Module Details

The information contained in this module specification was correct at the time of publication but may be subject to change, either during the session because of unforeseen circumstances, or following review of the module at the end of the session. Queries about the module should be directed to the member of staff with responsibility for the module.
Title POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
Code PHIL102
Coordinator Dr KE Furman
Philosophy
Katherine.Furman@liverpool.ac.uk
Year CATS Level Semester CATS Value
Session 2022-23 Level 4 FHEQ Second Semester 15

Aims

Students will be introduced to the theories and arguments of some of the most important philosophers of the Western tradition of political thought, such as Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Marx and Mill.  Students will be introduced to some of the main concepts in political philosophy, including political obligation, democracy, community, rights, liberty, justice and property.


Learning Outcomes

(LO1) Students will be able to distinguish some main concepts in political philosophical debates.

(LO2) Students will be able to distinguish between different ways of understanding concepts in political philosophical debates.

(LO3) Students will be able to explain and evaluate some of the main theories in the history of political philosophy.

(LO4) Students will be able to analyse concepts and arguments relating to political issues.

(LO5) Students will be able to identify philosophical assumptions underlying political claims.

(LO6) Students will be able to structure a discussion of issues in political philosophy.

(LO7) Students will be able to speak with confidence and clarity on issues of political philosophy.

(LO8) Students will be able to explain details of canonical texts in political philosophy.

(LO9) Students will be able to articulate and defend basic positions in political philosophy.

(LO10) Students will be able to write coherently and rigorously about abstract philosophical issues raised by political debates.

(S1) Students will develop their skills in making appropriate use of information technology, information on the World Wide Web and reference works and databases relevant to the discipline.

(S2) Students will enhance their capacity to participate, in a dispassionate and respectful manner, in debates about controversial and profound matters.

(S3) Students will develop their willingness critically to evaluate and reflect upon arguments, beliefs, proposals and values, both their own and those of others.

(S4) Students will enhance their abilities in reading and understanding texts and in comprehending abstract material.

(S5) Students will develop their skills in thinking critically, analysing problems and analysing and assessing arguments.

(S6) Students will enhance their ability to identify and reflect critically upon the issues that underlie debates.

(S7) Students will develop confidence in considering previously unfamiliar ideas and approaches.

(S8) Students will enhance their ability to marshal arguments and present them orally and in writing.

(S9) Students will develop the ability to perform bibliographical searches, to include (to professional standard) citations and bibliographies in their work and to plan, organise and produce presentations and essays.

(S10) Students will enhance their oral and written communications skills and develop skill in explaining complex material in a precise manner.


Syllabus

 

Political obligation. Democracy and Plato. Aristotle, Political Community, Human Nature and Slavery. Machiavelli, Vice and Virtue. Hobbes, State of Nature, Contract and Sovereign. Locke, State of Nature, Civil Society and Property. Marx, Historical Materialism, Exploitation, Ideology and Alienation. Mill, Utilitarianism, Liberty, Democracy and Free Speech


Teaching and Learning Strategies

In hybrid/online teaching, lectures are online and asynchronous. Seminars are online or on-campus as necessary. ‘Standard’ delivery is campus-based.

Teaching Method 1 - Lecture
Description: Lectures are tutor-led activities, offering a map of the syllabus and a framework for independent enquiry-led research. Students are encouraged to engage actively with lectures through, for example: (i) taking opportunities to ask questions during the session; (ii) reflecting on and responding to questions posed to them; (iii) producing questions and notes on issues for subsequent group discussion in seminars. If necessary, these may take the form of recorded mini-lectures.
Attendance Recorded: No

Teaching Method 2 - Seminar
Description: Seminars are formative spaces of applied and enquiry-led learning based on pre-set readings and facilitated by the tutor. Seminars thus offer opportunities for students to respond to tutor- and peer-set questions, deepen und erstanding, apply ideas, develop arguments and build confidence through group discussion. One or two students take the lead each week through peer-teaching, delivering presentations based on their own enquiries and identification of questions and issues.
Attendance Recorded: Yes


Teaching Schedule

  Lectures Seminars Tutorials Lab Practicals Fieldwork Placement Other TOTAL
Study Hours 22

11

        33
Timetable (if known)              
Private Study 117
TOTAL HOURS 150

Assessment

EXAM Duration Timing
(Semester)
% of
final
mark
Resit/resubmission
opportunity
Penalty for late
submission
Notes
Assessment 1. The exam is on campus, in person. There is a resit opportunity.  120    90       
CONTINUOUS Duration Timing
(Semester)
% of
final
mark
Resit/resubmission
opportunity
Penalty for late
submission
Notes
Assessment 2. Reassessment opportunity - Yes    10       

Recommended Texts

Reading lists are managed at readinglists.liverpool.ac.uk. Click here to access the reading lists for this module.