Social Philosophy Summer I 2018 Dr. Steve Best Answer THREE OUT OF SIX of the following questions, choosing as you like, but answer all parts of the questions your choose. Write 5-7 double-spaced pages total(not per question), using 12 point font; do not type the questions into your exam, just answer them. Write clear and complete responses, and apply philosophical critical thinking tools. Quote enough from the primary readings from the syllabus to establish that you have done the work, but not so much that you are “padding” your response with quotes that are too long. Work the material smoothly into your responses, and cite the reference in an endnote, no particularly formatting style is required. If you use secondary sources, be sure to ably paraphrase them, or if you quote them, cite the entire source in an endnote. Do not plagiarize! I will know, verify, and report your work to the Dean of Students. Write original work not copied from any Internet or other source, and very different from any other student in the class. You may dram from what you already posted in the discussion forum. **************************************** 1) Describe the conditions underlying the rise and fall of democracy in ancient Greece. At what point in the decline of Greek democracy do Socrates and Plato come in, and why were they advancing a return to aristocratic elitism rather than enthusiastic supporters of direct democracy? How can the classical anarchist vision of society (e.g., Kropotkin, Bakunin, and Goldman) be compared to Athenian direct democracy? 2) Extreme pacifists reject the concept of just war and all justifications for violence. Do you agree with this? Discuss the historical origins and meaning of the concept of “just war.” Give examples of wars or conflicts involving violence you think are (a) just AND (b) unjust, providing you are using to discriminate. 3) What is your view on the “free speech right” of the KKK to spread their “hate speech” through marches and speeches in predominantly Jewish and Black communities? In what case was this considered in the Supreme Court? If you sat on the bench of that court, what would be you ruling and why? 4) Critically contrast the negative stereotype that prevails in our society, which brands anarchism as mere chaos and lack of government, with the way that actual anarchist such as Kropotkin and Goldman, portrayed anarchism as a positive concept of society, self-government, and individual freedom. Reflect on the disparity in these two concepts of anarchism. 5) What is the Marxist/socialist critique of capitalism? Where do you think this critique is accurate or a useful critical theory, and what criticisms of differences do you have with this critique? How did John Dewey mediate between the two social perspectives to advance a strong reformist vision that sought substantive change within capitalism? 6) Compare and contrast the two different versions of social contract theory one finds in Hobbes and Rousseau, noting how their different views on human nature led to different political visions. Readings • “Presocratics” • • • • • • • • “The Pre-Socratics – From Natural to Ethical Philosophy” “Greek Thought: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle” “Ancient Political Philosophy” “Socrates” “Plato’s Political Philosophy” Plato, “The Allegory of the Cave” (from Book VII of The Republic) “Aristotle” “Aristotle’s Political Theory” Readings • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • “Medieval Political Philosophy” “Augustine’s Political and Social Philosophy” “Just War Theory” “Introduction to Just War Theory” (rich collection of essays and resources) Howard Zinn, “Just and Unjust War” Chris Hedges, “War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning” (video lecture) “Niccolò Machiavelli” “Hobbes: Moral and Political Philosophy” “Jean-Jacque Rousseau” “Social Contract Theory” Peter Kropotkin, “Anarchism” Kropotkin, “Anarchism: Its Philosophy and Ideal” Bakunin, God and the State Emma Goldman, “The Individual, Society, and the State” Emma Goldman, “Anarchism: What It Really Stands For” “Freedom of Speech” “Pornography and Censorship” “Mill’s Moral and Political Philosophy” “The First Amendment and You” “Pacifism” “Civil Disobedience” “Henry David Thoreau” Henry David Thoreau, On Civil Disobedience [entire text] “Mahatma Gandhi” King: “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King, “Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam” (Video) Malcolm X: “The Ballot or the Bullet” Denis Rancourt, “Roundabout as Conflict-avoidance versus Malcolm X’s Psychology of Liberation” “Justice” Milton Friedman, “Defending Capitalism” (video) “Capitalism vs. Socialism” George Carlin, “The Real Owners of the World” (video) “Karl Marx” Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto (entire text, focus on parts 1&2) Robert Jensen, “Anti-Capitalism in Five Minutes or Less” “Income Gap Between Rich and Poor Is Highest in Decades, Data Shows” “John Dewey” • • • • • • • • • • • • “Dewey’s Political Philosophy” “What is Civilization?” “Nietzsche, Freud and the Thrust Toward Modernism” “The Revolt Against the Western Intellectual Tradition: Friedrich Nietzsche and the Birth of Modernism” “Civilization and its Discontents” “Freud, Civilization and its Discontents, 1930 (excerpt)” “Civilization and its Discontents” (excerpt) Jared Diamond, “The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race” Richard Heinberg, “The Primitivist Critique of Civilization” John Moore, “A Primitivist Primer” John Zerzan, “Future Primitive” “Gross National Happiness,” Clamor Magazine, Issue 35.5, January/February 2006