Steve Viner
Associate Professor of Philosophy
- Office
- Twilight Hall 303B
- Tel
- (802) 443-5708
- sviner@middlebury.edu
- Office Hours
- F24: 6:00-7:30 Monday and Wednesday and by appointment.
Steve Viner earned his PhD in philosophy from Washington University in St. Louis. He also has a JD from William Mitchell College of Law, an MA from Marquette University and a BA from St. John’s University. Before going to graduate school to get his PhD, he practiced law in both the private and public sectors.
Professor Viner’s primary area of research concerns moral issues pertaining to the law, including international laws and conflicts. He is the editor of a book titled The Morality of War: Classical and Contemporary Readings (Pearson Prentice Hall 2006). Currently, he is working on projects concerning the moral legitimacy of a State, the moral rights and norms applicable to armed humanitarian intervention, and the punishment of combatants who fight on the unjust side of a war.
He teaches classes in ethics, social and political philosophy and legal philosophy.
Courses Taught
FYSE 1317
The Philosophy of Human Rights
Course Description
The Philosophy of Human Rights
What are human rights? What duties, if any, flow from them, and who is morally obligated to bear those duties? In this course, we will investigate the philosophical origins and development of the concept of human rights. We will critically analyze both historical and contemporary moral perspectives on the existence and nature of human rights. What does it mean to say that one possesses a human right? In addition to examining the existence and nature of human rights, we will take a closer look at the issue of human rights related to world poverty and humanitarian intervention. 3 hrs. sem.
Terms Taught
Requirements
INTD 1259
Conflict Transformation Skills
Course Description
Conflict Transformation: Approaches and Skills
This course will introduce to students to a variety of approaches to conflict transformation (CT), including intercultural competence, mediation, restorative practices, and structured dialogue. CT skills enrich classroom learning and prepare students to be effective citizens in a polarized public square. To transform conflict, we must first understand the nature of conflict and then develop tools to build healthy relationships and communities – locally, nationally, and globally. Students will learn about the drivers of conflict and then practice CT skills in the course. This course is part of a Middlebury-wide CT initiative, and this course foundational for students who wish to pursue practicum or research opportunities in other CT programs.
Terms Taught
Requirements
PHIL 0156
Upcoming
Contemporary Moral Issues
Course Description
Contemporary Moral Issues
We will examine a selection of pressing moral problems of our day, seeking to understand the substance of the issues and learning how moral arguments work. We will focus on developing our analytical skills, which we can then use to present and criticize arguments on difficult moral issues. Selected topics may include world poverty, animal rights, abortion, euthanasia, human rights, just and unjust wars, capital punishment, and racial and gender issues. You will be encouraged to question your own beliefs on these issues, and in the process to explore the limit and extent to which ethical theory can play a role in everyday ethical decision making. 2 hrs.lect./1 hr. disc.
Terms Taught
Requirements
PHIL 0207
Philosophy of Human Rights
Course Description
The Philosophy of Human Rights
What is a human right? If there are human rights, what moral obligations, if any, follow from them, and who bears those obligations? In this course, we will investigate the philosophical origins and development of the concept of human rights. We will critically analyze both historical and contemporary moral perspectives concerning the existence and nature of human rights. What does it mean to say one possesses a human right? We will also take a close look at the issue of human rights as they relate to world poverty and humanitarian intervention. Authors will include Hobbes, Bentham, Rorty, Nickel, and Pogge. (Not open to students who have taken FYSE 1317).
Terms Taught
Requirements
PHIL 0208
Morality & War
Course Description
Morality & War
Are there any Just Wars? What would make a war a Just War? In the first part of this course we will investigate the historical origins of Just War Theory. In the second part, we will analyze contemporary moral perspectives on whether war can be morally justified and if so, what actions in war are morally justified or prohibited. In the final part, we will read articles concerning war and humanitarian intervention and on what actions, e.g. punishment, are morally permissible or demanded after war. Authors will include Augustine, Grotius, Nagel, Walzer, Luban. 3 hrs. lect.
