PS379 Studies in the Origins of War   (3.00 cr.)

A team-taught, interdisciplinary course designed to promote a dialogue between philosophical reflection and social scientific analysis in the treatment of a singularly important yet immensely complex problem: the origins of war. In the conduct of such a dialogue, philosophical theorizing is challenged in the confrontation with concrete actualities just as the plain "facts" of political history are stripped of their veneer of false obviousness, thereby opening the space for more essential questions. We hope students leave the course less inclined to demand simple answers and more imbued with the patience and humility demanded by the greatest questions. Readings include Homer, Thucydides, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Hegel, Clausewitz, Lenin, Nietzsche, Freud.