Political Theory and Philosophy

Pre-approved Topic List

1. What justifies the authority of the state? What are the problems associated with social life in the absence of government (i.e. a state of nature)? How does the “social contract” proposed by the likes of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau work as a solution to these problems?
2. What are the supreme principles (if any) that should guide our moral conduct? Do they admit of exceptions?
3. What is implicit bias? Should we blame agents for having implicit biases even if they are outside their control?
4. Can we explain the various aspects of social reality purely in terms of individual beliefs, actions and intentions? Or does an adequate explanation of social reality require reference to social phenomena such as organizations, social structures and social laws?
5. Is morality merely a matter of personal (or group) opinion? Or are there objective moral facts that transcend cultures and historical eras?
6. What are the basic liberties that a just society should secure? Is being free not having others interfere with one’s personal affairs? Or is it to have the capacity to make one’s own laws by participating in the collective process of government? Or is freedom a matter of not being subject to the arbitrary power of the state and/or other subjects?
7. What is the role of privileges or unearned advantages in sustaining systems of oppression?
8. What are our moral duties regarding injustices in which we participate indirectly (e.g. buying clothes produced in sweatshops)?
9. Are we morally responsible for the moral failures of our ancestors (e.g. colonization, slavery, the Holocaust)? What about the present-day consequences of their moral failures?
10. What are some convincing argument for the right to reparations for African-Americans?
11. Why are epistemic virtues such as humility, open-mindedness, and curiosity important for our life in community?
12. What is the importance of public deliberation and disagreement for a democratic society?
13. Can people be willfully ignorant? If so, how does willful ignorance contribute to the maintenance of social injustice?
14. Given that science has ruled out the existence of biological races, should we give up the concept of race? Or is there a plausible non-biological concept of race that can contribute to a better understanding of racial relations?
15. What is the difference between race, ethnicity and nationality?
16. Is racism a matter of individual beliefs, intentions and actions, or can racism also take place at the level of institutions and social structures?
17. What is intersectionality? How does it contribute to a better understanding of gender, race and class?
18. What is work? What is meaningful work? How might we make work more meaningful?
19. Is work an oppressive institution? Can we make work (more) free? How?
20. What is a Universal Basic Income? What are the best arguments in favor of UBI and what are the strongest objections?
21. What is care-work? How does the distribution of responsibility for care
22. Is work becoming more “precarious”? How do we weigh the benefits of flexible work up against the perils of precarity?
23. What is civil disobedience? When, if ever, is civil disobedience justified?
24. How should the climate justice movement think about the use of civil disobedience? Might there be arguments for going even further? What about uncivil disobedience?
25. On revolution, with a focus on Hannah Arendt: Why did Arendt favor the American over the French revolution? What does it tell us about her conception of modern politics?
26. What is an oligarchy? Is the US an oligarchy? What can be done to make an oligarchy more democratic?

Political Theory and Law

1. What justifies a constitutional court’s power to strike down laws passed by an elected legislature? When, if ever, is judicial review undemocratic?
2. What is the purpose of punishment: retribution, deterrence, or rehabilitation? How would each answer change what a just criminal law system looks like?
3. Are human rights universal, or are they the product of particular cultures and histories? What would it mean to take both claims seriously?
4. Should free speech protect hateful or false speech? Where, if anywhere, should the law draw the line, and who should decide?
5. Do rivers, forests, and ecosystems deserve legal rights, as some legal systems have begun to grant? What does this tell us about who counts as a rights-holder?
6. Is the rule of law compatible with emergency powers? What can a government legitimately suspend in a crisis such as a pandemic or a terror threat?
7. Should Indigenous legal traditions be recognized as a source of law alongside state law? What does justice demand toward peoples whose legal orders pre-date the state?

Political Theory and Religion

1. Is the natural world sacred? How do different religious traditions understand humans’ duty toward nature, and should those duties shape environmental policy?
2. Can religion and science give compatible accounts of the world, or do they answer different questions? What do conflicts such as the one over evolution in schools show about how each claims authority?
3. Can a democracy be built on religious foundations and still protect minorities? What do countries with state religions and countries with strict secularism each get right and wrong?
4. Why do religious and ethnic identities so often become tied to nationalism? Is a “national religion” a source of unity or a way to exclude?
5. Why do religious leaders and parties get involved in development, such as schools, hospitals, and aid? Does this help or limit the state’s role?
6. What should the relationship between the state and religion be: separation, accommodation, or establishment? Which model best protects both freedom of belief and equal citizenship?
7. Should the law ever limit religious practice, for example on dress, medical care, or education? Who gets to decide where freedom ends and harm begins?
8. Should believers and non-believers be treated equally in public life? What does a fair public square look like for people with no religion at all?
9. Can interfaith dialogue reduce conflict? What would it take for peacemaking led by religious leaders to succeed where diplomats fail?
10. How does religious or ethnic identity shape the way people view out-groups? What can be done to reduce prejudice and conflict in a divided society?
11. When religious or ethnic groups are targeted, does the international community have a special responsibility to protect them? How should outsiders weigh the risks of intervening against the risks of doing nothing?