(in Polish) Violence, Harm and Global Politics 3800-VHGP24-S-OG

Living in a globalized world, we can currently observe many new types of conflicts: war in Ukraine, cyberattacks on the Internet, tensions related to migrants crossing the borders of the USA or the EU. Such phenomena also demand analysis from the perspective of political philosophy, within which the problem of violence and harm has often been treated as marginal. Thus, the main goal of the seminar will be to analyze various phenomena of violence and harm in both the domestic and international contexts, and to assess them from the perspective of classical (e.g., Hobbes) and global theories of justice such as Rawls’ theory. During the classes, we will discuss various forms of violence such as war or armed intervention. By examining different conflicts and contexts of violence use, based on theoretical texts and case studies - among others Israeli-Palestine conflict - we will try to recognize when, if at all, violence is morally justified; what should be done to reduce the risk of its occurrence; what factors lead to violence; what harms and when constitute a basis for justified action in international relations; what security strategy different theoretical models propose and what philosophical foundations they refer to. At least fluency in speaking and reading English is required.
Selected topics:
Ethical and political problems of violence, war, and global terrorism.
How are states responsible for violence?
What makes the world dangerous?
Are armed interventions and wars morally justified?

Type of course

elective seminars
general courses

Prerequisites (description)

Student should have basic knowledge about main ethical theories and an ability of analytical thinking. The communicative knowledge of the English language is required.

Course coordinators

Rafał Wonicki

Learning outcomes

Knowledge:
Student knows
K_W02, research methods and argumentative strategies of political philosophy
K_W03, specialist philosophical terminology
K_W05, main directions of development and the most important new achievements in the field of policy philosophy
K_W08, norms constituting and regulating social structures and institutions, as well as sources of these norms, their nature, and ways of influencing human behavior
K_W10, role of philosophical reflection in shaping of political sphere on local and global level
K_W11, to a deeper extent the relationship between the formation of philosophical ideas and changes in culture, society and the sphere of politics;

Acquired skills:
Student can:
K_U01, independently interpret the philosophical text, creatively and innovatively comment and confront ideas derived from various texts
K_U02, specify the degree of significance of the examined problem or argumentation and ideas
K_U03, analyze complex philosophical arguments, identify their assumptions, determine logical and argumentative relationships within them
K_U04, identify advanced argumentative strategies in oral and written statements
K_U06, creatively and innovatively use philosophical and methodological knowledge in formulating hypotheses and constructing critical arguments
K_U09, construct and reconstruct arguments from the perspective of various philosophical positions, taking into account the types of argumentation specific to each of them and noticing convergences and differences between them
K_U10, write creative texts based on self-selected literature, using original, innovative approaches and taking into account new achievements in the field of political philosophy

Social competences acquired:
Student is ready to:
K_K02, recognize gaps in his/her knowledge and skills and search for the possibility of removing these gaps
K_K03, independently undertake professional activities as well as planning and organizing them
K_K04, perceiving and formulating ethical problems related to one’s own research; be responsible to colleagues and other members of society, and be active in solving these problems
K_K05 participate in social and cultural life; is interested in innovative philosophical concepts in connection with other parts of cultural and social life and encourages the implementation of these concepts

Additional learning outcomes for PHD students
WG_01, to the extent that allows the revision of existing paradigms - global achievements, including theoretical foundations as well as general issues and selected specific issues - appropriate for humanities disciplines, in this case concerning global politics,
WG_02, to the extent that allows the revision of existing paradigms - global achievements, including theoretical foundations as well as general issues and selected specific issues - appropriate for humanities disciplines, in this case concerning global politics,
WK_01, fundamental dilemmas of modern civilization from the perspective of the humanities.

Assessment criteria

The criteria of assessment:
- activity (discussion in class, participation etc.) - 40%
- preparing introduction or workshops – 40%
- creating report from texts and discussion – 20%

Numbr of absences: 2 in a semester

Bibliography

Wybór/Selection:
Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars, Basic Books 1991.
International Ethics. Concepts, Theories and Cases in Global Politics, Amrk R. Amstrutz, 2013.
Theories of International Ethics, ed. T. Nardin, D.R. Mapel, Cambridge Unviersity Press, UK 1992.
Global Politics. A New Introduction, Ed. J. Edkins, M. Zehfuss.
Rawls, The Law of Peoples. Harvard University Press 2001.
Kant, Perpetual Peace, Book Tree 2009.

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 3800-VHGP24-S-OG in USOSweb