AP/PHIL2060 3.0 A: Social and Political Philosophy
Offered by: PHIL
Session
Fall 2020
Term
F
Format
LECT
Instructor
Calendar Description / Prerequisite / Co-Requisite
An introduction to philosophy focusing on problems concerning the nature of society, the nature of the state, justice and human rights, freedom and censorship, etc. Course credit exclusion: GL/PHIL 2923 3.00.
Course Start Up
Course Websites hosted on York's "eClass" are accessible to students during the first week of the term. It takes two business days from the time of your enrolment to access your course website. Course materials begin to be released on the course website during the first week. To log in to your eClass course visit the York U eClass Portal and login with your Student Passport York Account. If you are creating and participating in Zoom meetings you may also go directly to the York U Zoom Portal.
For further course Start Up details, review the Getting Started webpage.
For IT support, students may contact University Information Technology Client Services via askit@yorku.ca or (416) 736-5800. Please also visit Students Getting Started UIT or the Getting Help - UIT webpages.
Esteve Morera
Email address: morera@yorku.ca
This course will focus on the conceptual foundations of Western social and political philosophy. It will be divided into two parts, one historical and one contemporary. In the first part, we will engage in an examination of some of the primary texts of such thinkers as Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Hobbes, Locke, Mill, and Marx. We will pay particular attention to their views about human nature, the social contract, social justice and its foundations, and the nature and origins of inequality. The second part of the course will be devoted to the study of some contemporary thinkers, both to develop an understanding of important criticisms of the classical texts and appreciation of crucial debates in our times. This will include liberal, socialist, and feminist thinkers, as well as some African and indigenous thinkers.
Technical requirements for taking the course: This course will be delivered primarily by means of videoconferencing, using the video communication app Zoom (available form York). You will also need access to Moodle (Log in using your Passport York account), and email. In addition to stable, higher-speed Internet connection, you will need a computer with webcam and microphone, or a smart device with these features.
You will be expected to participate in the course by attending virtual lectures and discussions. Although it is not strictly required, it is desirable that you appear on video in lectures, at least occasionally, and office meetings.
Here are some useful links for student computing information, resources and help:
Zoom@YorkU User Reference Guide
Computing for Students Website
Student Guide to eLearning at York University
To determine Internet connection and speed, there are online tests, such as Speedtest, that can be run.]
Times and locations: This course will be taught synchronously (via Zoom), that is, all lectures will take place at the times posted on the Registrar’s Office’s website.
Zoom meetings will take place on Mondays and Wednesday 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm. Links to
Zoom sessions will be posted on the Moodle page for this course.
Zoom lectures may be recorded, provided no one objects (if you do, let me know as soon as possible).
NOTE: It is important that you understand that all lectures, both their content and recordings of them, are protected by copyright law. See further details under Course Policies
Virtual office hours: Wednesday 10:00-11:30 am
or by appointment.
Andrea Veltman, editor. Social and Political Philosophy. Classic and Contemporary Readings. Oxford.
PHIL 2060 KIT - Available at the York Bookstore
Visit the York Bookstore webpage for ordering books and Kits and for the free shipping of course books/kits to students with a Canadian address. Note that, although the Bookstore processes orders quickly, it takes some time (two weeks or more) for the delivery system to get them to your home, so make sure you order books and kits as soon as possible!
Test (Oct. 21) . . . . . . . . | 30 % |
Paper (Dec. 7) . . . . . . . | 35 % |
Final exam . . . . . . . . . . | 35 % |
The main purpose of our meetings will be to make sure that you achieve your academic goals. Learning is an activity that is best accomplished by actively participating in discussion, raising questions, and suggesting ways of understanding a text or solving a problem. Instructors should facilitate this activity. Current research demonstrates the importance of active learning, but this is indeed a very old ideas, one that the great thinkers of the past already understood well. Read, for instance, the first two pages of Plato’s Republic (Course KIT 3) and Ibn Khaldun’s excerpt from his Muqaddimah (KIT 2).
To that end, each session will be divided into sections: some of them will be devoted to lectures providing background information that may be needed to understand a text or a problem, and to explicate concepts or analyze arguments; others will be devoted to group discussion, and Q&A. Questions are always a welcome; I encourage you to interrupt lectures with any relevant questions you may have.
