SYLLABUS
PHIL 9320, Social and Political Philosophy
1. INSTRUCTOR: Peter Vallentyne;
Office Phone Number: no phone; Home Phone Number (phone only between 7:00 a.m. and 7
p.m.): 441-1695;
Office Hours (best by appointment): ??? (If I’m with someone else, please knock on my door so
that I know that you are there):
2. PREREQUISITES: Graduate standing in philosophy.
3. COURSE CONTENT: We shall examine the following questions:
(1) Under what conditions is it morally permissible to kill, or harm, someone in self (or other)
defense?
(2) Is the permissibility of a state going to war (jus ad bellum), and of conducting war (jus in
bello), determined by the moral principles governing individual conduct or is it determined by
special moral principles that apply only to states?
(3) Is it permissible for state to lethally defend against a merely political unjust attack (i.e., one
that merely threatens state sovereignty or its territorial integrity, as opposed lives and
prosperity)?
4. REQUIRED TEXTS (from university bookstore, but Amazon and other places probably sell
much more cheaply):
Helen Frowe, Defensive Killing (Oxford University Press, 2014).
Cécile Fabre and Seth Lazar, eds. The Morality of Defensive War (Oxford University Press, 2014)
5. RESOURCES ON THE WEB
a. My site: http://klinechair.missouri.edu/course_materials.htm
This syllabus
Course Schedule
Advice and Class Policies
Suggestions for Papers
Writing Strategies
A List of Some Main Issues in Moral Theory [background for first class]
Moral Assessment [background for first class]
Do/Allow, Intend/Foresee, Doctrine of Double Effect [background for first class]
The State [background for first class]
Notes on Helen Frowe’s Defensive Killing [important to master]
Law of War and Just War Theory
Notes on Fabre and Lazar
b. Recommended reading on how to write a philosophy paper:
 Writing a Philosophy Paper by Peter Horban (Simon Fraser University)


Guidelines on Writing a Philosophy Paper by James Pryor (NYU)
A Guide to Writing by Michael Huemer (University of Colorado at Boulder).
6. COURSE MARK
Final letter grades for the course will use the +/- scale, where A+ is 97-100, A is 93-96.99, A- is 9092.99, etc.
2 2500-3000 word papers:
2 commentaries
Participation:
70%
10%
20%
Papers: There will be two 2500-3000 word electronic position-papers. The upper limit is strict (as
practice for APA submissions) but it excludes words in footnotes. The lower limit is flexible. For
each paper, there will be a 1-2 page outline, a rough draft, and a final revised version. The first
paper may be rewritten. See "Suggestions for Papers" and "Advice and Class Policies".
Those who get a grade of 95 or above on a paper should consider submitting the paper to an APA
conference (for which the page limits are the same).
Comments: You will write 2-4 pages of comments on the style and substance of another student's
paper. See "Suggestions for Papers" and "Advice and Class Policies".
Class Participation: Each person will be required to do each of the following one or more times
(for details, see "Advice and Class Policies"):
(1) Important: e-mail me, at least one hour before the class begins a brief commentary of each
assigned reading unit,
(2) make a comment to the class on the previous class session,
(3) give a 3-5 minute summary presentation of some of the assigned readings including a
question or comment,
(4) give a 5-10 minute presentation of your paper.
7. MISCELLANEOUS
7.1 Academic Dishonesty: I take cheating and plagiarism very seriously and I will assign an F
for the course to students for whom I have strong evidence that they engages in such behavior.
For more information, see the “Advice and Class Policies” (in course packet). Make sure that we
discuss this briefly at our first class.
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7.2 Intellectual Diversity: The University of Missouri welcomes intellectual diversity and is
committed to the importance of respectful debate exploring a diversity of views and perspectives
on complex and controversial topics. Students with concerns that intellectual diversity is not
being respected in this class are encouraged to communicate this concern to me. Alternatively,
they can contact the Philosophy Department Chair, Prof. Robert Johnson
(JohnsonRN@missouri.edu) or the Director of the Office of Students Rights and Responsibilities
<http://osrr.missouri.edu/>. Of course, such concerns may also be expressed in the anonymous
written teaching evaluations administered at the end of semester.
7.3 Special Needs:
(i) If you need accommodations because of a disability, have emergency medical information to
share with me, or need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please
inform me immediately. Please see me privately after class, or at my office.
(ii) To request academic accommodations (for example, a note-taker), students must also register
with the Office of Disability Services, S5 Memorial Union, 882-4696. It is the campus office
responsible for reviewing documentation for academic accommodations provided by students.
For other MU resources for students with disabilities, click on "Disability Resources" on the MU
homepage.
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