PHIL 2020 Practical Philosophy: The Social Contract Tradition
Winter 2013 Tuesday and Thursday 10:00-11:30 am, Southam Hall 501
Vida Panitch [email protected] Paterson 3A55; Tuesday 12-1:30
Course Description: Social Contract Theory addresses itself to a key question of practical
philosophy, namely, what is the source of the state’s legitimacy, and thus the source of our
duty to obey it. According to SCT, the legitimate authority of government is grounded in the
consent of the governed, where the form and content of this consent derives from the idea of
contract or mutual agreement. Proponents of the theory have provided diverse and
conflicting accounts of the nature of consent and the conditions under which it should be
given, as well as diverse conceptions of what it means for a legitimate state to treat all those
on whom it depends for its authority with an equal concern and respect. This course will
track the development of social contract theory from the ancient period to the present, while
exploring some of its moral and political limitations. SCT is central to the broad terrain of
practical philosophy as it instances the application of abstract conceptual ideas to matters of
concrete practical concern.
Course Assignments: There will be 4 brief essay assignments for this course, as well as a
final take-home exam. The essays will be 3 pages in length each and worth 20%. Only 3 of
the 4 essay grades will be counted towards a student’s final grade for the course. Students
may choose to write only 3 of the 4, or to write all 4 and have their lowest mark dropped. In
these assignments students will be asked to reconstruct, in logical form, a key argument from
course materials, and to raise a brief criticism of the argument. The purpose of these
assignments is to accustom new philosophers to the basic structure of analytic philosophical
writing. The final take home exam will be cumulative and will raise questions asking that
students explain, contrast and engage critically with the course materials. It will be assigned
on April 9th and due on April 27th. It is worth 40%.
Course Readings: Since the readings for the first half of the course are historical in nature,
they are all available online, linked from the schedule below. There are two books from
which you will read excerpts: John Rawls’ Theory of Justice, 2ndEedition and Robert
Nozick’s Anarchy, State and Utopia. Both are available from the short term loan desk at the
library. The final readings for the course are available from journals in the library’s online
catalogue; and all but one are also available publicly, linked below.
Course Schedule:
Week 1: January 8/10
Introduction to the Course
Plato, Crito http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/crito.html
Week 2: January 15-17
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, chapters 13-14, 17-21
http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/pdf/hobblev1.pdf
http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/pdf/hobblev2.pdf
**Note: January 17th lecture will be used in part to explain the essay format
Week 3: January 22/24
John Locke, Second Treatise on Government, chapters 1-5, 8-12
http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/pdf/lockseco.pdf
** First essay (on Hobbes) is due on the 24th
Week 4: January 29/31
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, Parts I and II
http://www.constitution.org/jjr/ineq_03.htm
http://www.constitution.org/jjr/ineq_04.htm
Week 5: February 5/7
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract, Book I, chapters 1-9; Book II, chapters 1-4 and
7; Book IV, chapters 1-2, 7, and 8
http://www.constitution.org/jjr/socon.htm
Week 6: February 12/14
David Hume, Of the Original Contract
http://www.constitution.org/dh/origcont.htm
Immanuel Kant, Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, chapters 1-2
http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/pdf/kantgrou.pdf
*Second essay (on Locke) is due on the 12th
Week 7: Feb 28 (no class on the 26th)
Immanuel Kant, “Theory and Practice, Part II”
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/sefd0/tx/tp2.htm
Week 8: March 5/7
Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia, pp 3-35, 149-164
Week 9: March 12/14
John Rawls, A Theory of Justice, pp 3-19, 47-81, 102-135
**Third paper (on Nozick) is due on the 14th
Week 10: March 19/21
Ronald Dworkin, “Equality of Resources,” Philosophy & Public Affairs 10(4)1981
Week 11: March 26/28
Philippe van Parijs “Why Surfers should be Fed,” Philosophy & Public Affairs 20(2)1991
http://www.unistuttgart.de/philo/fileadmin/doc/pdf/parjissurfersshouldbefed.pdf
Elizabeth Anderson, “Optional Freedoms,” Boston Review (November 2000)
http://bostonreview.net/BR25.5/anderson.html
Week 12: April 2/4
Thomas Nagel, “The Problem of Global Justice,” Philosophy & Public Affairs 33(2) 2005
http://as.nyu.edu/docs/IO/1172/globaljustice.pdf (paste into browser)
**Fourth essay (on Rawls or Dworkin) is due on the 2nd
Week 13: April 9
Exam prep with TA.
Department of Philosophy and Carleton University Policies (2012-13)
Assignments:
Important Dates:
Unless specifically told otherwise by their instructors, students:
 must not use a plastic or cardboard cover or paper clips
 must staple the paper (there is a stapler on the essay box)
 must include the following in the lower right corner of the cover
sheet:
student name
student number
course number and section
instructor’s name
 The Philosophy Department does not accept assignments by FAX.