- Understand the origin and development of key ideas in social and political philosophy
- Appreciate developments in contemporary social and political philosophy
- Evaluate critically arguments related to the nature of society, justice, freedom, and equality.
- Write cogently and clearly about social and political issues.
Additional Information:
Weekly readings:
1 | Sep. | 9 | Introduction to the Course (Senate Policy on Academic Honest (KIT 1), Ibn Khaldun (KIT 2) |
2 | 14 | Plato (Veltman, pp. 3-22 and KIT 3) | |
3 | 16 | Aristotle (Veltman, pp. 45 -61) | |
4 | 21 | The Influence of Aristotle. Natural Law and the Scientific Revolution (Aquinas KIT 4) | |
5 | 23 | Hobbes (Veltman, pp. 79-107) | |
6 | 28 | Hobbes (Continued) | |
7 | 30 | Locke (Veltman, pp. 111-46) | |
8 | Oct. | 5 | Locke (Continued) |
9 | 7 | Locke (Continued) Rousseau (Veltman, pp. 149-73) | |
10 | 19 | Rousseau (Continued) | |
11 | 21 | Mandatory Test
|
|
12 | 26 | Mill (Veltman, pp. 201-38) | |
13 | 28 | Mill (Continued) | |
14 | Nov. | 2 | Marx and Engels (Veltman, pp. 242-63) |
15 | 4 | Marx and Engels (Continued) | |
16 | 9 | Appiah (KIT 6) | |
17 | 11 | U.S. Supreme Court (KIT 5); Mills (Veltman, pp. 350-68) | |
18 | 16 | Rawls (Veltman, pp. 297-319) | |
19 | 18 | Rawls (Continued); Hospers (Veltman, pp. 321-33) | |
20 | 23 | Pateman (Veltman, pp. 335-46); Okin (Veltman, pp. 401-28); Madam Justice Wilson (KIT 7) | |
21 | 25 | Young (KIT 8) | |
22 | 30 | Gyekye (KIT 9); Bold and Long (KIT 10) | |
23 | Dec. | 2 | Pufendorf (KIT 11); McIntyre (KIT 12); Nielsen (KIT 13) |
24 | 7 | Review
Paper Due
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Course policies
- Academic honesty and integrity
In this course, we strive to maintain academic integrity to the highest extent possible. Please familiarize yourself with the meaning of academic integrity by completing SPARK’s Academic Integrity module at the beginning of the course. Breaches of academic integrity range from cheating to plagiarism (i.e., the improper crediting of another’s work, the representation of another’s ideas as your own, etc.). All instances of academic dishonesty in this course will be reported to the appropriate university authorities, and can be punishable according to the Senate Policy on Academic Honesty.
- Turnitin
To promote academic integrity in this course, students will be required to submit their written assignments to Turnitin (via the course Moodle) for a review of textual similarity and the detection of possible plagiarism. In so doing, students will allow their material to be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database, where they will be used only for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. The terms that apply to the University’s use of the Turnitin service are described on the Turnitin.com website.
- Copy Rights:
Note that all lectures, both their content and recordings of them, are protected by copyright law:
1) the recordings should be used for educational purposes only and as a means for enhancing accessibility; 2) students do not have permission to duplicate, copy or distribute the recordings outside of the class (these acts can violate not only copyright laws but also FIPPA -Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.31); and 3) all recordings will be destroyed after the end of classes.
- Late policy.
Assignments must be submitted on time. No extensions will be generally granted for papers, other than in some officially documented exceptional circumstances (illness, bereavement, disability, special needs.) Late papers will be penalized 5% per day. There are no exceptions to this rule.
- Course information
All students are expected to familiarize themselves with the following information:
- Academic Honesty
- Student Rights and Responsibilities
- Religious Observance
- Grading Scheme and Feedback
- 20% Rule
No examinations or tests collectively worth more than 20% of the final grade in a course will be given during the final 14 calendar days of classes in a term. The exceptions to the rule are classes which regularly meet Friday evenings or on Saturday and/or Sunday at any time, and courses offered in the compressed summer terms. - Academic Accommodation for Students with Disabilities