PPE COURSES
The following are the set of courses which originate in PPE or are cross-listed by PPE. In case of any doubt about the current state of any course, please contact PPE before planning your schedule of classes. A seminar course is indicated by 'SM' and cross-listings are indicated within parantheses. Course numbers are arranged in ascending order, and should be prefaced with PPE to arrive at the official course number.
Introductory Courses
008 (PHIL008) The Social Contract (B) Gen Req I: May be counted towards the General Requirement in Society. Freeman.
This course examines the history and significance of social contract doctrine for modern social and political thought. In particular, the works of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, J.J. Rousseau, and John Rawls will be studied. We also study the utilitarian critique of social contract doctrine and the utilitarian views of David Hume, Adam Smith and J.S. Mill.
030 (ECON 30) Public Policy Analysis
Prerequisite(s): ECON 001 and 002. Credit cannot be received for both ECON 030 and 231.
This course provides an introduction to the economic method for analyzing public policy questions. It develops the implications of this method for the role of government in a market economy and for the analysis of specific public projects.
033 (ECON 33) Labor Economics
Prerequisite(s): ECON 001 and 002. Credit cannot be received for both ECON 033 and 233.
The course begins with an extensive discussion of models of labor market demand and supply. The rest of the course addresses a variety of related topics including the school-to-work transition, job training, employee benefits, the role of labor unions, discrimination, workforce diversity, poverty, and public policy.
034 (ECON 034) Economics of Family & Gender
Prerequisite(s): ECON 001, 002, and 103.
The course will use economic theory and econometric analysis to explore issues regarding decision making and allocation of resources within the family. The impact of gender roles and differences on economic outcomes will be discussed. We will study some feminist criticism of the economic tools for understanding household allocations and gender differences. The US economy will serve as the reference point though developing countries will also be discussed.
035 (ECON 35) Industrial Organization
Prerequisite(s): ECON 001 and 002. Credit cannot be received for both ECON 035 and 235.
Theories of various industrial organizational structures and problems are developed, including monopoly, oligopoly, moral hazard and adverse selection. These theories are then applied to the study of various industries, antitrust cases, and regulatory issues.
036 (ECON 36) Law and Economics
Prerequisite(s): ECON 001 and 002. Credit cannot be received for both ECON 036 and 234.
The relationship of economic principles to law and the use of economic analysis to study legal problems. Topics will include: property rights and intellectual property; analysis of antitrust and economic analysis of legal decision making.
072 (Phil 72) Biomedical Ethics (Martin)
A survey of moral problems in medicine and biomedical research. Problems discussed include: genetic manipulation, informed consent, infanticide, abortion, euthanasia, and the allocation of medical resources. Moral theory is presented with the aim of enabling students to think critically and analytically about moral issues. The need for setting biomedical issues in broader humanistic perspective is stressed.
101 The Nature of Reasoning (Sillari)
The Course explores inductive and deductive reasoning principles, as well as the common biases and mistakes that mar individual reasoning processes. The course will also explore practical reasoning -- i.e. decision-making -- both from normative and descriptive viewpoints.
110 Introduction to Decision Theory (Sen)
The course will provide an introduction to models of human decision making. One of the primary purposes of the course is to provide a set of basic tools that will help the student translate qualitative uncertainty into numbers. A substantial amount of the course will deal with the theory of rational choice in the presence of objective and subjective uncertainty. Rational choice under uncertainty is by far the most used theory of decision making, and its applications are widespread in economics, finance, political science, law, managerial decision making, the economics of health care,and artificial intelligence. The course will use examples heavily from each of these fields (and also fun “paradoxes” such as the Monty Hall Puzzle) in providing an introduction to the basic foundations of decision making. We will also look at the shortcomings of the theory: both from intuitive and empirical perspectives. Two alternative theories – Prospect Theory and decision making using the Dempster-Shafer rule will be discussed which address some of these concerns. No mathematical prerequisites are necessary beyond high school algebra and arithmetic.
111 Introduction to Game Theory (CGS) (Sen) (Replaced after summer 2008 with PPE 113)
This course will provide an example driven first course in Game Theory, with an emphasis on applications. We will look at game in strategic forms, games in extensive forms, static games, dynamic games, games of complete and incomplete information, Nash equilibrium, the plausibility of Nash equilibrium as a prediction of outcomes, and alternative equilibrium concepts such as rationalizability. These concepts will be taught at an intuitive level, accompanied by lots of class discussion and examples. The examples will be drawn from Economics, Political Science, Philosophy and Computer Science. Prerequisites: prior exposure to elementary (high school level) probability theory.
112 Networked Life (Kearns)
How does google find what you're looking for? Why do real estate values rise or plummet in certain neighborhoods? Do people act rationally in economic and financial settings? Are you really only six friends away from Kevin Bacon? How does the stock market actually work? What do game theory and the Paris subway have to do with Internet routing? Networked Life will explore recent scientific efforts to explain social, econimic and technological structures -- and the way these structures interact -- on many different scales, from the behavior of individuals or small groups to that of complex networks such as the Internet and global economy.
113 Strategic Reasoning
This course is about strategically interdependent decisions. In such situations, the outcome of your actions depends also on the actions of others. When making your choice, you have to think what the others will choose, who in turn are thinking what you will be choosing, and so on. Game Theory offers several concepts and insights for understanding such situations, and for making better strategic choices. This course will introduce and develop some basic ideas from game theory, using illustrations, applications, and cases drawn from business, economics, politics, sports, and even fiction and movies. Some interactive games will be played in class. There will be little formal theory, and the only pre-requisite is some high-school algebra and having taken Econ 1. This course will also be accepted by the Economics department as an Econ course, to be counted toward the Minor in Economics (or as an Econ elective).
140 (CIS 140) Introduction to Cognitive Science (Ungar/Richards)
Prerequisite(s): An introductory course in Computer Science, Linguistics, Neuroscience, Philosophy or Psychology.
How do minds work? This course surveys a wide range of answers to this question from the disciplines ranging from philosophy to neuroscience. The course devotes special attention to the use of simple computational and mathematical models. Topics include perception, action, thought, learning, memory and social interaction.
153 (PSYCH 153) Judgements and Decisions (Baron)
Judgments, decisions under certainty and uncertainty, problem solving, logic, rationality, and moral thinking.
160 (PSYCH 165) Behavioral Economics and Psychology (Dana)
This course applies psychological research to economic theory, investigating what happens when agents have human limitations and complications. The effects of limited cognitive capacities, willpower, and self-interest will be considered. Particular emphasis will be given to strategic interaction. Prerequisites: Microeconomics.
180 (MATH 180) Analytical Methods in Economics, Law, and Medicine (Staff)
Elementary applications of decision analysis, game theory, probability and statistics to issues in accounting, contracting, finance, law, and medicine, amongst others.
Intermediate Courses
210 (LGST 210) Corporate Ethics
This course explores business responsibility from rival theoretical and managerial perspectives. Its focus includes theories of ethics and their application to case studies in business. Topics include moral issues in advertising and sales; hiring and promotion; financial management; corporate pollution; product safety; and decision-making across borders and cultures.
212 (LGST 212) Economic Analysis of Law
The course is designed to teach students how to think as an economist about legal rules; to evaluate alternative legal rules against standards of economic efficiency and distributive justice; and to understand the nature of the legal process and several specific areas of the law. With the use of alternative texts, both deductive and inductive reasoning will be employed to study the formation and interpretation of legal rules
225 (Phil 226) Philosophy of Biology (Weisberg)
Is there a science of psychology distinct from physiology? If there is, what is its subject matter? What is the relationship between scientific psychology and traditional philosophical investigation of the mental? Examination of these questions is followed by analysis of some concepts employed in cognitive psychology and cognitive science, particularly in the fields of perception and cognition.
226 (LGST 226) Markets, Morality and Capitalism (Hussain)
Markets, Morality and the Future of Capitalism is an undergraduate seminar designed to introduce students to the contemporary ethical debate surrounding the role that markets play in our lives. The guiding idea behind the class is that business leaders need to un- derstand something about the rationale for the basic institutions of economic life if they are going to address ethical issues that arise within these institutions in an intelligent way and if they are going to play a leadership role in shaping these institutions for generations to come.
M 231 History of Economic Theory (M) (Staff) For Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) Majors Only.
The Course explores the developement of economic theory for antiquity to the twentieth century. Students read and discuss a rich collection of writing from Aristotle and Aquinas to Marshall and Keynes, with special attention to Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and Karl Marx. The course pays special interdisciplinary attention to many historical (great events, social changes), political (governmental involvement in the economy, the process of democratization), and philosophical (theories of value, the notions of freedom,equality, and fairness) factors that shaped economic thinking and economy. Many fascinating questions are discussed. What are the economic values and goods? How are those goods created? How do we value them? What isthe role of labor in creating these goods? And what is the role of trade and money? What is the state's role? Wht is the role of freedom, equality, and other political values in the economic process? In the past, these questions were considered so important that the greatest thinkers and philosophers discussed them. The course attemps to illustrate that great tradition and attract students' attention to be fundamenetal economic concepts. In addition, the methodological evolution of the scientific status of economic theory is examined.
