Classics of Political Philosophy
Section outline
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CLASSICS OF POLITICAL THOUGHT – JPB 195
Institute of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague
Instructor: Dr Janusz Salamon
ETCS: 6 credits
Prerequisites: NonePLACE: JINONICE campus: classroom C123
TIME: TUESDAY, 8:00-12.20
CONTACTS:
Office hours: Mondays, 14:00-15:30 & Tuesdays, 12.30-14.00, in the office C514 in Jinonice
Email: janusz.salamon at fsv.cuni.cz1. Course objectives
The aim of this course is to enable students to explore the key ideas of some of the greatest minds in the history of political philosophy by studying representative fragments of their works. In the course of the semester we will explore some of the most important philosophical questions that shape the way we understand and act in the world of politics. We will read selections from the seminal works of ancient as well as modern political thinkers and tackle such questions as the nature of the state and political power, the justification of political obligation, or the relation between political and economic freedom.
2. Student learning outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students should:
· Comprehend the ideas of the seminal thinkers of Western philosophic tradition studies in the course;
· Understand and analyse the basic concepts, ideas and problems relevant to the study of politics;
· Have improved their analytical, argumentative, and writing skills.
3. Teaching methodology
This course is a combination of a lecture and a seminar. Students will be expected to actively participate in the class discussion. It is therefore of paramount importance that they study the assigned texts before class.
4. Course Schedule
Class 1 SOCRATES and the birth of political philosophy [a LECTURE from 9.30 for everyone]
Class 2 PLATO's progressive politics based on reason and his defence of the enlightened rule of the meritocratic elite [SEMINAR 1 for Group 1 from 8.00 till 9.20 followed by a LECTURE at 9.30 for everyone]
Class 3 ARISTOTLE's conservative politics based on nature and his impact on POLYBIUS' and CICERO's defence of republicanism [SEMINAR 1 for Group 2 from 8.00 followed by a LECTURE at 9.30 for everyone]
Class 4 MACHIAVELLI's rediscovery of republicanism and the problem of 'dirty hands" in politics [SEMINAR 2 for Group 1 from 8.00 followed by a LECTURE at 9.30 for everyone]
Class 5 HOBBES on the establishment of the state through social contract between individuals [SEMINAR 2 for Group 2 from 8.00 followed by a LECTURE at 9.30 for everyone]
Class 6 LOCKE and the birth of modern individualistic liberalism [SEMINAR 3 for Group 1 from 8.00 followed by a LECTURE at 9.30 for everyone]
Class 7 (28 March) MID-TERM in-class TEST at 9:30 am
Class 8: ROUSSEAU on equality and reconciliation of individual freedom and state authority [SEMINAR 3 for Group 2 from 8.00 followed by a LECTURE at 9.30 for everyone]
Class 9 (11 April) KANT on human autonomy as the goal of politics [SEMINAR 4 for Group 1 from 8.00 followed by a LECTURE at 9.30 for everyone]
Class 10 (18 April) HEGEL on rationality and historicity in politics [SEMINAR 4 for Group 2 from 8.00 followed by a LECTURE at 9.30 for everyone]
Class 11 (25 April) [SEMINAR 5 for Group at 8.00 followed by SEMINAR 5 for Group 2 at 9.30]
Class 12 (2 May) JOHN RAWLS and the Veil of Ignorance - Echoes of KANT in contemporary political philosophy [Guest lecture of Prof. Julian Fink from the University of Bayreuth]
Class 13 (9 May) Intellectual sources of FASCISM
FINAL EXAM (an in-class written exam, students choose one of the three exam dates by registering in the SIS)
SEMINAR at 8:00 in classroom C122: Every mandatory course is accompanied by a seminar. You will have 6 seminars spread across the entire semester. We will divide the class alphabetically into two Seminar Group 1 and Seminar Group 2 and each group will have a seminar every second week. So the seminar at 8:00 will be attended by only half of the class while the lecturer at 9:30 in classroom 205 will be attended by the entire class). All SEMINAR READINGS will be uploaded in the SIS, below the CLASS READINGS.
5. Reading material
All assigned readings are available online at the course's SIS website. The readings will be taken mainly from the following works:
Plato: The Republic; Crito; Apology
Aristotle: Politics; Nicomachean Ethics
Machiavelli: Prince
Hobbes: Leviathan
Locke: Second Treatise of Government
Rousseau: Discourse on the Origins of Inequality; On Social Contract
Marx: On the Jewish Question; Communist Manifesto
J. S. Mill: On Liberty
M. Wollstonecraft, The Vindication of the Rights of Women
Classics of Philosophy, L.P. Pojman (ed.), Oxford University Press, 2003
Modern Political Thought: A Reader, J. Gingell, A. Little, Winch (eds), Routledge, 2000
Political Thinkers from Socrates to the Present, D. Boucher & P. Kelly (eds), Oxford, 2003
A History of Western Political Thought, J.S. McClelland, Routledge, 2005
Political Philosophy from Plato to Mao, M. Cohen, Pluto Press, 2001
COURSE GRADING:
Quality participation in the SEMINAR + Final SEMINAR Essay = 30%
Mid-term In-Class Written Test 30%
Final Written Exam 40%
Total 100%
SEMINAR INSTRUCTION
The seminar is mandatory. As indicated in the Syllabus (above), the seminar will be taught in 4 groups. Each student will be informed during Week 1 to which group they belong. Each student must do the relevant seminar reading in advance (the familiarity with the seminar reading will be tested through quizzes at the beginning of each seminar, therefore students who will arrive late and will not take the quiz, will loose the points awarded for the quizzes (2, 1 or 0 points for a single quiz).
The "seminar readings" are uploaded below (in the SIS, not Moodle). The seminars will consists of the discussion of the philosophical arguments introduced in the "seminar readings"
Seminar Essay will be due 48 hours before the final exam (and it will be up to the student to choose from among three final exam DATES published in the SIS in due course).
The Final Seminar Essay instruction will be discussed during seminar 4 (i.e., after the mid-term exam), since the students need to accumulate enough knowledge to be able to work efficiently on the essay.
EXAM INSTRUCTION
The course includes mid-term written test/exam and final written exam. The exams will include TWO types of assignments: (a) writing short essays devoted to the topics selected by the students from a list of topics covering the reading material of "CLASS READINGS"; (b) brief explanations of of few "seminar ARGUMENTS" or "CASE studies". In both cases, the point of the exam will be to test the understanding of the MAIN philosophical issues explored at BOTH the lectures AND the seminars.
NB: Mid-term test will cover ONLY the material of classes 1-6 and Seminars 1-3, while the Final Exam will cover the material explored at the REMAINING lectures and seminars.
FINAL ESSAY INSTRUCTION:
TOPIC OF THE ESSAY: “WHICH OF THE POLITICAL IDEAS that you have encountered in the class and seminar readings AFTER THE MID-TERM (i.e., in Locke, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel) may be helpful in DIAGNOSING/UDERSTANDING SOME CURRENT POLITICAL CHALLENGE/PROBLEM and/or PROVIDING POSSIBLE RESPONSE(s)/SOLUTION(s) to that current political challenge/problem.”
LENGTH: 1500 to 1700 words
DEADLINE: 48 before your final exam
GRADING SCALE:
- A = 91-100 % – excellent
- B = 81-90 % – very good
- C = 71-80 % – good
- D = 61-70 % – satisfactory
- E = 51-60 % – minimal pass
- F = 0-50 % – fail