MLA Proseminar: Problems of Global Justice

This is a seminar on applied political philosophy.  Our goal is to see how philosophical arguments, analysis and inquiry can help us understand and address some pressing real world issues.  We will focus on a range of international problems and challenges, such as war and security, health and pandemics, and climate change and biodiversity conservation.  Examples of the normative questions that we will examine include: Under what conditions is a war justified?  What are the moral constraints on military conduct in a justified war?  Can going to war be an obligation?  Is vaccine nationalism justifiable?  How do we balance our responsibility to mitigate global poverty and our collective responsibility to address climate change? Readings will include problems-oriented seminal philosophical writings on these topics and more recent contributions.