Department of Philosophy Philosophy 270, Summer Term, 2014 Introduction to Political Philosophy T & TR: 10.00 a.m. ‐ 12.50 p.m., NRE 1 143 Instructor: Yasemin Sari









Office: Assiniboia Hall 2‐26

E‐mail: [email protected] Office Hours: Friday 12 p.m. – 2.00 p.m. or by appointment. “What I propose in the following is a reconsideration of the human condition from the vantage point of our newest experiences and our most recent fears. This, obviously, is a matter of thought, and thoughtlessness—the heedless recklessness or hopeless confusion of complacent repetition of ‘truths’ which have become trivial and empty—seems to me among the outstanding characteristics of our time. What I propose, therefore, is very simple: it is nothing more than to think what we are doing” (Arendt, The Human Condition). Course description and goals: This course provides an introduction to political philosophy that is both thematically and historically oriented. Key figures in the history of social and political thought covered in this class include Plato, Hobbes, Kant, Marx, and Arendt. The course is centered on the following themes: political life in the polis and justice (Plato), authority in the sovereign state and rights (Hobbes), enlightenment and the idea of freedom (Kant), critique of liberalism, alienation, and self‐actualization (Marx), political identity in the community, the distinction between the social and the political, and the question of political freedom (Arendt). The purpose of this course is to provide an understanding of the relationship between justice, freedom, and our recognition from others, and it aims to show how this understanding helps us make sense of our political experience in the world today. Required Readings: The following work is available at SUB Bookstore: Plato, Republic (Second edition), translated by G. M. A. Grube, revised by C. D. C. Reeve. All other readings will be available on E‐class. E‐Class: Accessible through the University of Alberta’s homepage as PHIL 270 POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY. You need a CCID and password to log in. Students registered for the course are automatically enrolled. Please send me an email with your CCID if you are not already enrolled. This is where all the online materials will be located including the course syllabus, assignments, and other supplementary material that we will need in the class. Audio/Video Recording: Audio or video recording of lectures, labs, seminars, or any other teaching environment by students is allowed only with the prior written consent of the instructor as a part of

an approved accommodation plan. Recorded material is to be used solely for personal study, and is not to be used or distributed for any other purpose without prior written consent from the instructor. Course requirements: Attendance and Participation 20% Response Papers

20%

Due dates: Response paper #1: Tuesday, July 15th (10%)





Response paper #2: Tuesday, July 22nd (10%)

Term Paper



30% Due date: Friday, August 8th

Final Exam





30% Thursday, August 14th at 11.30 a.m.

Attendance and Participation: Students are expected to come to class on time and prepared, and to participate in the discussion in an engaged, lively manner while still being respectful of their colleagues. Regular attendance and active participation will be most fruitful for what we will be doing in this class, for our primary aim is to understand how we live in this world and with others. In‐class discussion will involve both discussion questions and other in‐class group activities. These will make up a component of your participation grade. Critical Response Papers: Students are expected to write up 2 critical response papers on the questions assigned at the end of each week in preparation for the upcoming week’s readings. The assignments are due at the beginning of the first lectures of weeks 2 and 3. These assignments should not be longer than one page (about 500‐750 words single‐spaced). The purpose of these assignments is to prepare the student to engage in a careful reading of the texts, and to have a preliminary understanding of the objectives of the text before the lectures take place. Given this purpose, there will be no extensions or make‐ups provided. Term Paper: Each student is responsible for one major term paper of 1500‐2000 words. The topics for the term paper will be assigned on Friday, July 19th, that is, 3 weeks prior to the deadline. I will provide a writing workshop in order to explain how a philosophy paper is written. A guideline for writing this paper will also be provided on E‐Class. Final Exam: The final exam for this course will be held at 11.30 a.m, on Thursday, August 14th.

Schedule of Readings (subject to change)







Introduction





Recommended readings:



July 8, Tuesday

Week 1



Sheldon Wolin, “Political Philosophy and Philosophy,” Politics and Vision, chapter 1. James Tully, “Political Philosophy as a Critical Activity,” Political Theory Vol. 30, no. 4 (August 2002).

July 10, Thursday

Plato: “Allegory of the Cave,” Republic, Book 7 [514a‐518d]. ‐‐‐. Republic, Books 1 and 2.



July 15, Tuesday

Plato: Republic, Books 3 and 4.

Week 2

 First critical response paper due. July 17, Thursday



 







July 22, Tuesday

Week 3

Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan, Chapters 7, 10, 13, 14, 15.

Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan, Chapters 16‐19.  Second critical response paper due.

June 24, Thursday

Immanuel Kant: “What is Enlightenment?” Charles Taylor: “Kant’s Theory of Freedom,” in Philosophy and the Human Sciences, Chapter 12.











July 29, Tuesday



Karl Marx: “On the Jewish Question” in Early Writings. ‐‐‐. A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s ‘Philosophy of Right’, Introduction. Recommended reading: Marx’s letter to Ruge.

Week 4

July 31, Thursday

Karl Marx: The Communist Manifesto, Parts 1, 2, and 4. Recommended Reading: ‐‐‐. German Ideology, Part 1.







August 5, Tuesday

Hannah Arendt: The Human Condition, Chapters 1‐6.



* Writing workshop on how to write philosophy papers *



 

Week 5

August 7, Thursday Hannah Arendt: The Human Condition, Chapters 7‐9, 24‐28. ‐‐‐. “What is Freedom?” in Between Past and Future. August 8, Friday



 











Term papers due at 5 p.m.

Hannah Arendt: “The Social Question,” Parts 1‐2 (pp. 59‐73), and 5‐6 (pp. 98‐114), in On Revolution.

‐‐‐. “The Revolutionary Tradition and Its Lost Treasure,” Parts August 12, Tuesday 1‐2 (pp. 215‐248), in On Revolution.

Week 6

‐‐‐. “From Hegel to Marx,” in The Promise of Politics. *** Review for the final exam ***



August 14, Thursday Final Exam at 11.30 a.m.

Academic Regulations: The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at: http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/gfcpolicymanual/content.cfm?ID_page=37633) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University. Additional information and resources are available through the UofA’s Truth in Education project: http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/TIE/ The following constraints apply when you submit work for this course: 30.3.2(1) Plagiarism No student shall submit the words, ideas, images or data of another person as the Student’s own in any academic writing, essay, thesis, project, assignment, presentation, or poster in a course or program of study. 30.3.2(2) Cheating 30.3.2(2) a No student shall in the course of an examination or other similar activity, obtain or attempt to obtain information from another Student or other unauthorized source, give or attempt to give information to another Student, or use, attempt to use or possess for the purposes of use any unauthorized material. 30.3.2(2) b No student shall represent or attempt to represent him or herself as another or have or attempt to have himself or herself represented by another in the taking of an examination, preparation of a paper or other similar activity. See also misrepresentation 30.3.6(4) 30.3.2(2) c No student shall represent another’s substantial editorial or compositional assistance on an assignment as the Student’s own work. 30.3.2(2) d No student shall submit in any course or program of study, without the written approval of the course Instructor, all or a substantial portion of any academic writing, essay, thesis, research report, project, assignment, presentation or poster for which credit has previously been obtained by the Student or which has been or is being submitted by the Student in another course or program of study in the University or elsewhere. 30.3.2(2) e No student shall submit any course or program of study any academic writing, essay, thesis, report, project, assignment, presentation or poster containing a statement of fact known by the Student to be false or a reference to a source the Student knows to contain fabricated claims (unless acknowledged by the Student), or a fabricated reference to a source. Policy about course outlines can be found in § 23.4(2) of the University Calendar.