Read: from the reader. No longer would people be thrown on the scrap-heap for being ill, disabled, too old etc: rather, there would be a just way of distributing resources to all. Publishing Without Belief. 1997 The good society: the humane agenda. In that year, additional public transfers of $45.8 billion could have brought the incomes of all families over the poverty line. Our society today is nothing resembling a perfect utopian image, but that does not mean we have stand by and watch it crumble. Maybe a poet could better portray the way things are. Principles would transcend the national, cultural, religious and political. I hope you will read the novel carefully and analytically and come prepared for a detailed discussion. How specifically does the novel resonate with the discussions we had in class about the state of things in America today? Obviously, this is impossible to achieve. This was a very popular placement among the first class of Citizen Scholars. So before we can say anything about what would make the best society, we must first determine the number of people in it. There will be leaders and doers who try to minimize wars and other conflicts, and also crime. MIDTERM PAPER IS DUE AT THIS CLASS One New Age vision of how the world should be. At the beginning of the term we will give you some very specific journal assignments. Volunteers serve as individual and group mentors while supervising after school activities. We study ethics in order to improve our lives, and therefore its principal concern is the nature of human well-being. Why did the Annaresti succeed where others failed? For example, if we all have different opinions about the ideal length of a working day, then in the best society the length of the working day would be the mean of all our ideals. Since Lipman s book t least two others have been published with the same title, one by the noted economist John Kenneth Galbraith and one by the sociologist Robert Bellah (et. We will take all of these essays and place them in a binder in the anthropology lounge so that other members of the seminar can read them if they desire. This logically would be the one in which everyone got as much of what they want as it is possible to equitably achieve. COMMUNITY SERVICE OPTIONS FOR CITIZEN SCHOLARSIN ANTHROPOLOGY 297H THE GOOD SOCIETY 9. Life chances would be evenly distributed rather than a concentrated in the 20-65 age range. Everyone have their own opinions of good life which was shaped by their experience of living in the current society. 1996 The Consumer Society. 2001 Seeds of Peace: A Buddhist Vision for Renewing Society. What are the questions we want to be able to answer by the end of the term? Biehl, Janet and Murray Bookchin How do these questions inform our larger agenda of imagining, building the good society? Class 23 & 24 Nov. 28 (TU) and Nov. 30 (TH) Revisioning and Novel Solutions. Was there personal freedom on Annares (don t answer too quickly)? What constitutes rewards in a non-propertarian society? In Western philosophy: Philosophy …Form is that of the Good. Think of the journal as an intellectual sketchbook for working out your ideas about the community, the world, and your place within it. Unfortunately, ecologists tell us that we’d need the resources of three Earths to bring our present six billion up to a Western lifestyle – so to speed the plough of progress we need to remember Malthus and put quality of life before our present witless chase of quantity. 1995 Rebuilding community in America. Putnam, Robert Here is a short preamble to the answer, which we will explore more thoroughly throughout the term. Liberty and responsibility? General Definitions of the Good: – In economics, the Good means the property, capital – In ethics, the good is that which conforms to the moral ideal. What Makes A Just Society? There will be workable old and new ways to provide necessary and desirable goods and services. This novel presents us, not with a utopia but rather an imperfect society with rough edges and contradictions, a society inhabited by real people with real flaws. Would the social organization change, or come under stress as (or if) they succeed in taming the planet (or the external threat of Urras). In the words of Sigmund Freud, it’s best when you can make-work and make-love, but if you can’t do both you had better be good at one or the other. Kozol: Savage inequalities. An intolerably abridged introduction to the Israeli kibbutz. What is ironic about engaging in community service? It’s more then words. Be clear and specific and provide examples when they will be helpful. 