Hannah Izer, Delina Tesfamichael, and Morgan Twing, under the mentorship of Dr. Joe Herbert, Political Science Professor, set out to address the following questions:
- What Is The Best Philosophical Foundation For Human Rights?
- What purpose does Democratic Socialism serve here in America?
- Is Democratic Socialism a realistic option?
- Are a simple set of laws, as suggested by Raphael Hythloday in Thomas More’s Utopia, enough to ensure a just society?
The students studied relevant texts, including, Thomas Moore’s Utopia, and the ideas of Henry Veatch, St. Thomas Aquinas, Francis Bacon, and Gerard Wegemer.
Some of their conclusions included:
- You can never force people to become virtuous, if you want to have the “perfect society” then you have to force people to be good by punishing them, and that in itself is against human rights.
- You cannot force people to care, which makes the idea of Democratic Socialism difficult.
- Simpler and fewer laws do not ensure a just society
- Need for freedom and more freedom results in a complex system
- Interpretation of laws will always be an issue
So, no easy answers to their questions, but the students learned much about how to go about exploring potential answers.
SAUUSRI 