Dept Sem:Pol Theory Honors Sem

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This is the advanced political theory seminar for Honors students in the Government department. This year the theme of the course is knowledge in a scientific age. It is designed to provide students with an opportunity to reflect together on issues in the development of the scientific enterprise, from a broad historical perspective. The course is designed as a supplement to Elements of Political Theory, and will culminate in a major research paper, on a topic of students’ choosing, but relating to the intersection of politics and science in the contemporary world. We will begin the course with a brief consideration of some of the political problems that attend the human effort to understand the world. Why has knowledge traditionally be seen as dangerous? How can scientific authority be consistent with democratic principles? We will then turn to explore the foundations of the modern sciences through a study of some of the key works of Francis Bacon. What was the scope of his vision for modern science, and what was his original vision for a scientific politics? What were some of the hopes that attended the scientific revolution, and what were some of the anticipated dangers? The second half of the course will involve a survey of alternative perspectives on scientific advancement. We will ask, along with Rousseau, whether scientific advancement necessarily brings ethical improvement. We will ask, along with some of the American Founders, what the role of science should be in the American context. We will ask, along with Weber and Nietzsche, whether science and ethics can ever be separated, and we will ask, along with Heidegger, about the meaning and power of technology. By way of conclusion, we will consider what kinds of new political institutions might be needed in an age of increasing scientific complexity.