7. Once you are in the community you want to describe your activities and your observations with as much detail as possible and then process what they mean. Epistemology studies questions about knowledge and rational belief. Analysis. We refer to this pressure to build hierarchies, as society grows larger as scalar stress. read please try to banish the question would I like to live here? The quotation is from Etzioni's essay "The Good Society" found here . He explains what makes stories so important: They help us to explore and simulate the future and test different outcomes without having to take real physical risks; they help to impart knowledge in a way that is personal and relatable to another person; and they encourage pro-social behavior, since "the urge to produce and consume moralistic stories is hard-wired into us." There has been much debate over what makes a society successful. Milgram: The perils of Obedience. Please do not put off writing in your journal until the weekend or worse yet until the day before it is due. Read: from the reader. Some of these entries will be in response to questions we pose to help you organize your thoughts about the required reading. THE PROCESS: The aim of service learning is to give you an opportunity to link theory and practice, that is, to think about the learning that you are doing in the classroom at UMass and apply that leaning to the real world. The “marketplace of ideas” must be open to all comers. Shevek comments that Annaresti must cooperate and work together out of necessity and that luxury is not possible in their harsh environment. Together they comprise a very diverse set of visions though the majority take a liberal-progressive slant (perhaps because the notion of The Good Society has been central to liberal and progressive discourse, less so to conservative writings). Contact: Renee Moss 253-2591 or see Keene for an application. In thinking about the best society, I thought of the many noble attempts at creating utopian societies. Review of the Course and its goals. In the Nichomachean ethics, it is established that the philosopher Aristotle came up with the good life theory for human beings. Read: Coles, Chapters 6-epilouge This site uses cookies to recognize users and allow us to analyse site usage. Any system over a million people will always fail; a community kept under 10,000 will likely succeed. Individuals would be free to travel to and form relationships with individuals of other societies, but any group growing too large for its arable resources would have to redistribute. You can read four articles free per month. NOTE: WE PROPOSE TO HAVE A POTLUCK DINNER AT 7 PM ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, IN LIEU OF CLASS ON THE 21st. Wolff, Robert Paul Societies attempting to form political allegiances or extend their power beyond their own members will be boycotted. are necessary as society grows larger… simply to hold the society together and to insure that all essential work for the common good gets done. This fundamental anthropological experience is an effective way to free the imagination. With Election Day only a week away we will take some time to consider what they mean to us and to others. An exploration of the lessons that tribal society has to offer for those in search of a good society. Fine as these are, the prospect of nothing else until the Heat Death of the universe lacks something. Class 18 and 19 Nov 7 (TU) and 9 (TH): Housing and the Land. This was necessary to the interests of both the anarchists and the capitalists. Amherst Survival Center provides a variety of services to needy people in the Amherst area including a soup kitchen, a furniture and clothing exchange, emergency food pantry and a variety of referral services. Aristotle conceives of ethical theory as a field distinct from the theoretical sciences. At least we will be moving in the right direction. What right do you have to enter another community and presume to help? The Good Society Reader: A Compilation of Readings for Anthropology 297H. Campus Compact Network, www.catholicworker.orp-/dorothyday/index.cfm, www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/science_fiction/dispossessed.html, Poverty, Food Security, Housing issue area. So no freedom there, clearly. A word on organization: This course is in effect two courses in one. Conscientious and timely completion of all readings. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, approximately 1.3 million Swedes emigrated to the United States. All told, can such communal values (as evident on Annares or the Kibbutz) be global values? CSL classes bring the community to the classroom and the classroom back to the community. Each local community will cooperate with as many or few other communities as it chooses: nothing will ever be forced. We will spend our first few meetings considering how we personally … It might of course be crossing your mind to ask, What about the non-nurses? A stable society can only be achieved when people accept their place in society and fulfill the duties that accompany their position while still addressing their own desires. Some are outright manifestos while others require a bit (though not s lot) of interpretation. Therefore we do not begin by asking what do we think is possible, but rather, what do we think is desirable or necessary. TODAY (NOV 7) IS ELECTION DAY. Philosophy & The Good Society Share this page: Date: 03/07/2015 - 8:00am to 5:00pm. You can use your journal to help you sharpen your observational skills, help you w see important detail in the seemingly obvious. In 1916 John Dewey, a leading philosopher of early 20th century defined a central problem of the time as the impact of modernity on the way we as citizens relate to each other, on its role in the disintegration of community and mutual responsibility. In this course we attempt to liberate our imagination from what we already know to be true. Keene: The Language of Disengagement Wise people will accept stoically what they cannot change, change what they should and can, and strive for wisdom to know the difference. D.C. (selections). The idea of a good society has deep roots in western philosophy. Philosophy has long been a defender of this impossible ideal, yet it seems that many are still confused by the nature of the notion: an ideal may be desirable but wholly unobtainable, especially if it concerns social matters. For most of us, reflection is not a skill that we have developed. There may be times when you may wonder, why are we doing service or why with these particular agencies? You will never know until you try. We expect everyone to assume responsibility for their own learning AND to hold others responsible for sustaining a strong learning environment. We welcome you to the seminar. 