Course Code: GPOL 220
Academic Year: 2024-2025
Since the dawn of civilization, people have lived under the rule of law. But who should make these laws, and which ones are just? While there is no consensus on these inescapable questions, it is the task of political philosophy to investigate the fundamental principles that form the basis of our shared, public life. This course will help students to reflect on the underlying assumptions about the principles that guide political activity in democratic and non-democratic societies alike. Other foundational questions, like why we should obey the law, who a citizen is, to what degree should government regulate lives of individuals, and whether the state should be concerned with happiness of individuals, will be posed through a close inspection of the major works of western political theory.