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Description: |
Beginning around 1500, Europe (and subsequently the rest of the world) started to undergo a series of momentous changes: The collapse of a common religious framework, the encounters with the peoples of the western hemisphere, the rise of massive colonial empires and global trade, the shift to a commercial-capitalist economic organization, and the rise of egalitarian political movements. Using the writings of Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Wollstonecraft as our guides, we will examine the philosophical and political conflicts that attended these developments. Our questions will include: What skills and forms of virtue are appropriate for this emerging political world? Are there ways to generate objective and scientific knowledge about human beings, our behaviors, and our needs? What sorts of political forms should humans adopt, and is it possible for us to create a free society? In addition to readings, we will also develop a series of projects to explore these questions. |