Political Philosophy

Full course description

Politics is a confusing and complex subject.

Is freedom the most important political concept? Or equality? Can freedom only work if it is equal? What does the state mean? Is it just a territory or a bunch of buildings filled with civil servants? Can political violence ever be justified?

These are some of the key questions we will addres in “Political Philosophy”. As political philosophers we try to understand the conceptual and ideological building blocks which shape politics and which are used to justify certain regime types as well as concrete policies. We focus on the concepts and values that underpin how we (can) live together. Without looking at how arguments using concepts and values provide grounds for these beliefs and actions, it is difficult to understand why people act the way they do and believe the things they purport to believe.

This course will provide an introduction to contemporary philosophical debates about core political concepts such as liberty, equality, the state, and justice in modern liberal-democratic societies. Students will become familiar with the thought of some of the most innovative modern political philosophers, like Thomas Hobbes, Mary Wollstonecraft, John Stuart Mill, John Rawls, Frantz Fanon, Elizabeth Anderson, and Achille Mbembe. Since conceptual analysis is the core business of philosophy, students will learn to analyse concepts, to clarify fuzzy moral ideas, and to make explicit the tensions and contradictions inherent to our political lives. Students will learn how to apply these concepts to current political debate and practice.