PHIL 111A — What Is Justice?

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Prerequisite: One course in philosophy or political theory or permission of the instructor.

This course is a survey of important claims, theories, and arguments about justice in the Western philosophical tradition. Questions we will discuss include: What is justice (and injustice)? What makes someone a just person? What makes for a just society, and a just government in particular? How does justice interact with other things we care about, like equality, liberty, and personal relationships? What does justice require of us in how we treat people from different social groups? We will address these questions through interrogating both classic and contemporary philosophical texts. Usually offered every second year.
Marion Smiley