Philosophical Perspectives on Social and Economic Issues —
UNC–Chapel Hill, Fall 2022 Meetings: MWF 12:20–1:10, Peabody 3050
Instructor: Kirun Sankaran (Caldwell Hall 214A) Texts: A.O. Hirschman,
Exit, Voice, and Loyalty; Russell Hardin, Indeterminacy and
Society (all other texts on Sakai)
Course Description
This course focuses on justice and the common good, applying
theoretical justifications to contemporary social and economic issues.
Readings include classical and contemporary literature on the nature of
justice and rights. Open to philosophy majors/minors, PPE minors, and
all interested undergraduates.
Course Format
Class-wide discussion, small-group discussion and collaborative
projects, group presentations, and debates, with short lectures for
context and clarification. Nearly every meeting involves a significant
group-work component assessed in the participation grade. Students also
take part in a peer-review exercise.
Assignments and Assessment
Three reading responses — 20% each. Eighteen
readings are listed; pick three and write ~1000 words: (a) outline the
reading's argument, (b) raise a question for the author, (c) outline a
potential response on the author's behalf.
Final paper — 25%. A ~2000-word paper on the
philosophical dimensions of a pressing policy problem other
than climate change, extending the reasoning of one course reading
to that case. Includes a rough draft and in-class peer review (worth
10%, so the final paper itself is 15%).
Attendance and participation — 15%. Three
no-penalty absences; each further unexcused absence costs a third of a
letter grade. Participation depends largely on the quality of
contributions to in-class group work and presentations.
Course Schedule
All reading to be completed before the listed date. Response
papers due at the points noted.
Aug 15 — Introduction
Aug 17 — The Problem of Political Order: Hobbes,
Leviathan, Ch. 13
Aug 19 — Indeterminacy: Hardin, Indeterminacy
and Society, Ch. 1
Aug 22 — Collective Choice / Arrow Impossibility:
Munger & Munger, Choosing in Groups, Ch. 7
Aug 24 — Rationality in Politics: Hardin,
I&S, Ch. 2
Aug 26 — cont. (Responses on Hobbes, Hardin
1–2, Munger & Munger due)
Sep 12 — Why Bother With a Government At All?
Hardin, I&S, Ch. 3
Sep 14 — Climate Change as a Policy Problem: NASA
explainer on the effects of climate change
Sep 16 — cont.: Jamieson, "Ethics, Public Policy,
and Global Warming" (responses on Hardin Ch. 3 due)
Sep 19–23 — cont.: Gardiner, "A Perfect Moral
Storm" (responses on Jamieson and Gardiner due)
Sep 28 — The Perils of Moralism: Hardin,
I&S, Ch. 6 (response on Hardin Ch. 6 due Sep
30)
Oct 3 — Cost-Benefit Analysis: Oster, "Schools
Aren't Super-Spreaders"; Cartus and Feldman, "Motivated Reasoning"
Oct 5 — cont.: Heath, "Cost-Benefit Analysis as an
Expression of Liberal Neutrality"
Oct 7 — Hardin, I&S, Ch. 4
(responses on Hardin and Heath due)
Oct 10–14 — Risk: Sunstein, Laws of Fear,
Ch. 1–2 (responses on Sunstein)
Oct 17 — Risk cont.: Thoma, "Time for Caution"
(response on Thoma due Oct 21)
Oct 24 — Writing Workshop: Pryor, "How to Write a
Philosophy Paper"
Oct 26 — Who Owes What to Whom? Gardiner, "Ethics
and Global Climate Change"
Oct 31 — cont.: Goodin and Barry, "Benefiting From
the Wrongdoing of Others"
Nov 2 — cont.: Gerschenkron, "Economic Backwardness
in Historical Perspective" (responses on Gardiner, Goodin &
Barry, Gerschenkron due Nov 4)
Nov 7–14 — Students' choice (TBA)
Nov 16–21 — Slack (drafts due Nov 18)
Nov 28 — Peer Review Day
Nov 30 — Final Review
Final paper due Monday, December 5, at midnight.
Course learning objectives (value-theory and
Power/Difference/Inequality gen-ed outcomes) and UNC institutional
boilerplate (attendance policy, Honor Code, ARS, CAPS, Title IX, etc.)
included in the distributed syllabus; omitted here for brevity.