FSEM 157   Political Philosophy

Faculty Profile for Professor McCabe

Contemporary politics is a mess. In recent years the foundations of our common political life have come under challenge in ways that seem to endanger many of the ideals (e.g., rule of law, democracy, equality, justice) that are central to a healthy politics. In such conditions it becomes all the more urgent to understand the basic goals that political life serves, and to get clarity on the central questions raised by life under political institutions. For example, why are citizens obliged to follow the state's commands? How far should individual liberty extend? Is democracy really an appealing form of political decision-making? What are the different forms oppression can take, and how might we best combat them? Such questions have been central to the tradition of political philosophy for more than two thousand years, and in this course students draw on the work of political theorists (both old and new) in an attempt to answer them. Students who successfully complete this seminar earn credit for PHIL 121 and can satisfy the human thought and expression areas of inquiry requirement or the confronting collective challenges liberal arts practice.

David McCabe, the Richard J and Joan Head Chair in Philosophy, has taught in the philosophy department at Colgate since 1994. He teaches courses primarily in political philosophy, ethics, and aesthetics, and his scholarship focuses on contemporary political philosophy. He has two children and lives in Hamilton.