244 (Phil 244) Introduction to Philosophy of Mind (Camp)
This course deals with several problems that lie at the interface among philosophy, logic, linguistics, psychology, and computer science.
270 (PSCI 271) Constitutional Law (Smith)
This course explores the role of the U.S. Supreme Court in political struggles over the distribution and uses of power in the US constitutional system. Issues include the division of powers between the state and national governments, and the branches of the federal government; economic powers of private actors and governmental regulators; the authority of government to enforce or transform racial and gender hierarchies; and the powers of individuals to make basic choices, such as a woman's power to have an abortion. We will pay special attention to how the tasks of justifying the Supreme Court's own power, and constitutionalism more broadly, contribute to logically debatable but politically powerful constitutional arguments. Readings include Supreme Court decisions and background materials on their historical and political context.
271 Global Justice (Tan)
This course is sometimes offered as a Capstone seminar, in which case it would be labelled as PPE 475.
This course is an introduction to some of the central problems in global justice. Some of the topics that we will examine include realism, human rights,sovereignty and intervention economic justice, and war and morality. We will look at questions such as: Is it coherent to talk about global justice, or is the global arena essentially a Hobbesian state of nature? In what sense are human rights universal? Is the idea of universal rights compatible with the political sovereignty of states? What is the basis of this duty? What is a just war? What is terrorism, and what are the moral limits in combatting terrorism? Can a state engage in military intervention to defend human rights in a foreigncountry? Readings will be draw from contemporary authors such as Rawls, Walzer,and Sen, as well as historical figures like Kant and Hobbes. This course examines some of the common problems in global justice. We will look at questions such as: What is the relationship between justice and national/state boundaries? Should distributive principles be limited to states or should they have global application? What is a just war? What is the difference between war and terrorism? Do states have the right (or even duty) to intervene in another state to protect basic human rights? What are human rights? Are they universal, or should they be limited by cultural considerations?
272 Ethics and the Professions (Tan)
In this course, we examine the ethical issues and dilemmas that commonly arise in the professions, such as the law, medicine and healthcare, journalism, business, and public and civil service. The aim of this course is to introduce students to the moral issues and challenges that practitioners in different professions encounter and to examine how moral reasoning can help us understand and confront these challenges. The following philosophical themes will organize our discussion: collective responsibility, role and special obligations, institutions and personal responsibility, and the problem of moral conflict. Readings will be from philosophical texts and source, and also newspapers and popular periodicals and literary excerpts.
298 Study Abroad
299 Independent Study (C) (Staff)
Student arranges with a faculty member to pursue a program of reading and writing on a suitable topic.
301 Directed Honors Research (C) (Staff) Open only to senior majors in PPE.
Student arranges with a faculty member to do an honors thesis on a suitable topic.
320 Agent-Based Modeling for the Social Sciences (Gasper)
This is a discussion and project-based course that will provide you with a hands-on introduction to the field of agent-based modeling. An agent-based model is a tool used by social scientists to study how large-scale social dynamics result from micro-level individual behavior. In its basic form, a collection of individuals, or agents, are programmed into a computer, along with a simple behavioral algorithm describing how they act. The computer then allows the agents to interact (possibly in both space and time), and ultimately generates a social dynamic that can then be analyzed in terms of the behavioral rules.
In the social sciences many problems we are interested in involve group phenomena that may seem perplexing when viewed in the aggregate. Examples include fads, norms, segregation, stereotyping, and network formation. The goal of an agent-based model is to look at the micro-level decisions that people make – the decision to live close to a friend, slow down to take a look at an accident, arrive early to the theater to get a good seat, or return a phone call – and to study how these "small" decisions may have large and unintended consequences for society as a whole.
SM 377 (PHIL377) Philosophy and the Constitution (C) (Freeman) For Philosophy and Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) Majors Only.
The aim of this course is to investigate the philosophical background of our constitutional democracy. What is the appropriate role and limits of majority legislative rule? How are we to understand First Amendment protections of freedom of religion, speech, and assembly? What is the conception of equality that underlies the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause? Is there a right of privacy implicit in the Constitution? Do rights of property deserve the same degree of protection as other constitutional rights? To investigate these and other constitutional issues, we will read from both Supreme Court opinions and relevant philosophical texts.
Advanced Courses
417 (PHIL 417) Game Theory (Bicchieri)
The course will cover non-cooperative game theory with special attention to its epistemological foundations, such as: conceptions of rationality, common knowledge and common belief, belief revision and the rationale for different solution concepts. We will also cover behavioral game theory, and examine the alternative models of social preference that have been advanced to explain experimental data.