Terms Taught
Requirements
PHIL 0212
Upcoming
Justice and the State
Course Description
Justice and the State
In the first part of this course, we will examine historical conceptions of political legitimacy. Political legitimacy is often thought to entail a State’s authority to coerce its citizens and a citizen’s obligation to obey the law. Authors will include Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau. In the second part, we will analyze contemporary justifications and criticisms of political legitimacy. In the third part, we will examine different State "punishment" practices when a citizen is accused of committing a crime..Throughout the course, students will be engaged with questions concerning the moral relationship between citizen and state, and students in this course will research and develop positions on specific criminal justice reforms from a moral point of view. 3hrs. Lect.
Terms Taught
Requirements
PHIL 0306
Philosophy of Law
Course Description
Philosophy of Law
In this course we shall consider a number of questions concerning law and its institution in human society. What is the origin and authority of law? What is legal obligation? What is the connection between law and coercion, between law and morality, and law and rights? Are laws merely conventions or is there a law of nature? What is the role of law in judicial decisions and the effect of these on the law? We shall also consider and evaluate various theories of law: natural law theories, utilitarian theories, analytical philosophy of law, critical legal studies, feminist theories. (formerly PHIL 0209) 3 hrs. lect.
Terms Taught
Requirements
PHIL 0322
Liberalism and Its Critics
Course Description
Liberalism and Its Critics
Liberal political thought is widely touted and accepted in Western societies. In this course, we will take a close look at what liberalism is by investigating the origins of liberalism in the writings of John Locke and John Stuart Mill and by evaluating the thought of contemporary liberal political philosophers, e.g. John Rawls and Will Kymlicka. We will also analyze the arguments of those like Michael Sandel and Yael Tamir who have criticized liberalism as misguided or incomplete. We seek to gain an understanding of the political and moral principles that give priority to liberty and related values or concepts like toleration, autonomy, and fairness. (One course in philosophy or waiver) 3hrs.
Terms Taught
Requirements
PHIL 0408
Global Justice
Course Description
Global Justice
In this course, we will investigate questions of justice that arise in global affairs. We will inquire into whether there are moral principles that
constrain the actions of states and how these principles support a conception of global justice. Also, we will seek to understand what global
responsibilities are entailed by global justice. Specific topics that will be considered include global distributive justice, world poverty, human
rights, humanitarian intervention, and the relationship between global justice and nationalistic moral concerns. Authors will include Beitz,
Nussbaum, O'Neill, Pogge, Rawls, Singer, Miller, and Walzer. 3 hrs. sem.
Terms Taught
Requirements
PHIL 0500
Current
Upcoming
Research In Philosophy
Course Description
Research in Philosophy
Supervised independent research in philosophy. (Approval required).
Terms Taught
PHIL 0710
Current
Senior Independent Research
Course Description
Senior Independent Research
In this course senior philosophy majors will complete an independent research project. The course has two components: (1) a group workshop in which students refine their research skills and develop parts of their projects, and (2) individual meetings with an adviser who is knowledgeable about the student's research topic. Students will engage in research activities such as tutorials and peer reviews. Before the course begins, students’ research topics and advisers will be decided in consultation with members of the department. (Senior majors.) 3 hrs. sem.
Terms Taught
Publications
Publications
The Morality of War: Classical and Contemporary Readings, co-editor, with Larry May and Eric Rovie, Pearson Prentice-Hall, 2006.
“State Self-Defense and Guantánamo Bay” in International Criminal Law and Philosophy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, October 2009, pp. 153-180.
“Fuller’s Concept of Law and Its Cosmopolitan Aims,” Law and Philosophy, Vol. 26, No.1 (Jan. 2007), pp. 1-30.
Presentations
“Self-Defense, Punishing Combatants and Justice in War,” XXIV World Congress of Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy, Beijing, China, September 2009.
“Was Hobbes a Realist?” Pacific Division Conference – American Philosophical Association, International Hobbes Association, San Francisco, CA, Spring 2007.
“Recognizing State Rights: A Reply to Buchanan and Naticchia,” St. Louis University, Philosophy Department, and Central States Philosophical Association, Memphis, TN, Spring 2006 & 2007.
“On State Self-Defense and Guantánamo Bay,” Central Division Conference – American Philosophical Association, Chicago, IL, Spring 2006.