A comparative study of the constitutional principles, governmental institutions, and political problems of selected governments. This course is designed to introduce students to the central themes of comparative politics. This includes discussions of methodology, the nature of the state, political culture, democracy and political and economic development.
Introduction to United States and California government and politics, including constitutions, political institutions and processes, and political actors. Examination of political behavior, political ideas, and public policy.
A course in practical reasoning. How to distinguish between reasons that are rational and those that are not. Methods of evaluating arguments that will lead to truth.
The philosophical tradition from the Renaissance to the nineteenth century. Emphasis on new scientific models of human knowledge and human nature formulated in reaction to scientific and social revolutions. Positions of thinkers such as Descartes, Hume, Kant on basic questions: Can anything be known with certainty? Are there any justifiable moral principles? Is there any purpose to existence?
The origins of the philosophical-scientific tradition. Early attempts at rational explanations of the natural world. Socrates and the foundations of moral criticism. Plato: His articulation of the problems of knowledge, his contributions to moral and political theory. Aristotle: His organization of scientific inquiry, formulation of ethical theory, and development of the science of logic. The philosophical tradition after Aristotle.
The study of logical relationships by way of models and procedures in a symbolic system. The concept of proof and the demands of formal proofs. Methods of demonstrating logical relationships, including truth tables, derivations in sentence and predicate logic, and semantic interpretations. The relation between conventional languages and symbolic encodings. A selection of related theoretical topics, including proofs of soundness and consistency of the calculi, and elementary set theory.
The tools and techniques of philosophical reasoning: reading argumentative prose;
analyzing conceptual models; writing critical essays. Problems of knowledge: the criteria
of reliable knowledge; the formulation and justification of beliefs the sources and limits
of knowledge; beliefs about the physical world, the past and future, and other minds.
Critical standards applied to related metaphysical issues: theism, mind and self-identity,
determinism.
An examination of such questions as: Are there conditions under which value judgments can be rationally defended? If there are such grounds, what are they? If not, what consequences, if any, follow from ethical skepticism? Can value judgments about individuals or societies be justified on rationally acceptable grounds? Application of theories to moral problems.
The growth of San Francisco from its origins as an Indian-Spanish-Mexican settlement to the metropolis of the San Francisco Bay Area. Emphasis will be on the role of San Francisco as a political, social, cultural, commercial and artistic capital of the West Coast.
An individualized reading or research program where students work one-on-one with a faculty member on topics in History.