421 (Phil 421) Philosophy of Biology (Weisberg)
This course consists of a detailed examination of evolutionary theory and its philosophical foundations. The course beings with a consideration of Darwin's formulation of evolutionary theory and the main influences on Darwin. We will then consider two contemporary presentations of the theory Richard Dawkins' and Richard Lewontin's. The remainder of the course will deal with a number of foundational issues and may include discussions of adaptation, what constitutes a species, evolutionary progress, the concept of fitness, the units of selction, the alleged reduction of classical genetics to molecular genetics, and the possibility of grounding ethics in evolutionary theory. The evolution of altruism will also be discussed, time permitting.
SM 475 (PHIL475, PSCI475, PSCI495, PSYC475) Philosophy, Politics and Economics. (C) (Staff) PPE Capstone Seminar.
This is an integrative senior seminar - various topics will be offered from semester to semester.
475 Behavioral Ethics (C) (Bicchieri)
(Prerequisite: Phil 2)
This is a Capstone advanced research seminar directed at PPE students interested in interdisciplinary research in psychology, philosophy, social and cognitive science. Our focus will be on identifying and discussing issues of philosophical significance raised by recent work in moral psychology, experimental economics and behavioral decision making.
475 (PSYC253) Special Topics in Behavioral Law and Economics (C) (Baron)
Offered annually and counts as a Capstone seminar. Economic theory has invaded legal scholarship and law schools, in the form of "Law and Economics". But the psychology of judgments and decisions has invaded economic theory, showing that people do not follow the classic model of economic rationality. Many legal scholars, such as Cass Sunstein, claim to have started a new field called "Behavioral Law and Economics", which explores the implications of psychology for legal theory. This seminar will review basic readings in law and economics and then the recent literature on the relevance of psychology. Topics include risk regulation, liability, and regulation of political behavior.
475 Equality and Distributive Justice (Perry)
Our central concern in this course will be with the concept of equality as it figures in modern theories of distributive justice. We will also be considering the question of whether or not there is, as has sometimes been claimed, an unavoidable tension between the ideals of equality and liberty. We will begin with an overview of John Rawls’ landmark theory of justice. We will then consider the various normative and conceptual forms that egalitarianism can assume, taking as our point of departure work by Derek Parfit , Amartya Sen, and Ronald Dworkin. Next we will read an excerpt from Robert Nozick's Anarchy State and Utopia, which sets out the libertarian challenge to equality: Egalitarian and other patterned theories of distributive justice are, according to Nozick, incompatible with individual liberty. We will examine the so-called “luck-egalitarian” response to Nozick, focusing in particular on work by Dworkin and G.A. Cohen, and we will also consider critiques of luck-egalitarianism that have been advanced by Elizabeth Anderson and Samuel Scheffler. Finally, we will read excerpts from Cohen's book Self-Ownership, Freedom and Equality, in which Cohen offers an internal critique of Nozick's libertarian challenge.
475 (PSCI 598) The Politics of Contemporary Iraq (C) (O'Leary)
Much of what is written about Iraq’s past and present politics is highly disputed. That is not just because of the current conflicts, communal warfare, and sectarian expulsions, and the multiple political and partisan perspectives which analysts take. Iraq had no period of extended and meaningful political freedom between 1920 and 2003 that was sufficient to enable free historical and political published inquiry, subject to public debate and argument, and professional and peer evaluation. Many official publications, especially under the B‘athists, were propagandistic. Much of the best political analysis of Iraq was done by exiles, both Arabs and Kurds, subject to the limitations of the exiled condition. Many of the exiles in the west, for a long period, were highly influenced by Marxist political economy, and by internal factional disputes about the best strategy to overthrow the B‘athists. Others were highly influenced by Islam. We should take care to extract the factual assumptions from their ideological frames. We should not be dismissive of all past work, nor make the mistake of assuming what is most recently published is best. We simply have to take great critical care in our readings.
475 Punishment and Cooperation (C) (Xiao)
Punishment is an important tool for promoting cooperation in social environments including families, companies, markets and courts. This seminar uses experimental research in economics, law and psychology to explore critical issues in punishment and cooperation. Why do people sometimes incur costs to themselves in order to punish others? How do people behave under punishment threats? Why do punishment threats sometimes have detrimental effects on cooperation? How are emotions and punishment connected? Students will investigate these and related research questions.
