GOVT S-10: Introduction to Political Philosophy

Harvard University Summer School 2016

Mondays and Wednesdays, 12:00 – 3:00pm

****DRAFT VERSION—NOT FOR CLASS USE****

Course Instructor: Dr Graeme Garrard

Email: garrardg@hotmail.com
Tel: 857 998-2931

‘I presuppose, of course, a reader who is willing to learn something new and therefore to think for
himself’ (Karl Marx, Das Capital)

Course Content
This course introduces four core concepts in Western political philosophy: truth, happiness, liberty and
equality, and examines them from several different perspectives. It considers questions such as ‘what is
the relationship between truth and politics?’, ‘what liberties can citizens rightfully claim?’, ‘equality of
what?’ and ‘should the state promote happiness?’ Readings include such classic writers as Plato,
Machiavelli, Hobbes, Marx, Kant and John Stuart Mill, as well as works by twentieth century political
philosophers such as Isaiah Berlin, Charles Taylor and Peter Singer. No philosophical background is
presumed. This is a college-level course, taught and assessed at that level. It conforms to Harvard
University’s usual term-time standards and will be evaluated accordingly.

Course Structure and Requirements

Each lecture by the course instructor will be divided (roughly) into two parts, with a 10-minute break
between them. These will be informal lectures in which students are welcome to ask questions, subject to
constraints of time and relevance. You will also meet separately with the course teaching assistant once a
week in smaller groups for a discussion class about the readings and lectures. These will be arranged
during the first lecture. Attendance at both lectures and discussion classes is not optional. Harvard
Summer School expects credit students to be active and engaged participants. If you are registered in this
course for undergraduate or graduate credit you must attend all classes or participate online as a distance
student, take all exams, and complete all coursework on time. Students are prohibited from using
recording devices of any kind without the instructor’s explicit approval.

You will be required to submit two essays (due by noon on 7th July and by noon on 21st July) and a final
examination (on 1st August). The first essay will be 1500 words long and worth 20% of your final grade
for the course, the second will be 2000 words and worth essay 40%, and the final examination 40%. If
you are unable to meet these deadlines, then you must notify the course instructor in advance. Instructors
are not permitted to administer final exams early or at a special time to accommodate the needs of
individual students, so please do not ask. If, for any (legitimate) reason, you are unable to attend the final
exam, then you will need to contact the Summer School in advance.

Course Text
The following paperback book is available for purchase at the Coop:
• Plato, The Trial and Death of Socrates, trans. G. M. A. Grube (Hackett Publishing). Price: $6

All of the other assigned readings are available electronically.

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Plagiarism and Academic Integrity

Harvard Summer School expects you to understand and maintain high standards of academic integrity.
Breaches of academic integrity are subject to review and disciplinary action.

Plagiarism is the theft of someone else’s ideas and work. It is the incorporation of facts, ideas, or specific
language that are not common knowledge, are taken from another source, and are not properly cited.
Whether you copy verbatim or simply rephrase the ideas of another without properly acknowledging the
source, the theft is the same. In the preparation of work submitted to meet course requirements you must
take great care to distinguish your own ideas and language from information derived from sources.
Sources include published and unpublished primary and secondary materials, the Internet, and
information and opinions of other people. Two publications, prepared by the Harvard College Expository
Writing Program, are recommended for reference: Writing with Sources: A Guide for Harvard Students
and Writing with Internet Sources: A Guide for Harvard Students are both available on the Summer
School Writing Center website (http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/)

See http://www.summer.harvard.edu/policies#integ

In cases of suspected plagiarism, student papers may be submitted to a private contracted service that
reviews content for originality. Results from this review may be used to inform the Dean of Students
Office in its inquiry. Papers submitted to this service are retained by that company and become part of
their database of materials used in future searches. No personal identifying information is submitted or
retained by the service.

Collaboration on assignments is prohibited unless explicitly permitted by the instructor. You may not
copy another student’s assignment or exam. To avoid any suggestions of improper behavior during an
exam, you should not communicate with other students during the exam. Neither should you refer to any
books, papers, or use electronic devices during the exam without the permission of the instructor or
proctor. All electronic devices must be turned off during an exam.

You are expected to submit work that is done solely for each course in which you enroll. Prior written
permission of all instructors is required if you wish to submit the same or similar work in more than 1
course.

For a more detailed account of the University’s academic policies and student responsibilities, see the
following website: http://www.summer.harvard.edu/policies/student-responsibilities#integ

Services for students with documented disabilities are approved and coordinated by Accessibility
Services. Students with accessibilities issues should get in touch with the Accessibility Services office at
Accessibility@dcemail.harvard.edu or 617-998-9640.

Assessment
Grades are defined as follows:
A, A– Work whose superior quality indicates a full mastery of the
subject and, in the case of A, work of extraordinary distinction. There
is no grade of A+.
B+, B, B– Work of good to very good quality throughout the term
that, however, does not merit special recognition.
C+, C, C– Work exhibiting an average command of the course material.
D+, D, D– Work exhibiting a deficient knowledge of course material.
E Work that deserves no academic credit.
*** An interim grade assigned to students with cases pending before the
Administrative Board
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Lectures and Readings

I. Introduction
Mon June 20 What is Political Philosophy?
Gerald Gaus, ‘Conceptual Disputes’, pp. 26 – 45.

II. Truth
Wed June 22 Lying for the Public Good
Plato, Republic, pp. 107, 220 – 27 (Book 7, 514a – 520a; 414b – e)
Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, pp. 251 – 2
The Discourses, pp. 252 – 3
Sissela Bok, ‘Lies for the Public Good’, pp. 165 – 81.

