Classics of Political Philosophy - JPB195

• Title: Classics of Political Philosophy
• Guaranteed by: Department of Political Science (23-KP)
• Faculty: Faculty of Social Sciences
• Actual: from 2023 to 2023
• Semester: summer
• E-Credits: 6
• Examination process: summer s.:
• Hours per week, examination: summer s.:2/1, Ex [HT]
• Capacity: 80 / 80 (80)
• Min. number of students: unlimited
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: taught
• Language: English
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Note: course can be enrolled in outside the study plan; enabled for web enrollment; priority enrollment if the course is part of the study plan
• Guarantor: Janusz Salamon, Ph.D.
• Teacher(s): Janusz Salamon, Ph.D.
• Class: Courses not for incoming students
• Incompatibility : JPB578
• Pre-requisite : JPB156
• Is incompatible with: JPB578
• Is pre-requisite for: JPB157

Syllabus

Last update: Janusz Salamon, Ph.D. (24.03.2024)

SYLLABUS

 

CLASSICS OF POLITICAL THOUGHT – JPB 195

Institute of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague

Instructor: Dr Janusz Salamon

ETCS: 6 credits
Prerequisites: None

 

PLACE & TIME - TUESDAY morning in JINONICE campus:

(1) SEMINAR at 8:00 in B316 - for Groups 2 & 4 (every second week)

followed by

(2) LECTURE at 9:30 in C123 - for EVERYONE

followed by

(3) SEMINAR at 11:00 in B330 - for Groups 1 & 3 (every second week)

Explanation: Every mandatory course is accompanied by a seminar. You will have 6 seminars spread across the entire semester. We will divide the class alphabetically into FOUR Seminar Groups and each group will have a seminar every second week, STARTING IN WEEK 2 of the semester (for details see the schedule below).

All SEMINAR READINGS will be uploaded in the SIS, below the CLASS READINGS.

 

CONTACTS:

Office hours: MONDAYS at 14:00-15:20 and TUESDAYS at 12.30-13.50, in my office C514 in Jinonice (taking the lift next to Student Club / PPE Common Room)
Email: [e-mail]

 

1. Course objectives

The aim of this course is to enable students to explore the key ideas of some of the greatest minds in the history of political philosophy by studying representative fragments of their works. In the course of the semester we will explore some of the most important philosophical questions that shape the way we understand and act in the world of politics. We will read selections from the seminal works of ancient as well as modern political thinkers and tackle such questions as the nature of the state and political power, the justification of political obligation, or the relation between political and economic freedom.

 

2. Student learning outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students should:

·        Comprehend the ideas of the seminal thinkers of Western philosophic tradition studies in the course; 

·        Understand and analyse the basic concepts, ideas and problems relevant to the study of politics;

·        Have improved their analytical, argumentative, and writing skills.

 

3. Teaching methodology

This course is a combination of a lecture and a seminar. Students will be expected to actively participate in the class discussion. It is therefore of paramount importance that they study the assigned texts before class.

 

4. Course Schedule

 

Class 1     SOCRATES and the birth of political philosophy  [a LECTURE at 9.30 for everyone (NO SEMINARS in Week 1)]

 

Class 2     PLATO's progressive politics based on reason and his defence of the enlightened rule of the meritocratic elite [SEMINAR 1 for Group 2 at 8.00, followed by a LECTURE at 9.30 for everyone, followed by SEMINAR 1 for Group 1 at 11:00]

 

Class 3     ARISTOTLE's conservative politics based on nature and his impact on POLYBIUS' and CICERO's defence of republicanism [SEMINAR 1 for Group 4 at 8.00, followed by a LECTURE at 9.30 for everyone, followed by SEMINAR 1 for Group 3 at  11:00]

 

Class 4    MACHIAVELLI's rediscovery of republicanism and the problem of 'dirty hands" in politics [SEMINAR 2 for Group 2 at 8.00, followed by a LECTURE at 9.30 for everyone, followed by SEMINAR 2 for Group 1 at 11:00]

 

Class 5    HOBBES on the establishment of the state through social contract between individuals [SEMINAR 2 for Group 4 at 8.00, followed by a LECTURE at 9.30 for everyone, followed by SEMINAR 2 for Group 3 at  11:00]

Class 6    LOCKE and the birth of modern individualistic liberalism  [SEMINAR 3 for Group 2 at 8.00, followed by a LECTURE at 9.30 for everyone, followed by SEMINAR 3 for Group 1 at 11:00]

Class 7  MID-TERM in-class 90 minutes long TEST for everyone (the same form as my "finals", only shorter): 9:30-11:00 in classroom C123

 