You may send them by courier, if necessary.
 No assignments will be accepted after the last day for handing in
term work – see dates in next column.
 Assignments handed in through the essay box (just inside the glass
doors, Paterson Hall, Floor 3A) must be dropped into the box by
4:15 on a regular business day in order to be date-stamped with
that day’s date. Assignments handed in after 4:15 or on a nonbusiness day will be stamped as having been handed in on the next
business day.
 Students are required to keep copies of their assignments. If your
paper is lost at any point, you will be considered not to have
submitted it if you cannot produce a copy immediately on request.
Sept. 6
Sept. 19
Deferrals for Term Work:
If you miss a final examination and/or fail to submit a final assignment
by the due date because of circumstances beyond your control, you
may apply for a deferral of examination/assignment. For deferred
examinations, you must apply within 5 working days after the
scheduled date of your exam. To apply for deferral of a final
assignment, you must apply within 5 working days of the last scheduled
day of classes. Visit the Registrar’s Office for more information.
Plagiarism:
It is the responsibility of each student to understand the meaning of
‘plagiarism’ as defined in the Undergraduate or Graduate Calendars,
and to avoid both committing plagiarism and aiding or abetting
plagiarism by other students. (Undergraduate Calendar Academic
Regulations, section 14.3, or
http://www4.carleton.ca/calendars//ugrad/current/regulations/acadre
gsuniv14.html#14.3
Academic Accommodation for Students with
Disabilities:
The Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities (PMC) provides
services to students with Learning Disabilities (LD), psychiatric/mental
health disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD),
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), chronic medical conditions, and
impairments in mobility, hearing, and vision. If you have a disability
requiring academic accommodations in this course, please contact PMC
at 613-520-6608 or [email protected] for a formal evaluation. If you are
already registered with the PMC, contact your PMC coordinator to send
me your Letter of Accommodation at the beginning of the term, and no
later than two weeks before the first in-class scheduled test or exam
requiring accommodation (if applicable). After requesting
accommodation from PMC, meet with me to ensure accommodation
arrangements are made. Please consult the PMC website for the
deadline to request accommodations for the formally-scheduled exam
(if applicable).
You can visit the Equity Services website to view the policies and to
obtain more detailed information on academic accommodation at
http://carleton.ca/equity/accommodation.
Sept. 30
Oct. 5
Oct. 8
Nov. 19
Dec. 3
Dec. 3
Dec. 4-5
Dec. 6-19
Dec. 19
Classes start (after Orientation events).
Last day for registration and course changes in Fall and
Fall/Winter courses.
Last day for entire fee adjustment when withdrawing from
Fall term or two-term courses.
University Day – no classes.
Thanksgiving Day – university closed.
Last day for tests or examinations in courses below 4000level before the Final Examination period.
Last day of classes, Fall term. Last day for handing in term
work and the last day that can be specified by a course
instructor as a due date for Fall term courses.
Last day to withdraw from Fall term courses (academic
purposes only).
No classes take place. Review classes may be held, but no
new material may be introduced.
Final examinations for Fall courses, mid-terms for
Fall/Winter courses.
Take-home exams are due.
Jan. 7
Jan. 18
Winter term classes begin.
Last day for registration and course changes in Winter
term classes.
Jan. 31
Last day for entire fee adjustment when withdrawing from
winter courses or winter portion of two-term courses.
Feb. 18
Family Day – university closed
Feb. 18-22 Winter Break, classes suspended.
Mar. 27
Last day for tests or examinations in courses below 4000level before the Final Examination period.
Mar. 29
Good Friday – university closed
Apr. 10
Last day of Fall/Winter and Winter term classes. Last day
for handing in term work and the last day that can be
specified by a course instructor as a due date for term
work for Fall/Winter and Winter term courses.
NOTE: On this day all classes follow a Friday schedule.
Apr. 10
Last day to withdraw from Fall/Winter and Winter term
courses (academic purposes only).
Apr. 11-12 No classes take place. Review classes may be held, but no
new material may be introduced.
Apr. 13-27 Final Examinations.
Apr. 27
Take-home exams are due.
Addresses:
Department of Philosophy:
Registrar’s Office:
Student Academic Success Centre:
Paul Menton Centre:
Writing Tutorial Service:
MacOdrum Library
3A46 Paterson Hall
www.carleton.ca/philosophy
520-2110
300 Tory
www.carleton.ca/registrar
520-3500
302 Tory
www.carleton.ca/sasc
520-7850
500 University Centre
www.carleton.ca/pmc
520-6608
4th Floor, Library
www.carleton.ca/wts
520-6632
http://www.library.carleton.ca/
520-2735