Philosophy 108: Moral and Social Problems

 

Instructor: Gary Zabel, Ph.D
Philosophy Department Phone: (617) 287-6530
E-mail Address:
gary.zabel@umb.edu
Office Hours: Mon, Wed 2 to 3
5th Floor of Wheatley, Room 040

 

The purpose of this course is to provide students with the opportunity to investigate, discuss, and debate some of the moral and social problems raised by the assertion, expansion, and possible disintegration of imperial power in the 21st Century. We will begin with an historical analogy to our current period - namely, the development of ethical responses in ancient philosophy to the fall of the independent Greek city-states and the rise of empires based first in Macedonia and later in Rome. We will then examine the unique moral difficulties raised by the assertion of imperial power over the last 200 years, especially in the form of war and refugee crises. Finally, we will consider the attempt by imperial powers to control their domestic populations through the development of new techniques of incarceration, surveillance, and biological intervention.

Requirements:

1)     Take-home exam
2)
     10 to 15 page paper
3)     Regular class attendance and participation

Grading: The exam constitutes 25% of your final grade, the paper 60%, and class attendance and participation 15%.

Readings: All readings are on this website and can be accessed through the links below. You will need Adobe Reader in order to read the PDF files. If you don't already have it, you can get it free at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Take Home Midterm

Final Paper

All Lectures 


 

1. Ethics in the Age of Empire

Epicureanism

Stoicism

2. Empire, War, and Refugees

Kant: Perpetual Peace

Hobsbawm: Barbarism A User’s Guide

Habermas: A Political Constitution for a Pluralist World Society

Agamben: We Refugees

3. Punishment, Surveillance, and Bio-Power

The Eye of Power (1974), Excerpt

Discipline & Punish (1975), Torture

Discipline & Punish (1975), Panopticism

The Subject and Power (1982)

Escalating Police Surveillance.pdf

Chip on My Shoulder

Amgaben: Bodies Without Words - Against the Biopolitical Tatoo