Class 8  ROUSSEAU on equality and reconciliation of individual freedom and state authority [SEMINAR 3 for Group 4 at 8.00, followed by a LECTURE at 9.30 for everyone, followed by SEMINAR 3 for Group 3 at  11:00]

 

Class 9 KANT on human autonomy as the goal of politics [SEMINAR 4 for Group 2 at 8.00, followed by a LECTURE at 9.30 for everyone, followed by SEMINAR 1 for Group 2 at 11:00]

 

Class 10 HEGEL on historicity and cultural identity underlying politics [SEMINAR 4 for Group 4 at 8.00, followed by a LECTURE at 9.30 for everyone, followed by SEMINAR 4 for Group 3 at  11:00]

 

Class 11 Hegel, Darwin/Spencer, NIETZSCHE and intellectual sources of FASCISM [SEMINAR 5 for Group 2 at 8.00, followed by a LECTURE at 9.30 for everyone, followed by SEMINAR 4 for Group 1 at 11:00]

 

Class 12  Echoes of Western Conservatism in the NON-WESTERN MODERN political traditions (Islamist and Hindutva) [SEMINAR 5 for Group 4 at 8.00, followed by a LECTURE at 9.30 for everyone, followed by SEMINAR 5 for Group 3 at  11:00]

 

Class 13 [SEMINAR 6 for ALL GROUPS - details to be announced in due course]

 

5. Reading material

All assigned readings are available online at the course's SIS website. The readings will be taken mainly from the following works:

Classics of Philosophy, L.P. Pojman (ed.), Oxford University Press, 2003; Modern Political Thought: A Reader, J. Gingell, A. Little, Winch (eds), Routledge, 2000; Political Thinkers from Socrates to the Present, D. Boucher & P. Kelly (eds), Oxford, 2003; A History of Western Political Thought, J.S. McClelland, Routledge, 2005; Political Philosophy from Plato to Mao, M. Cohen, Pluto Press, 2001; Plato: The Republic; Crito; Apology; Aristotle: Politics; Nicomachean Ethics; Machiavelli: Prince; Hobbes: Leviathan; Locke: Second Treatise of Government; Rousseau: Discourse on the Origins of Inequality; On Social Contract; Marx: On the Jewish Question; Communist Manifesto; J. S. Mill: On Liberty; M. Wollstonecraft, The Vindication of the Rights of Women;

 

COURSE GRADING:

Quality participation in the SEMINAR + Final SEMINAR Essay =  25%

Mid-term In-Class Written Test                                                25%

Final Written Exam                                                                 50%

Total                                                                                    100%

 

SEMINAR INSTRUCTION: The seminar is mandatory. As indicated in the Syllabus (above), the seminar will be taught in 4 groups. Each student will be informed during Week 1 to which group they belong. Each student must do the relevant seminar reading in advance (the familiarity with the seminar reading will be tested through quizzes at the beginning of each seminar, therefore students who will arrive late and will not take the quiz, will loose the points awarded for the quizzes (2, 1 or 0 points for a single quiz).

 

SEMINAR READINGS are uploaded below (in the SIS, not Moodle). The seminars will consists of the discussion of the philosophical arguments introduced in the "seminar readings".

FINAL ESSAY INSTRUCTION:

TOPIC OF THE FINAL SEMINAR ESSAY: “WHICH OF THE POLITICAL IDEAS that you have encountered in the class and seminar readings AFTER THE MID-TERM (i.e., in Locke, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel) may be helpful in  DIAGNOSING/UDERSTANDING SOME CURRENT POLITICAL CHALLENGE/PROBLEM and/or PROVIDING POSSIBLE RESPONSE(s)/SOLUTION(s) to that current political challenge/problem.”

LENGTH: 1500 to 1700 words

DEADLINE: 48 before your final exam

 

FINAL EXAM INSTRUCTION:

FINAL EXAM is an in-class 3 hours long written exam, students choose one of the three exam dates by registering in the SIS.

FINAL EXAM will include "discussing" 3 topics selected by the students from a list of topics, however, the list will be constructed in such a way that each student will have to discuss at least TWO topics that were explored in BOTH the Class Readings AND in the Seminar Readings. So the point of the exam will be to test the understanding of the MAIN philosophical issues and arguments explored at BOTH the lectures AND the seminars.

NB: Mid-term test will cover ONLY the material of classes 1-5 (Hobbes included) and Seminars 1-2, while the Final Exam will cover the material explored in the REMAINING lecture readings and seminar readings.

 

GRADING SCALE:

• A = 91-100 % – excellent
• B = 81-90 % – very good
• C = 71-80 % – good
• D = 61-70 % – satisfactory
• E = 51-60 % – minimal pass
• F = 0-50 % – fail