of many of the articles we have read. http://www.amazon.com/Anarchy-State-Utopia-Robert-Nozick/dp/0465097200/

Second paper due on April 9.

Social Institutions

How should we implement our beliefs about distributive justice? April 14: Capitalism

Required: Chapter 2 ("Of Restraints upon the Importation from Foreign Countries of such Goods as Can Be Produced at Home") of Book IV of 's The Wealth of Nations. http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN13.html April 16: Affirmative Action

Required: "Equal Treatment and Compensatory Discrimination" by , in Philosophy and Public Affairs Vol. 2, No. 4 (Summer 1973), pp. 348-363. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2265013

Further Reading: You might want to read the following article, which contains many of the objections to affirmative action which I will be discussing in lecture: "A Negative Vote on Affirmative Action" by Shelby Steele, from The Times Magazine (May 13, 1990). http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/composition/patterns/steele.htm April 21: The Welfare System Required: Sections 1-3 (pp. 283-304) of "What is Equality? Part 2: Equality of Resources" by , in Philosophy and Public Affairs Vol. 10, No. 4 (Autumn 1981), pp. 283-345. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2265047 (note that only part of the linked article has been assigned)

Further Reading: The rest of Dworkin's article discusses the issues we will be discussing on April 23, so would be well worth reading. You might also be interested in his "What is Equality? Part 1: Equality of Welfare" discussion, which appeared in Philosophy and Public Affairs Vol. 10, No. 3 (Summer 1981), pp. 185-246. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2264894 April 23: Unconditional Welfare?

Required: "Why Surfers Should be Fed: The Liberal Case for an Unconditional Basic Income" by , in Philosophy and Public Affairs Vol. 20, No. 2 (Spring 1991), pp. 101-131. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2265291 April 28: World Government

Required: " and Sovereignty" by Thomas W. Pogge, in Ethics Vol 103, No. 1 (October 1992), pp. 48-75. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2381495

Further Reading: For an interesting application of cosmopolitan morality to how we should behave as , you might want to look at 's "Famine, Affluence, and Morality" paper, in Philosophy and Public Affairs Vol 1, No. 3 (Spring 1972), pp. 229-243. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2265052

Conclusion April 30: Conclusion

No required reading. May 12: Final Exam

Final exam from 8:00am to 11:00am.