Philosophy Politics Economics

It will explore some of the central questions and methods of philosophy, political science, and economics, and consider how they can be mobilized together to help analyze and respond to concrete social problems.

The course will begin with three seminal texts from the history of social thought: Plato's Republic (philosophy), Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan (political science), and Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations (economics). By engaging with these texts, we will see how the three disciplines differ: philosophy seems to be concerned with how things ought to be - and political science and economics, in different ways, with how human beings, human institutions, and human interactions are. Yet we will also see how they relate to and interact with one another - for example, how philosophy cannot answer how things ought to be without considering how human beings are, how political science cannot offer insights into how political institutions should be designed without considering what the purpose of human cooperation ought to be, and how economics cannot enhance our understanding of how resources can be efficiently allocated without considering the nature of political constraints and, indeed, the purpose of efficient resource allocation.

Afterwards, we will investigate how philosophy, political science, and economics might help us investigate key social questions and problems. Are human beings individualistic or social? In what sense are human beings rational? Why should human beings cooperate, and how should they go about cooperating? Is racial and ethnic equality something we should strive for, and what are some of its obstacles? What are the proper roles of markets and public policy? In considering these questions, we will encounter core normative and empirical methodological concepts and tools, such as conceptual analysis, thought experiments, rational choice theory, game theory, political sociology, collective action, and public choice.