Contemporary Civilization

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Essentially a "Great Books" of philosophy class, spanning two semesters, usually taken sophomore year.

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  • God created man, twice.
  • God gave the ten commandments, twice.
  • Make kings philosophers or philosophers kings.
  • Man is a political animal.
  • Jesus is a socialist.
  • Jihad isn't what you think it is.
  • The end is nigh! Oops, it's not. Better recast Christianity as a long term thing.
  • I am thinking therefore I am.
  • Christianity is corrupt. It needs modest reforms.
  • How to stay in power: it's appearances that count.
  • Life is brutish and short. So men form states with social contracts.
  • Actually, men cooperate by their very nature.

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  • What is Enlightenment? It's good.
  • Why do we have morals? Utility, experience, sympathy.
  • Countries get rich by specializing, not hoarding gold.
  • Society gives rise to inequality. Let's be cavemen once again.
  • Or we could have a social contract like those Genevans.
  • I can't let you do that. If I did, I'd have to let everyone else do it.
  • Independence, it's self-evident.
  • New laws after the exodus.
  • The French Revolution is ugly.
  • Give women more freedom so that they can better serve their men.
  • What's so great about America? Democracy.
  • People shouldn't follow Smith's self-interest, nor Hume's sympathy. They should show disinterested benevolence. There are better tools than whips and scourges to discourage crime; namely, peer pressure.
  • The Spirit drives world history.
  • No no no, the dialectic is the other way around! Ideology doesn't drive the material world. Instead, material conditions drive ideology. Revolution!
  • Blacks are oppressed; whites wage wars.
  • Might makes right.
  • Your human psyche is probably disturbed. You need a dose of psychoanalysis, delving into the darkest depths of your molested childhood.
  • Maybe we sort out civilization in the same way?
  • Three tales of poverty.
  • Let's consider justice before even being born.

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