PHIL 021. Social and Political Philosophy

How should we punish criminals? What immigration policy should we have? Is socioeconomic redistribution required domestically? Globally? What do we owe to those who have suffered injustices? Who should have the right to vote?
One prominent way to think about these questions-to think about the rights and duties that we have, and the institutions that we ought to support-is the social contract. The primary goal of this course is to introduce you to social contract theory and the main debates in analytical political philosophy. We will consider how social contract theory has been applied to a variety of questions, and we will consider critiques of social contract theory.
PHIL distribution - V
Prerequisite: First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GLBL-core, PPE.
Fall 2026. Vergara.
Catalog chapter: Philosophy
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy

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