Social and Political Philosophy I (PHIL 243)

Lecturer

Dr Sandy Berkovski

Contact details

sandy.berkovski+comment@gmail.com

Office hours

H147, Wed 10:30-12:30 and by appointment

Readings

These texts are all required, and you will need your own copy of them. Their electronic versions are combined in one PDF file available on Moodle. Since electronic devices are not allowed in class (see below), please print out a hard copy and have it with you in every class.

[Aqu02]

Aquinas. Political Writings. Cambridge University Press, 2002. Edited by R. W. Dyson.

[Ari92]

Aristotle. The Politics. Penguin, 1992. Translated by T. A. Sinclair. Revised by T. J. Saunders.

[Pla92]

Plato. The Republic. Hackett, 1992. Translated by G. M. A. Grube. Revised by C. D. C. Reeve.

[Pla02]

Plato. Five Dialogues. Hackett, 2002. Translated by G. M. A. Grube. Revised by J. M. Cooper.

[Thu93]

Thucydides. On Justice, Power, and Human Nature. Hackett, 1993. Edited and translated by P. Woodruff.

Preliminary term schedule

Week 1: 10.06.25

Introduction; State and nature: [Ari92], Book I (i-ii); Laws and obedience: [Pla02], Crito; [Aqu02], Obedience, tyranny, sedition 2a(1,4-6), 2b, 6b, Notion of law 3a(2),

Week 2: 16.06.25

[Aqu02], Kinds of law 3b(1-4), Eternal law 3d(1-3,6), Natural law 3e(2-6)

Week 3: 23.06.25

[Aqu02], Human law 3f(1-2), Legal judgement 4c(5-6), Religion and politics 7a(10-11), 7d; Midterm I

Week 4: 30.06.25

Democracy and open society: [Thu93], 39-46; Human nature: [Thu93], 46-52; Obligations of greatness and political leadership: [Thu93], 52-58; Justice and power: [Thu93], 102-109; Piety and reciprocity: [Pla02], Euthyphro

Week 5: 07.07.25

Morality, happiness, reciprocity: [Pla92], Books I, II

Week 6: 14.07.25

Justice and the ideal city: [Pla92], Books III (409a-417b), IV (excluding 434d-441c)

Week 7: 21.07.25

Unity, ownership, selection: [Pla92], Book V; Midterm II

Week 8

Final exam

Requirements

Midterm essay I and II

Students will write two essays.

Final exam

Students will sit an in-class final exam (open book).

Participation

Students are strongly encouraged to take part in the in-class discussions. This includes asking meaningful questions, however trivial they might seem. Random quizzes may be administered. Their grades will contribute to the participation grade.

Etiquette

Please make sure to join the class on time. Note that latecomers will not be allowed into class, including those that are late from the break. This rule will be strictly enforced throughout the semester. No electronic devices are allowed in class without an explicit leave by the lecturer.

Grading

The grades will have the following weight:

Midterm essay I		32%
Midterm essay II		32%
Final exam		20%
Class participation		16%

Your essay, final exam, and participation grades will take the following values: 100, 99, 90, 84, 70, 59, 10, 0. These values roughly correspond to the Bilkent percentage scale:

Numerical scale (%)		Letter scale
95 - 100		A
90 - 94		A-
86 - 89		B+
82 - 85		B
78 - 81		B-
74 - 77		C+
70 - 73		C
67 - 69		C-
63 - 66		D+
59 - 62		D
00 - 58		F

Your final letter grade for the course will be the arithmetical average of the final grades received for the Philosophy and English parts of the course (according to the conversion table above).

---

File translated from T_EX by T_TH, version 4.15.