475 Fairness and Altruism (C) (Dana)
Do people exhibit true concern for the welfare of others, without the promise of personal gain? This seminar draws on empirical research from economics and psychology on the nature of fairness and altruism. The impact of fairness concerns on microeconomic behavior will be examined, including individual choice behavior, possible market anomalies, and public policy.
PPE 475 Natural Justice (Sillari)
Why are norms of fairness and justice present in society? In this seminar we shall investigate and discuss answers to such questions, focusing on the view according to which norms of justice are a specific kind of human social behavior that has evolved over time. The analytic tools of evolutionary game theory will be used to support and substantiate such claims, in an interdisciplinary spirit aiming at bringing together topics and explanations from philosophy and economics. The structure of the seminar will follow Kenneth Binmore's book "Natural Justice", combining in each session readings from the book and readings from both philosophers and economists.
475 Global Justice (Tan)
This course is sometimes offered as a lower level course, in which case it would be labelled as PPE 271.
This course is an introduction to some of the central problems in global justice. Some of the topics that we will examine include realism, human rights,sovereignty and intervention economic justice, and war and morality. We will look at questions such as: Is it coherent to talk about global justice, or is the global arena essentially a Hobbesian state of nature? In what sense are human rights universal? Is the idea of universal rights compatible with the political sovereignty of states? What is the basis of this duty? What is a just war? What is terrorism, and what are the moral limits in combatting terrorism? Can a state engage in military intervention to defend human rights in a foreigncountry? Readings will be draw from contemporary authors such as Rawls, Walzer,and Sen, as well as historical figures like Kant and Hobbes. This course examines some of the common problems in global justice. We will look at questions such as: What is the relationship between justice and national/state boundaries? Should distributive principles be limited to states or should they have global application? What is a just war? What is the difference between war and terrorism? Do states have the right (or even duty) to intervene in another state to protect basic human rights? What are human rights? Are they universal, or should they be limited by cultural considerations?
475 Social Choice and Democratic Theory (Nagel)
The purpose of the seminar will be to explore two radically different images of democratic politics that have emerged from social choice theory, the formal study of how individual preferences aggregate to make collective decisions. If political choice occurs across one dimension (such as the traditional left-right ideological spectrum), the theory yields a majority choice at the position favored by the median voter, which, under certain circumstances, will also be a winning, equilibrium strategy in elections and other decisions made by voting. This result has powerful practical, normative, and scientific implications.
This course is intended primarily as a capstone senior seminar for majors in either Political Science or Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. It will also be suitable for senior majors in related programs, such as Economics or Philosophy. In addition, graduate students in Political Science are welcome. Other interested students should confer with the instructor before enrolling. Although there is a huge formal literature on social choice theory, the seminar is about its political and philosophical implications and applications, rather than the formal analysis per se. Willingness to work through occasional moderately technical expositions will be necessary, but there are no mathematical prerequisites.
475 Continental Political Philosophy (Maffetone)
The opposition between analytical and continental philosophy can be considered together spurious and useful. It’s spurious for several reasons, including the one that “continental” is a geographical” term and “analytical” refers to a style of thinking. It’s useful because in the English speaking world analytical philosophy is the rule and continental philosophy the exception, whereas often the opposite is true in continental Europe. The same can be said for what concerns “continental political philosophy”. Within continental political philosophy, Nietzsche, Marx and Freud are –as we shall see- more popular than Rawls and John Stuart Mill, and of course vice-versa can be said for analytical political philosophy. This course aims to give a panorama of contemporary continental political philosophy, emphasizing some connections with analytical political philosophy. Some historical background is anyway given, and some authors (in particular Habermas) and ideas are discussed more than others.
SM 476 (C) PPE Capstone Seminar
This is an integrative senior seminar - various topics will be offered from semester to semester. Some courses that are offered regularly are mentioned below.
476 (PSCI 418) Evolution, Politics and Computer Simulation (C) (Lustick)
In this course we shall explore how recent developments in evolutionary theory relate to larger questions raised by students of complexity and complex adaptive systems. We shall study how they together provide a basis for important critiques of standard approaches in political science and enable fascinating and powerful understandings of politics and political phenomena--including national identity and identity change, state formation, revolution, globalization, and leadership. An important vehicle for the application of these insights for understanding politics is computer simulations featuring agent-based modeling. Students will use "PS-I," an agent based computer simulation platform, to develop their own models, conduct experiments, test hypotheses, or produce existence proofs in relation to popular theoretical positions in contemporary political science. No knowledge of computer programming is required.
We are cross-listing various courses, particularly from Psychology, during the 2007-2008 academic year. Check this page towards the end of the fall semester of 2007 for additions.