Undergraduate Course: Political Philosophy (PHIL10093)
Course Outline
School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
Summary | The course will be divided into two related parts, each concerned in some way with contemporary liberalism. The first part will examine Rawls' Justice as Fairness and his conception of political liberalism. The second part will address the question of what restrictions on individual liberty modern states are justified in imposing. |
Course description |
§2. Class Readings and Topics (still provisional but indicative)
In the first part of the course we will cover a lot by John Rawls. Students considering taking this course are strongly advised to take a look at Rawls' Theory of Justice beforehand.
** = required
* = highly recommended
PART I - Distributive Justice and Political Liberalism
1. Rawls I: Justice as Fairness
** Rawls, J. A Theory of Justice (Revised Edition) chapter 1
Further Reading
*Freeman, S. The Cambridge Companion to Rawls, 'Introduction' (pp.1-20). [LEARN page]
Freeman, S. Rawls (Routledge, 2007), chapter 1
2. Rawls II: The Principles of Justice
** Rawls, chapter 2
Further Reading
*Freeman, Rawls, chapters 2-3
3. Rawls III: The Original Position
** Rawls, chapter 3
Further Reading
*Freeman, Rawls, chapter 4
Further Reading (weeks 1-3)
- Daniels, N. (ed.) Reading Rawls (Standford, 1989).
- Freeman, S. (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Rawls (CUP, 2002)
- Rawls, J. Justice as Fairness: A Restatement
- Kymlicka, W. Contemporary Political Philosophy (2nd edition), chapter 3.
4. The Basic Structure Objection
** Cohen, G. A. 'Where the Action Is: On the Site of Distributive Justice,' Philosophy and Public Affairs 26 (1), (1997), 3-30.
Further Reading
- Cohen, G. A. 'Incentives, Inequality and Community', The Tanner Lectures on Human Values.
http://tannerlectures.utah.edu/_documents/a-to-z/c/cohen92.pdf
- Woodard, C. 'Cohen and the Basic Structure Objection', Acta Politica, 35/3 (2000), 275-301.
5. The Feminist Critique and the move to Political Liberalism
** Rawls, J. 'Justice as Fairness: Political Not Metaphysical' Philosophy and Public Affairs, 14(3) (1985) 223-251.
** Pick one (or more) from:
(a) Okin, S. 'Political Liberalism, Justice, and Gender,' Ethics 105 (1994), 23¿43.
(b) Okin, S. ''Forty Acres and a Mule' for Women: Rawls and Feminism,' Politics, Philosophy & Economics 4 (2005), 233¿248.
(c) Lloyd, S. A. 'Family Justice and Social Justice,' Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 75 (1994), pp. 353¿371.
(d) Abbey, R. 'Back toward a Comprehensive Liberalism? Justice as Fairness, Gender, and Families,' Political Theory 35 (2007), pp. 5-28.
(e) Hartley, C. & Watson, L. 'Is a Feminist Political Liberalism Possible?', Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy, 5/1 [JESP is an open-access online journal]
Further Reading
- Freeman, S. Rawls, chapters 8, 9.
* - Freeman, S. Rawls, 'The Institution of the Family', 235-40.
*- Freeman, S. The Cambridge Companion to Rawls, 'Introduction' (28-44). [LEARN page]
- Rawls, J. Political Liberalism (especially lectures 1, 4, 5, 6).
- Nussbaum, M. 'Rawls and Feminism' in Freeman, S. The Cambridge Companion to Rawls, 'Introduction' (28-52).
PART II - The Limits of the Liberal State
6. Marriage
** Brake, E. 'Minimal Marriage: What Political Liberalism Implies for Marriage Law,' Ethics 120(2), (2010), 302-337.
Further Reading
- Hartley, C. & Watson, L. 'Political Liberalism, Marriage and the Family', Law and Philosophy 31/2 (2012),185-212.
7. Civil disobedience
** Sabl, A. 'Looking Forward to Justice: Rawlsian Civil Disobedience and its Non-Rawlsian Lessons', Journal of Political Philosophy, 9/3 (2001).
