Social and Political Philosophy II (PHIL 244-15)

Social and Political Philosophy II (PHIL 244-15)

Course description

Spring 2023

Lecturer
Dr Sandy Berkovski
Contact details
sandy.berkovski@gmail.com

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.

[Heg88]
G. W. F. Hegel. Introduction to the Philosophy of History. Hackett, 1988. Translated by L. Rauch.
[Hob92]
T. Hobbes. The Leviathan. Penguin, 1992.
[Kam83]
E. Kamenka, editor. The Portable Karl Marx. Penguin, 1983.
[Mil15]
J. S. Mill. On liberty. In M. Philp and F. Rosen, editors, On Liberty, Utilitarianism, and Other Essays. Oxford University Press, 2015.
[Web04]
M. Weber. The Vocation Lectures. Hackett, 2004. Edited by D. Owen and T. B. Strong. Translated by R. Livingstone.
[Web19]
M. Weber. Economy and Society. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 2019. Edited and translated by K. Tribe.

Preliminary term schedule

Week 1-2
Introduction; [Heg88], III (pages 19-23, 30-42, 50-55)
Week 2-3
[Kam83], Alienation of labour and division of labour: pages 136-141, 173-177; History: 163-170, Manifesto: 203-206, 218-228
Week 4-5
[Web04], Politics as a Vocation: Forms of rulership (pages 32-37); [Web19]: Charismatic rule (374-382, 401-403), Charisma and election (405-410)
Week 6-7
[Web04], Politics as a Vocation: Politics, politicians, and state administration (pages 37-58)
Week 8
[Web04], Politics as a Vocation: Ethics and politics (pages 76-92); Midterm essay I
Week 9
[Hob92], ch. XIII
Week 9-10
[Hob92], chs. XIV-XV
Week 11
[Hob92], chs. XVII-XVIII
Week 12
[Hob92], chs. XXI, XXVI
Week 13
[Hob92], chs. XXVIII, XXX
Week 14
[Mil15], chs. II, IV; Midterm essay II
Week 15
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. Additionally, students may submit short written comments (200-300 words) on the text we currently study before the relevant class. 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.

Grading

The grades will have the following weight:
Midterm essay I                     32%
Midterm essay II                     32%
Final exam                     20%
Class participation                     16%
Your essay grades will be in the interval [0, 100] and 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
The competence assignment and participation numerical grades will be different. Their values will be: 99, 90, 84, 70, 59, 20, 0.
Please note that the students will pass this course only if (1) their total grade for the Philosophy part of the course is above 58, and (2) their total grade for the English part of the course is above 58.
Your final letter grade for the whole 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 TEX by TTH, version 4.08.