This course focuses on the idea of the social contract as it has evolved from the seventeenth century to contemporary philosophy. Can government be justified in terms of a pact that all rational individuals would accept in a ¿state of nature¿ or an ¿original position¿? What would be the terms of the agreement? We will read selections from, among others, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, David Gauthier, Robert Nozick, and John Rawls.
Course Credits
3