Political Philosophy: An Introduction

Programme details

The course is broken down into 10 units over 10 weeks, each requiring approximately 10 hours of study time. The following topics are covered:

1. Politics, Philosophy and Political Philosophy

• Introducing political philosophy
• The disciplines devoted to the study of politics
• Some philosophical approaches to politics
• The approach taken in this course

2. The state of nature

• Introduction to the state of nature
• Hobbes
• Locke
• Rousseau

3. Justifying the state – the social contract

• Political obligation and the social contract
• Locke and consent
• Tacit consent and Hume’s criticisms
• Hypothetical consent

4. Justifying the state – Utilitarianism, the principle of fairness

• Utilitarianism
• The utilitarian theory of political obligation
• The principle of fairness

5. Plato against democracy

• Democracy: General conceptual issues
• Plato against democracy
• Analysing Plato’s argument
• Responding to Plato

6. Defending democracy

• Rousseau
• Rousseau and democracy
• Mill
• Mill and democracy

7. Liberty

• Mill on Liberty
• Stephen, Devlin and Hart
• Liberty
• The Rushdie affair

8. Private property and the market

• Abolishing property?
• Locke on property
• Private property and the free market

9. Rawls’s theory of justice

• Rawls
• The restaurant
• Rawls discussion

10. Feminist criticisms of liberalism

• Feminism
• Gender difference
• Liberal rights and feminism

We strongly recommend that you try to find a little time each week to engage in the online conversations (at times that are convenient to you) as the forums are an integral and very rewarding part of the course and the online learning experience.

Level and demands

This course is open to all, and no prior knowledge is required.

This course is offered at FHEQ level 4 (first year undergraduate level), and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours.

English Language Requirements

We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but we warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements, please see here.

Course aims

This course aims to introduce students to political philosophy especially in the western liberal tradition by:

• Guiding them through a number of classical and contemporary readings.
• Helping them to think for themselves about these important but difficult issues.

Course objectives

• Introduce students to philosophical thinking.
• Guide students` reading through a number of classical and contemporary readings.
• Help students understand the main problems in political philosophy including the authority of the state, the justification of democracy, the place of liberty, the distribution of property, and feminist theory.
• Familiarise students with the key arguments for and against the main positions in the main debates in political philosophy.
• Enable students to think for themselves about the issues involved in political philosophy.

IT requirements

This course is delivered online; to participate, you must be familiar with using a computer for purposes such as sending email and searching the Internet. You will also need regular access to the Internet and a computer meeting our recommended minimum computer specification.

Programme details

The course is broken down into 10 units over 10 weeks, each requiring approximately 10 hours of study time. The following topics are covered:

1. Politics, Philosophy and Political Philosophy

• Introducing political philosophy
• The disciplines devoted to the study of politics
• Some philosophical approaches to politics
• The approach taken in this course

2. The state of nature

• Introduction to the state of nature
• Hobbes
• Locke
• Rousseau

3. Justifying the state – the social contract

• Political obligation and the social contract
• Locke and consent
• Tacit consent and Hume’s criticisms
• Hypothetical consent

4. Justifying the state – Utilitarianism, the principle of fairness

• Utilitarianism
• The utilitarian theory of political obligation
• The principle of fairness

5. Plato against democracy

• Democracy: General conceptual issues
• Plato against democracy
• Analysing Plato’s argument
• Responding to Plato

6. Defending democracy

• Rousseau
• Rousseau and democracy
• Mill
• Mill and democracy

7. Liberty

• Mill on Liberty
• Stephen, Devlin and Hart
• Liberty
• The Rushdie affair

8. Private property and the market

• Abolishing property?
• Locke on property
• Private property and the free market

9. Rawls’s theory of justice

• Rawls
• The restaurant
• Rawls discussion

10. Feminist criticisms of liberalism

• Feminism
• Gender difference
• Liberal rights and feminism

We strongly recommend that you try to find a little time each week to engage in the online conversations (at times that are convenient to you) as the forums are an integral and very rewarding part of the course and the online learning experience.

Teaching methods

•  Guided reading of texts
•  Group discussions of particular issues
•  Questions to be answered in personal folders
•  Debating from positions given rather than from personal belief (to hone skills of debate)

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be expected to understand:

• Some main problems of political philosophy including the authority of the state, the justification of democracy, the place of liberty, the distribution of property, and feminist theory.
• The main arguments for and against the various positions in these debates.
• Their own position on some of these problems.

By the end of this course, students will be expected to have gained the following skills:

• The ability to think philosophically.
• The ability to describe the main arguments for and against the main positions in some main debates in political philosophy.
• The ability to constructively criticise the arguments of philosophers.
• The ability to explicate their own views in political philosophy.

Assessment methods

You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first 500-word assignment is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome, but preparing for it and the feedback you are given will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.

Dr Doug Bamford

Doug Bamford is lecturer in Lifelong Learning (Political Philosophy) at OUDCE, teaching courses in philosophy and political economy. His main interest is in political philosophy and its application to public policy, particularly taxation. He obtained his PhD in 2013 and became an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA) in 2023. He is author of Rethinking Taxation (Searching Finance, 2014) and several papers (including articles in the Journal of Applied Philosophy, Moral Philosophy and Politics, Problema, and Think). He blogs at Doug Bamford’s Tax Appeal.

Assessment methods

You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first 500-word assignment is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome, but preparing for it and the feedback you are given will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.

Level and demands

This course is open to all, and no prior knowledge is required.

This course is offered at FHEQ level 4 (first year undergraduate level), and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours.

English Language Requirements

We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but we warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements, please see here.

Fees

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