Philosophy of Political Ethics
This course was available in the past and may be presented again as part of the Master of Liberal Arts curriculum.
The central question of Ethics is, "How should I live?" This looks like a question each person asks for herself. But, as Aristotle observed, we human beings are by nature social animals. For creatures like us, the singular question cannot be separated from one in the plural: "How should we live together?" In this course, we will examine a long and rich tradition of philosophical reflection upon these interlocking questions-a tradition initiated by the ancient Greeks and transformed in countless ways in the intervening centuries down into the present. Our readings will be both historical and contemporary. Topics include happiness, democracy, duty, and the challenge of injustice. No prior experience with philosophy is presupposed.
- Fulfills the Elective - Ethics and Leadership requirement
- Fulfills the Elective - General requirement
- This course is a part of the Ethics and Leadership concentration
About the Professor
Jason Bridges
Jason Bridges is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Chicago. His primary research and teaching areas are the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of language. He also has interests in metaphysics and epistemology, the philosophy of action, the later work of Wittgenstein, and political philosophy. His main current projects are about reasons and rationality, and epistemic and semantic contextualism.