PHIL 347 Children and the State

The goal of this class is to survey arguments that great thinkers have made about how we should organize our sociopolitical institutions for the sake of children. We will first learn about different views one could hold about what justice demands for children. Then, we will ask whether we should license parents for the sake of children. After, we will consider whether the state should offer financial support to parents for the sake of children. We will also wade into debates about whether the state should regulate transracial adoption and if so, how. Then, we will examine whether compulsory schooling is good for children. And finally, we will ask whether private citizens may abduct children who have been severely abused or neglected by their parents, and keep these children in their custody. At the end of the semester, students will present on a philosophical paper we aren’t reading in class that bears on questions about justice for children.