Introduction to Social and Political Philosophy 3700-AL-ISP-qDP
The purpose of the course is providing students with a broad overview about social behavior and interpretations of society and social institutions in terms of ethical values.
During the course, students will get acquainted with the history of Western socio-political and socio-philosophical thought; learn its key issues, concepts and key thinkers. Students will learn how to use the tools of modern social theory to analyze current world and local socio-political problems, as well as learn in more detail the theory of the origin of the state and differentiate the terms: nation, ethnic group and identity. The course will also cover the theories of nationalism; basic theories of civil society; the foundations of the socio-philosophical discourse about Modernity; key concepts of social philosophy of postmodernity. The course also covers the theory of justice; the concepts of freedom; and the basics of feminism.
Thinkers covered include Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Mills, Marx, Engels, Bentham, Burke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Kant, Rawls, Arendt, Weber, Simone de Beauvoir, Bauman.
Type of course
Prerequisites (description)
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
- student is familiar with the history of Western socio-political and socio-philosophical thought
- student is acquainted with the key texts of the most important political and social thinkers
- student is familiar with the theories of the origin of the state, civil society and differentiates the terms: nation, ethnic group and identity
- student is able to use the tools of modern social theory to analyze current world and local socio-political problems
- student is familiar with the theories of nationalism; basic theories of civil society; the foundations of the socio-philosophical discourse about Modernity; key concepts of social philosophy of postmodernity
Assessment criteria
Final grade depends on:
- Presence on the lectures
- Activity during the lectures
- Oral examination
(2 unjustified unattendances are accepted)
Bibliography
Plato, Republic.
Aristotle, Politics.
Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil.
Ernest Gellner, Nations and Nationalism.
John Locke, Second Treatise of Government.
Jeremy Bentham, Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation.
John Stuart Mill, On Liberty.
Marx and Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party.
Marx, Capital.
Hobbes, Leviathan.
Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract and A Discourse Upon the Origin and The Foundation Of The Inequality Among Mankind.
Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
John Rawls, The Theory of Justice.
Simone De Beauvoir, The Second Sex.
Zygmunt Bauman, Liquid Modernity.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: