Theories of Economic Justice--Phi 335
Section A: M/W/F 11a.m.-12p.m., PH 105
Instructor: Brad Hadaway
Office: Pawling Hall 307
Telephone: 863-8081 [O] 570-9537 [H]
Office Hours: MWF 1-2p.m.; Th 1-3p.m.; and by appointment
Email: Bradford_Hadaway@georgetowncollege.edu
Website: http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/philosophy/hadaway/index.htm
Course Description: Introduction to contemporary theories of
distributive justice and their application to the free market, welfare
programs, and societal regulation of business. 3 credit hours
Course Objectives
Satisfaction
of the course requirements will enable the student:
·
To gain an understanding of and to evaluate the variety of answers that have been given to the central moral and political
questions raised by the presence of absolute poverty.
·
To gain a better understanding of the relationship between the
normative judgments of moral philosophy and political philosophy.
·
To gain an appreciation for influential contemporary philosophical
texts.
·
To hone one’s skills in identifying and evaluating arguments.
·
To improve one’s ability to think and write clearly and
critically.
·
To gain a more complete and refined understanding of one’s own
moral and political thinking.
·
To clearly see the connection between philosophical thought and
life’s ultimate questions.
Required Texts:
Arthur,
John and William H. Shaw, eds. Justice and Economic
Distribution, 2nd ed.
NJ:
Prentice Hall, 1991.
Several
required articles have been placed on reserve in the
Course Requirements
·
Attendance and class participation (5 or more unexcused absences hurt
you)
·
Seminar papers (1-2 pages) 25%
·
1 short paper (5-7 pages) or presentation 15%
·
1 longer paper (10-15 pages) 40%
·
Final exam (you write the questions) 20%
Final Grading Scale:
A = 100-90; B = 89-80; C =
79-70; D = 69-60; F = 59 and below
**Note: Scores for each individual assignment
will be given as a letter grade [presentation, papers, exam]
which will correspond to the following numerical score:
A+ =
98; A = 94.5; A- = 91; B+ = 88; B = 84.5; B- = 81; C+ = 78; C = 74.5; C- = 71;
D+ = 68; D = 64.5; D- = 61; F = 54.5
Attendance and Class
Participation
You
are allowed six unexcused absences before your grade is affected. Beginning with the seventh unexcused
absence, each missed class will incur a reduction in your final point
total. Every unexcused absence
after six will mean a 1 point reduction in the final score. For example, a student with 15 unexcused
absences (roughly 1/3rd of the course) will have his or her final
score reduced by 9 points. The final score can be further reduced if a student
repeatedly demonstrates a lack of preparation for class. I will assess your preparation by a
method detailed in a handout entitled, "Seminar Papers and Preparing for
Class Discussion."
Seminar Papers
You
will write at least five mini-papers in which you will (a) offer the beginnings
of a critical assessment of an author's work, (b) work towards a greater
understanding of a difficult concept, or (c) reflect more carefully upon an
author's position. See the “Seminar
Papers and Preparing for Class Discussion” handout for more detailed
information.
Short and Long Papers
Papers
represent your chance to ‘do’ philosophy rather than merely
‘report’ on what other philosophers have said. Your short paper assignment (should
you choose this option) will present you with a challenge or question based
upon the course material, and your paper will represent your best philosophical
answer to the challenge or question.
Your long paper topic will be of your own choosing. From the readings and class discussions
from the first 12 weeks of class, you will construct a topic of genuine
philosophical interest, do extensive research on that topic, and write a 10-15
page paper as the culmination of that research. Both the short and long papers
will be expository (carefully and completely setting out, explaining, and
defending an argument) and critical (considering possible objections to the
argument that you have set out).
Please refer to the piece, “Learning to Write an Excellent
Philosophy Essay” before turning in your first paper, and look to the
“Research in Philosophy” link prior to turning in your second. Both links can be found on my
website. I will be in close
consultation with you as you write your paper(s), and
it is my hope that the result of our joint efforts will be a paper from your
Presentations
If
this option is chosen, a student will present and defend his or her research
during the last two weeks of the semester.
I will give more explicit directions about the nature of your
presentation responsibilities during the course of the semester. Note that if this option is chosen, the
due date for the research paper will be Monday, April 17th by email
AND under my office door by 5p.m.
Final Examination
On
or near the final day of class, we will write the exam questions together, and
the exam will be given on its scheduled day. The final will be an essay exam.
Late Papers and Missed
Examinations:
Late
papers will NOT be accepted and examinations will NOT be taken late unless
the instructor is informed ahead of time of a problem or there
is a documented
emergency [e.g. illness with Doctor’s note]. I cannot simply accept your word that
you had an emergency. I need to
have some form
of verification. If you have not
notified the instructor of a problem ahead of time or if you are unable to
provide documentation of your emergency, you will receive a non-negotiable
zero. Assignments can always be turned in or taken early.
