Political Philosophy (Advanced Studies)

Teacher(s)

Gosseries Axel;

Language

French

Main themes

Each year the course will select a particular theme, e.g. justification for democracy, sovereignity, citizenship, conflict, power, justice worldwide, social justice, climate justice, migrations, etc.. The course will always present different approaches to the chosen theme, compare and contrast them.
The course will pay special attention to the relationship between the chosen theme and a reflection on the goals and methods of political philosophy.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	Capacity to formulate an advanced research question in political philosophy, to respond to it in a clear manner and to defend their response
2	Capacity to perceive the difference between factual, conceptual, axiological, and normative statements
3	Acquire substantial knowledge relating to the specific theme discussed during the year in question

Content

In 2025-26, the course will be entitled "Egalitarianism: what's up?". The reading part will contain two parts. First, we will have a general methodological section about how do to analytical political philosophy, focused on how to best articulate facts, concepts, values and norms. Then, we will look into egalitarian theories of justice, exploring specific issues, be they related to to e.g. responsibility, to the relationship between discrimination and equality, or to the odea of relational egalitarianism. Each class will be based on a paper in contemporary political philosophy

Teaching methods

The course consists in two parts. The first one is reading focused, based on texts in English. Each week, there will be oral presentations and group discussions on specific points. Active participation will be expected. The second part will be writing focused. Students will be expected to prepare a paper within the theme of this year. The writing and the reading parts are complementary.

Evaluation methods

Evaluation will be mainly based on the written final essay, with some attention to participation in class too

Other information

Basic knowledge in political philosophy will be expected (it is an advanced course)
A passive knowledge of English is needed too

Online resources

Material will be rendered available, week after week, on Moodle

Bibliography

A déterminer, en ce compris en concertation avec les étudiants

Faculty or entity

> EFIL