Mon June 27 Means and Ends

Brad Hooker, ‘Consequentialism’, pp. 1 – 4
Roger Crisp, ‘Deontological Ethics’, pp. 1 – 2
Immanuel Kant, ‘On the Supposed Right to Lie From Altruistic Motives’, pp. 1 – 4
David Shugarman, ‘Democratic Dirty Hands?’, pp. 229 – 49

Wed June 29 Philosophy versus Politics

Plato, The Apology of Socrates, in The Trial and Death of Socrates
Plato, Meno, pp. 61 – 7, 113 – 117

III. Happiness
Mon July 4 Greatest Happiness of the Greatest Number
Aristotle, ‘The End of Human Nature’, pp. 185 – 9
Jeremy Bentham, ‘The Principle of Utility’, pp. 306 – 10
‘Pushpin and Poetry’, pp. 199 – 200
John Stuart Mill, ‘Higher and Lower Pleasures’, pp. 201 – 5
John Stuart Mill, Autobiography, pp. 85 – 6
Peter Singer, ‘Killing Humans and Killing Animals’, pp. 112 – 22

Wed July 6 Happiness and Human Nature

Richard Layard, Happiness: Lessons From a New Science, pp. 41 – 53, 55 – 75

Mon July 11 Against Happiness

Aldous Huxley, ‘The Right to be Unhappy’, Brave New World, pp. 220 – 24
Jonny Anomaly, ‘Nietzsche’s Critique of Utilitarianism’, pp. 1 – 15
Immanuel Kant, ‘Pure Practical Reason and the Moral Law’, pp. 123 – 29

IV. Liberty
Wed July 13 Negative and Positive Liberty
Thomas Hobbes, ‘Of the Liberty of Subjects’, pp. 88 – 9.
Isaiah Berlin, ‘Two Concepts of Liberty’, pp. 33 – 57.
Charles Taylor, ‘What’s Wrong with Negative Liberty’, pp. 141 – 62

Mon July 18 The Scope of Liberty I

John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, chaps. 1 – 3

Wed July 20 The Scope of Liberty II

John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, chaps 4 – 5
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Joel Feinberg, ‘Harm and Offence’, pp. 437 – 40.

V. Equality
Mon July 25 Equality of What?
Norman Daniels, ‘Equality of What?’, pp. 273 – 96.
Karl Marx, ‘From Each According to His Abilities…’, pp. 231 – 33
David Hume, ‘The Impossibility of Equality’, pp. 229 – 31

Wed July 27 Equality, Luck and Responsibility

Ronald Dworkin, ‘Equality of Resources’, pp. 248 – 54.
Nicholas Barry, ‘Defending Luck Egalitarianism’, pp. 89 – 107

Exam
Mon Aug 1 Final Exam. This is a ‘closed book’ exam. Students may not consult notes, books,
articles or online/computer sources during the exam.

The Short Undergraduate Essay

Purpose
The purpose of the essay is to defend a position by making arguments and presenting evidence that
support it. After researching the topic and deciding which position you will be defending, you must plan
your essay. This involves deciding what arguments you will be presenting in defence of your position,
and what evidence you will use to support those arguments. You should present arguments designed to
persuade a moderately sceptical reader, so it is vital that your essay is clearly written, logically structured
and persuasively argued. Planning will help you to achieve this. The three parts of an essay are:
Introduction, Main Body, and Conclusion.

The Introduction
The most important part of your essay. It introduces the reader to your essay by stating, in a bold and
clear fashion, what it will do. Avoid writing in vague and general terms; get straight to the point. State
your position and summarise your argument, preferably by outlining the structure of your essay. You
should also define important terms and deal with general contextual issues at this point, if they are
relevant, although these can equally be done at the beginning of the main body.

The Main Body

The arguments in defence of your position are presented here, backed up by evidence and logical
argument and analysis. Each argument should be clearly differentiated, by stating the point you are trying
to make in a straight-forward way at the beginning of each section of the main body. It should always be
clear to the reader why you are saying what you are saying (i.e. how it fits into the overall structure of
your argument, and how it advances your case). The evidence that you cite should always relate directly
to the point you are trying to make.

The Conclusion
You should summarise the principal argument presented in the main body of the essay, to remind the
reader of your position and how the evidence supports it. You may also wish to mention some of the
broader implications of your argument, although this is not always necessary.

Form/Style
One who forms a judgement on any point, but who cannot explain himself clearly to the people,
might as well have never thought at all on the subject (Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian
War)
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Essays marred by errors of grammar and spelling or poorly presented and stylistically deficient distract
the reader from the substance of your arguments and may obscure the point you are trying to make. The
most common problem is punctuation, which can be combatted by careful editing. Other problems, such
as spelling, are easily avoidable for essays that are word-processed. It is always a good idea to ask
someone else to read your paper with a view to spotting errors of form and weaknesses in your argument.

Students may wish to avail themselves of the University’s Language Resource Centre for advice about
essay writing and related matters. The LRC website is: lrc.fas.harvard.edu.