PHIL 213(F) Authority and Freedom

A once popular button proclaimed "Question Authority!" Should we always question our authorities? Perhaps it would be better, even more rational, sometimes just to trust a person whom we regard as a religious, moral, or scientific authority. What, if anything, might justify the common human inclination to rely on "authorities?" Do we compromise our freedom whenever we heed the word of such authorities? This is the central question of the class, but another, related question is what, if anything, justifies political authority. Many different religious traditions have seen political authorities as either divine or appointed by divinities; a central project of the Enlightenment has been to undermine this notion of sacral authority. We will consider the notion of sacral authority in such different settings as ancient Israel, eighteenth century France, and nineteenth century Bali, and then ask what, if anything, can replace the sacred as a justification for political authority. Is political authority of any kind perhaps inimical to freedom? We will look at Robert Paul Wolff's radical claim that it is. Readings for the class will include selections from the Hebrew Bible, from the philosophers Aquinas, Kant, Hegel, Hannah Arendt and Joseph Raz, from Tolstoy's War and Peace, from the anthropologist Clifford Geertz, and from the historians Robert Darnton, Simon Schama, and Gordon Wood. Philosophy 213 is part of the new Leadership Studies cluster, but also serves as a course in political and moral philosophy, and should be of interest to a variety of students in history, religion, and anthropology/sociology. Requirements: four short papers (3-4 pages); one class presentation. (This course is part of the new Leadership Studies cluster.)

Hour: FLEISCHACKER