PHIL5940 · Philosophy
Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences
This course will examine the transition from Medieval to Modern political thought through the lens of the transition from the notion of Natural Law in the Medieval period to classical contract theory based on notions of the state of nature. We will read Thomas Aquinas and William of Ockham, and modern thinkers including Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Kant. Satisfies the following distribution requirement(s) for Philosophy: Ethics & Values, History of Philosophy.
Course experience
Averages use the original five-point historical evaluation scale.
Organization
4.0 / 5
How well the course was organized
Challenge
4.4 / 5
How intellectually challenging students found it
Attendance
4.6 / 5
How necessary attendance was
Assignments
4.4 / 5
How helpful assignments were
Weekly effort
~3
hours per week
Estimated from the original workload response buckets. Individual sections may differ.
Instructor options
Ratings below reflect only recovered evaluations connected to this course.
Across time
Section-level results available in the recovered archive.
Spring 2025
1 section