PHIL41930

Political Philosophy is classically an inquiry about justice and liberty, and how the state can or should act within and around them. However, there have been important critiques of the ‘liberal’ approach that has been shaped by philosophers like Rawls, criticising the methods, scope and content of political philosophy in recent decades. This course provides an overview over topics beyond classical liberal political philosophy, departing from Rawls to examine questions of nationalism and political legitimacy.
In the first half, the course will examine nations and nationalisms, communities and identities, violence and borders, fascism and the far right, as well as considerations about repairing past wrongs. In the second half, the course will cover questions of political legitimacy, including deep political disagreement, deliberative democracy, public reason, epistemic democracy, as well as the right to revolution and anarchism. The course will provide students with the ability to engage with contemporary political philosophy and to trace political discourse to its philosophical roots.