Prisoner’s Dilemma and Distributive Justice (Duke)
Introduction to Philosophy, Politics and Economics (UNC)
Professor: Jonathan Anomaly, [email protected]
Teaching Assistant: Chris Kennedy: [email protected]
Classroom at Duke (1st half): Gray 228; Classroom at UNC (2nd half): Caldwell 105
Class meets T, Th 3:00-4:20. Office at UNC: Caldwell 108-A, Office at Duke: Gross Hall 201
Office Hours: Tues and Thurs 2:00-3:00, or by appointment
Course description
This interdisciplinary course provides an overview of some core conceptual tools used to analyze
issues at the intersection of philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE). It also serves as the
Gateway course for the PPE certificate program at Duke and the PPE minor at UNC. Topics
covered include the moral status of markets, distributive justice, liberty and paternalism, and the
use of economic models to understand the behavior of voters and policymakers.
Required books
Anomaly, Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. Oxford University Press, 2015.
All other readings will be available on Sakai. Starred readings are from the PPE anthology.
Grading criteria
Three non-cumulative essay exams, each worth 30% of your final grade, and one quiz worth 10%.
The essay exams will be taken at home, and will each involve about 5 pages of writing.
Participation can also help your grade, especially in borderline cases.
Attendance policy
Attendance is expected. Any more than three unexcused absences will lower your grade.
Plagiarism policy
All students must abide by the Duke or UNC honor code.
http://integrity.duke.edu http://honor.unc.edu
Reading Schedule
1. Game Theory
Don Ross, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy – Game Theory
(§1 – Philosophical Motivation, §2 – Basic Elements, §6 – Commitment)
*Thomas Schelling, Dynamic Models of Segregation
*Gerry Mackie, Ending Foot Binding and Infibulation
*Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan
2. Rational Choice
*David Gauthier, Rationality: Maximization Constrained
*Gregory Kavka, The Toxin Puzzle
3. Property
*David Hume, Of Justice and Property
*John Locke, Of Property
*David Schmidtz, The Institution of Property
Planet Money podcast: How Private Property Transformed China (click here or subscribe on iTunes)
4. Markets
Market Success: specialization and exchange
*Adam Smith, Of the Division of Labor
*Friedrich Hayek, The Use of Knowledge in Society
*Leonard Read, I, Pencil
Market Failure: externalities and public goods
*Tyler Cowen, Public Goods
*David Friedman, Market Failures
*Jonathan Anomaly, Public Goods and Government Action
5. Distributive Justice
Utilitarianism
*J. S. Mill, Utilitarianism
Stanford Encyclopedia - Consequentialism
Contractualism
*John Rawls, A Theory of Justice
Stanford Encyclopedia – Justice as Fairness
Libertarianism
*Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State and Utopia
Stanford Encyclopedia - Libertarianism
6. Public Choice Theory
Economic principles and political processes
*Gary Becker, The Economic Way of Looking at Behavior
*James Buchanan, Politics without Romance
Rationality, ignorance and rational ignorance
*Anthony Downs, An Economic Theory of Democracy
*Michael Huemer, Why People are Irrational about Politics
The ethics of voting
*Geoff Brennan and Loren Lomasky, Is There a Duty to Vote?
*Jason Brennan, Polluting the Polls: When Citizens Should Not Vote
7. Liberty and Paternalism
*J. S. Mill, On Liberty
*Gerald Dworkin, Paternalism
8. Markets in Everything
Sex
*Martha Nussbaum, Taking Money for Bodily Services
*David Friedman, Sex, Marriage, and Babies
Drugs
*Jeffrey Miron, The Economics of Drug Legalization and Prohibition
*Michael Huemer, America’s Unjust Drug War
*Peter DeMarneffe, Against the Legalization of Drugs
Body Parts
*Arthur Caplan, Organ Transplantation
*Gerald Dworkin, Of Markets and Morals: The Case for Organ Sales