Political Philosophy

(2.5-6 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Taught as "PHIL 258" - What is the justification of state power and legal authority? What is a good political system? How do we relate our judgments about how the political world should be to the way it actually is at present? This course will examine such questions, which will involve a study of the genesis and structure of political entities and the mutual responsibilities of citizen and government. NK - Nairobi, Kenya - Strathmore University The course covers a description of political and social institutions analyzed from the point of view of principles of classical philosophy. The dignity of the human being and the corresponding ideal social order are emphasized. The course reviews briefly the anthropological basis of a just social order. It examines the common good as an organizing principle of a just society; and presents a critical analysis of different political systems, their nature, origin and evolution; and finally the fundamental rights and duties of responsible citizens. BT - Bologna, Italy - Universita di Bologna The specific character of political philosophy will be the first object of study of the course. In the study of political philosophy, the approach of the history of concepts and constitutional history will be adopted, as they have been theorized by authors such as Quentin Skinner and Reinhart Koselleck. The main concepts of the lexicon of politics, such as State, sovereignty, freedom, equality, power, will then be examined, studying them within the doctrines of the main political thinkers of the Western tradition: Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, Tocqueville, Mosca, Weber, Schmitt, Arendt and Rawls. PF - Paris, France - Sci Po This is a philosophy course that dives into the questions and debates surround the liberty of expression. Each class focuses on a different topic that arises with the freedom of expression including: judicial expression, sexual expression, religious expression, the right to offend, stereotypes, and more. The course has weekly readings from both historical philosophers and more modern and contemporary philosopher and topics arising in this day and age in France and all over the world.