Philosophy 340-A: Special Topic - Philosophical Problems: Imagining Better Futures

How do we get from where we are to where we can be? Envisioning better - more just and equitable - futures involves an act of the moral imagination. This seminar is centered around the moral imagination and the act of envisioning better futures. In the class we will explore questions like: what is the moral imagination and how do we cultivate it? Is progress toward a more just society possible and, if so, what could it look like? And if such progress is possible, what might it take to get from here to there? This course will look at theory from both philosophers and activists working today. We will also read several speculative fiction novels which offer visions of a (better?) future. Scholars we may read include Michele Moody-Adams, Katie Stockdale, and Jose Medina. Novels we may read include Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson, A Half-Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys, and Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune 2052-2072 by ME O'Brien and Eman Abdelhadi. This is an advanced course and will involve a substantial amount of weekly reading. Counts as an Ethics and Society elective for the Ethics and Society major.