Further Reading
- Brownlee, K. 'Conscientious Objection and Civil Disobedience', in Marmor, A. (ed.) The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Law, 527- 539.
8. Immigration
** Blake, M. 'Immigration, Jurisdiction, and Exclusion', Philosophy & Public Affairs, 41, (2013), 103¿130.
Further Reading
- Wellman, C. H. 'Immigration and Freedom of Association', Ethics, 119/1, (2008), 109-141.
- Dummett, M. 'Immigration', Res Publica, 10/2, (2004), 115-122.
9. Noxious markets
** Satz, D. Why Some Things Should Not Be For Sale, chapters 4-6.
Further Reading
- Liberto, H. 'Noxious Markets Versus Noxious Gift Relationships', Social Theory and Practice 39 (2), (2013), 265-287.
- Rippon, S. 'Imposing Options on People in Poverty: The Harm of a Live Donor Organ Market', Journal of Medical Ethics 40/3, (2014), 145-150.
10. Voting
** Brennan, J. & Hill, L. Compulsory Voting: For and Against, chapter 2 or 8 (if unsure which to read: pick the one with which you disagree, or think you¿re most likely to disagree).
Further Reading
- Lever, A. 'Compulsory voting: a critical perspective', British Journal of Political Science 40:897-915 (2010)
11. Freedom of expression
**Scanlon, T. 'A Theory of Freedom of Expression', Philosophy and Public Affairs, 1/2 (1972), 204-226.
Further Reading
*- Mill, J. S. On Liberty
- Maitra, I. 'Subordinating Speech', in Maitra, I. & McGowan, M. K. (eds.) Speech and Harm: Controversies over free speech (OUP, 2012).
- Cohen, J. 'Freedom of Expression', Philosophy & Public Affairs, 22(3), 207-263.
- West, C. 'Words that Silence? Freedom of Expression and Racist Hate Speech' in Maitra, I. & McGowan, M. K. (eds.) Speech and Harm: Controversies over free speech (OUP, 2012).
12. Conclusion
§3. Class Format
It's imperative that you only come to class (a) having done the reading and (b) prepared to contribute to discussion on it. The issues under consideration are of crucial importance and you all have interesting points to make. Think about what your view is and come to class ready to discuss it. Make sure to bring with you (a) the reading (b) your notes (c) some questions and thoughts on the reading.
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Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least three philosophy courses at Grade B or above (or be predicted to gain this). We will only consider University/College level courses. |
High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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Academic year 2016/17, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 30 |
Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
|
Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
Additional Information (Assessment) |
This course will be assessed by one 1500-word essay (40%) due roughly halfway through the semester, and one 2500-word essay (60%) due near the end of the semester.
Visiting Student assessment is the same as above. |
Feedback |
1. Students will receive feedback on their two essays.
2. Students will have the opportunity to submit plans and outlines prior to the deadlines.
3. Students will also have the opportunity to discuss their essays, and feedback on them, in my office hour. |
No Exam Information |
|
Academic year 2016/17, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)
|
Quota: 6 |
Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
|
Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
Additional Information (Assessment) |
This course will be assessed by one 1500-word essay (40%) due roughly halfway through the semester, and one 2500-word essay (60%) due near the end of the semester.
Visiting Student assessment is the same as above. |
Feedback |
1. Students will receive feedback on their two essays.
2. Students will have the opportunity to submit plans and outlines prior to the deadlines.
3. Students will also have the opportunity to discuss their essays, and feedback on them, in my office hour. |
No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Knowledge of the work of John Rawls
- Knowledge of the work of various critics of Rawls
- Awareness of the considerations arising from various restrictions on liberty
- Ability to write an essay in political philosophy
- Enhanced ability to articulate and defend one's own views on various political issues
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Contacts
Course organiser | Dr Guy Fletcher
Tel: (0131 6)51 7112
Email: Guy.Fletcher@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Samantha Bell
Tel: (0131 6)50 3602
Email: sam.bell@ed.ac.uk |
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© Copyright 2016 The University of Edinburgh - 3 February 2017 5:03 am
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