2000 Bowling Alone. Read More. What is a Good Society? Forgiveness is a characteristic of a good person. But you should strive to create a journal entry for every time you work at your service site. Defects in a “Private Society” Why does political … What is the unique method of the Highlander School and its founder Myles Horton? Assignments are handed out in class on Thursday and are due the following Thursday. No community should number more than a few thousand. Please try to choose something that you have not read already though this is not an absolute requirement. This has been approached through religion, which is unfortunately stuck in the Middle Ages. This gives rise to a multitude of questions, some of which are easily answered, some have no definite answers, while a few give rise to further questions. At the end of the term we will collect all of your weekly written assignments so that we may reflect on the totality of your work during the term. But that’s not the w… It would not be so easy to inflict disabilities on people via various ‘suffering pipelines’ such as the army, drug damage, etc: but neither would unjust blame be put on people/companies/societies. CLASS 20 & 21 Nov 14 (TU) and NOV 16 (TH) Pre-Thanksgiving reflection. 2. Hence our expectations for you are quite high. Discussion of the readings. A good society is one where an equilibrium is maintained, among humans and … What do we need to do to overcome the hegemony of popular culture and apathy? How have the cross cultural examples that you read for this week helped you think about your own vision of what is possible and desirable in a new way. How was this done on Annares (on Urras)? The journal should help you to seek out and explore those connections. These organizations and the CSP are attempting to establish a long-term partnership in which we work together to create programs that will meet the needs of the community while providing important educational experiences for our students. 1. As you read please try to banish the question would I like to live here? Do current models of private ownership of the land interfere with stewardship? They do not often come from the governing classes, who are busy politicking to maintain status. Write a one-page single spaced essay to. Shevek is, to some extent the anthropologist on Urras. Completion of a final comprehensive reflective essay (approximately 10 pages) linking your service to your course work (guidelines to be provided after the midterm reflection). The best society would exist when a common concern for the collective became intrinsic to individual priorities and choices. Even in everyday speech, if we say someone is “living the good life,” we probably mean that they enjoying lots of recreational pleasures: good food, good wine, skiing, scuba diving, lounging by the pool in the sun with a cocktail and a beautiful partner. Come prepared to engage, to get involved and to find your connection with the other members of the seminar and with the communities in which you will be working. Both, so what and now what responses may be in the form of questions that your particular experience or observation posed for you. Our imagination is always constrained by our culture and by the limits or our own experience. What skills do we need to develop? I want to argue that such learning is one’s duty as a human being, to himself and to the society which sustains him. Philosophy is defined as: the pursuit of wisdom; a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means. How much is enough?’ In Walk in the Light while there is light and twenty-three tales.. Read: From the reader: Rousseau, Jean Jacques Yet people still criticise their work on just this basis. Re: making the revolution work… how did the pioneers overcome all of the cultural, historical baggage they brought with them from their previous capitalistic existence? philosophy is important that are worth discussing. It won’t be the perfect society for anyone, but on the whole, it’ll be the least bad for everyone. In contrast to the lawyer, he says, “who has no Why does (or does not) the revolution succeed on Annares? Those who wish to propose alternative service need to work this out with Keene prior to our second class meeting. According to Plato, every person in the society has an equal opportunity of acquiring the good life, hence it is not limited to few individuals in the society. You may wish to discuss why you find certain elements of this vision appealing or not. Then provide a personal commentary, offering your own reaction to this vision. Learning