Contemporary Ethical Theory

In this course, we will explore some of the major texts on moral and political philosophy of the past 40 years. We will begin with John Rawls's A Theory of Justice, which attempts to develop a substantive theory of justice, and continue to Robert Nozick's libertarian critique of Rawls in Anarchy, State, and Utopia. Finally, we will study a series of works that consider whether substantive moral and political theory is still possible: Bernard Williams's Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy, Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue, and Richard Rorty's Contingency, Irony and Solidarity. (Previous PHIL course or PSCI 0101 recommended, but not required.) 3 hrs. lect.