Web Resources
During
the course of the semester, I may make various resources for the class
available on my website. In light of this fact, you are required to
have some basic knowledge of the internet and access to the web. As a
IMPORTANT
NOTES
·
If accommodations are needed for a disability, please notify me during
the first class period or as soon as possible.
·
The Academic Honor Code must be observed in this course. Please see the Student Handbook for
details. Any infraction of the
Honor Code will result in a failing grade of ‘0’ for the
plagiarized work, and depending upon the circumstances, further action could be
taken through the appropriate administrative channels. Please note that any papers turned in
via email should be accompanied with a hard copy as soon as possible, but
the work I receive via email will be what is graded. I will have to assume that any
plagiarism contained in “a draft sent by mistake” was intentional,
and I will have to assume that you are sending the finished product. So make sure you check the draft you
send.
·
Please note that the policies and course outline stated in this
syllabus are subject to minor change.
I. Course
Introduction
A. Statement
of the Problem
B. Ethical/Political
Theory and Practical Problems
Suggested:
Pojman: "Utilitarianism" (on reserve)
Holmes: "Kantianism" (on reserve)
O'Neill: "Kant and Utilitarianism
Contrasted" (on reserve)
II. Portraits of Poverty
A. MacLeod: Ain't No Makin' It (selected readings)
B. Berrick: Faces
of Poverty (on reserve)
Suggested:
Bray: "So How Did I Get Here?
Ehrenreich: Nickel and Dimed
(on reserve)
III. Do We Have a Moral Obligation to Help the Poor?
A. Singer: "Famine, Affluence, and
Morality" and "Rich and Poor" (reserve)
B. Arthur: "Rights and the Duty to Bring
Aid" (reserve)
C. Hardin: "Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against
Helping the Poor"
AND "Living on a Lifeboat" (both on reserve)
D. Van
Wyk:
"Perspectives on World Hunger and the Extent of Our Positive
Duties" (reserve)
E. O'Neill: "Ending World Hunger" (reserve)
F. Nell: "Lifeboat Earth" (reserve)
G. Rachels: "Killing and Starving to
Death" (reserve)
H. Narveson: "Feeding the Hungry" (reserve)
Suggested:
Otteson: "Limits on Our Obligation to Give" (reserve)
Cullity: "International Aid and the Scope of
Kindness" (reserve)
Murdoch and Oaten: "Population and Food: Metaphors and the Reality" (reserve)
May and LaFollette: "Suffer the Little Children"
(reserve)
**Short Paper Assignment**
IV. Do We Have a Political Obligation to Help the Poor?
Suggested:
Nathanson: Economic Justice (on reserve)
Arthur/Shaw: "On the Problem of Economic
Justice" (Arthur and Shaw:
1-11)
Liberalism
A. Rawls: A Theory of Justice (Arthur and Shaw: 13-60)
Suggested:
Cohen: "Incentives, Inequality, and
Community" (reserve)
Libertarianism
B.
Nozick: Anarchy,
State, and Utopia (Arthur and Shaw:64-102)
C.
Discussion
of Liberalism and Libertarianism
D. Rachels:
"What People Deserve" (Arthur and Shaw:136-148
and on reserve)
E. Singer: "Rights and the Market"
(Arthur and Shaw:198-211)
F. Sterba: "From
G. Machan: "The Nonexistence of Basic Welfare
Rights" (reserve)
H. Smart: "Distributive Justice and
Utilitarianism"
(Arthur and Shaw:106-117)
Suggested:
Hospers: "What Libertarianism Is" (reserve)
Sterba: "Global Justice" (reserve)
Shue: "Solidarity Among
Strangers and the Right to Food" (reserve)
O'Neill: "Nozick's Entitlements"
(reserve)
Socialism and Egalitarianism
I. Marx
and Engels: "The Communist Manifesto"
(reserve)
J. Nielsen: "Radical Egalitarianism"
(reserve)
K. Nell
and O'Neill:
"Justice Under Socialism" (reserve)
L. Rachels: "Reflections on the Idea of
Equality" (reserve)
M. Cohen: "Robert Nozick and Wilt
Chamberlain: How Patterns Preserve
(Arthur and Shaw:212-227)
N. Govier: "The Right to Eat
and the Duty to Work" (reserve)
Communitarianism
O.
Walzer: Spheres
of Justice (Arthur and Shaw:272-303)
**Long
Paper Assignment**
Please
note that your long paper is assigned from the first day of class. Though it is
often human nature to put things off until the last minute,
it is recommended that you
not adopt this strategy for your long paper. In fact, I strongly suggest that you try
to
get a draft to me no later than April 19th, so
that I can help you to identify potential
problem areas in your work. The papers will be due on the last day
of class,
May 3rd, unless you are doing a presentation on your research
in which
case the paper will be due April 17th.
**Final Exam** Tuesday,
May 9th, 9-11a.m.