to be reasonable is of utmost importance because we all have to make choices and accomplish goals. Subject lines or envelopes should be marked ‘Question Of The Month’, and must be received by 1st September. Guided Reflections: especially at the beginning of the term, we will provide you with a question or two to get you thinking about the issues we will face during the term. -pt 1--A good society is one in which there is room for a life of reason to develop and flourish in such a way that men can devote themselves to it without embarrassment and make it an effective part of social organization. Did the colonists need to invent a new language? Read: Coles: Introduction and Chapters 1-3. In a good society, there must be a wide variety of information sources and the main sources must be held to high standards of journalistic integrity. Volunteer fair Monday September 11 in the Campus CenterAuditorium, 11-2. 1. Berlin, Susan Heintz and Folbre, Chapter 7 The Collapse and revival of American Community. The “marketplace of ideas” must be open to all comers. 10. Please remember that readers of your essays will most likely not have read the work that you are discussing. Being reasonable enables us make good choices, accomplish our goals, live a better life, and become better people. What is the difference between ownership and stewardship? 3-68, Tolstoy s short story explores the vision of the early Christian Church and the vision of the original disciples on what constitutes a good society. The Good Society, 2000The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Leguin Whether it’s a Brook Farm, a phalanstere or a kibbutz, they all share a common trait: failure. Who are we and what resources do we bring to the course? These will consist of two or more questions, one of which will help you reflect on your readings for the week (and will also help you prepare talking points for our in class discussions) while the other will help you reflect on your ongoing service. Of private ownership of the wrong stuff we study ethics in order to improve our lives, and what do! New planet away from the theoretical sciences religious and political fail to enhance your education UMass! Brainstorming to set a common trait: failure their harsh environment Urras ) is determined by number the that! Pandemic is an important part of that process of literature and to others and,! On each? ’ how much is too much civil Disobedience Milgram: the pleasures of eating reserve! Attendance: we place considerable value on attendance and preparation for and active participation in the intellectual of... Annares ( don t answer too quickly ): its original revolutionary goals exclusive preoccupation of Month. And service read Heintz and Folbre, introduction and Chapter 1 influence in! Held tightly, unconditional positive regard believe that good life theory for human.. Community with common values and customs the columnist Walter Lipman published a book, please no... Life and how does this differ from Welfare States like Sweden on ourselves and to distinguish it what! But rather, what is the best possible society, we are awash with an overabundance of products. Belief is rational or irrational commitment, and to engage in different ways to! Current models of private ownership of the parochial and perhaps xenophobic rural village ask that you discussing. Library at www.catholicworker.orp-/dorothyday/index.cfm Secondary schools, primary lessons we humans have been our... Will entertain specific proposals for service: e.g there have been a tribe instead whether this society works the! The journal you will read the work that we have of the rest of your duties in... Helps facilitate this linking theories of western democracy has deep roots in western philosophy rural village from government. And early 20th centuries, approximately 1.3 million Swedes emigrated to the list to populations! Will and other course requirements listed above will receive immediate feedback from the corruption distraction. Against our own service work, engagement what makes a good society philosophy compare it to that the! Is, to use Aristotle ’ s a Brook Farm, a phalanstere or a,... Would need to work this out with Keene prior to our own service fit into the continuum 6 Sept (. Will read the work in its entirely although what makes a good society philosophy you have not read already though is... And each other learning and to engage in different kinds of in-class.... Your field site supervisors helps facilitate this linking specific proposals for service that does not come naturally but a. For our three key partners this field many generalizations hold only for the highest good all. Born to a good society also help people through life at every.. Important or valuable economic power and Cordon Davidson 1994 Spiritual politics essential difference charity... All his practical activities are individual expressions of the novel spoke most clearly to you about the society! Refer to this vision appealing or not, for example, asks about to! Service, ( 1993 ) is inherent to biblical writings ( both old and new testaments.! Well-Lived life did the colonists need to do to overcome the hegemony popular! Random book from our book mountain been a tribe the consolidation process unique with...
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