Prof.  Dr.  Attila  Tanyi  

Professor  in  Political  Philosophy  Institute  of  Philosophy  T:  +49  921  /  55-­‐4148  (secretariat)  E:  attila.tanyi@uni-­‐bayreuth.de  www.pe.uni-­‐bayreuth.de  

Summer  Semester  2013  

Political  Philosophy  |  MA  A-­‐2  

Description  This  course  offers  a  systematic  introduction  to  contemporary  political  philosophy.  It  comes   in   two   parts.   The   first   part   explores   fundamental   concepts   and   values,  raising   questions   about   the   nature   of   rights,   the   sources   of   political   obligation,  legitimacy   and   authority   of   the   state,   the   significance   of   liberty,   the   content   and  scope   of   distributive   justice,   and   the   justification   of   democracy.   The   second   part  explores  contemporary  challenges   in  normative  political  philosophy,   including   just  war   and   the   legitimate  use  of   force,   global   justice   and  human   rights,   and   climate  change.      The  discussion  of  normative  questions  will  originate  from  particular  puzzles  and  real  questions   in  political  debate,   introduce  historical  writings  where  doing  so  serves  a  systematic   purpose,   and   reflect   questions   of  method   all   along   the  way.   Students  will  enable  them  to  appreciate  contemporary  contributions  in  leading  journals.  

Structure  The  course  consists  of  an  11  lectures  and  corresponding  seminars.  

Instructions  1. Each   seminar   session   is   based   on   two   contemporary   texts   there   will   be   one  

presentation  for  each  text.  2. Presentations   should   last   no   longer   than   30   minutes,   offer   a   concise   and  

systematic   overview  of   the   arguments   and   topic   of   your   assigned   reading   and  include  questions  for  discussion.  

3. Seminar  presentations  may  make  use  of  beamer  slides,  but  these  should  be  kept  to  a  minimum  and  be  as  simple  as  possible  (no  special  effects  etc.);  the  idea  is  for  you  to  summarize  your  essay  argument  on  the  slides,  not  reproduce  it.  

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4. To  prepare   for  essays  and  exams,   recommendations   for   further   reading  will  be  available  during  each  lecture.  

Assessment  • A  seminar  presentation.  • A  3000  word  mid-­‐term  essay  and  a  3000  word  end-­‐term  essay.  Your  essays  are  to  

be  taken  from  the  list  of  seminar  topics  that  you  have  not  presented.  • An  end-­‐term  exam  (2  hours).  • The  grade  is  constituted  from  the  best  of  the  essays  (50%)  and  the  exam  (50%).  

Deadlines  • Mid-­‐term  essay:  Fri  31  May  2013  (by  e-­‐mail).  • End-­‐term  essay:  Fri  02  August  2013  (by  e-­‐mail).  • End-­‐term  exam:  TBA  

Attendance  Attendance  is  compulsory.  

Course  Schedule  

1.  Introduction:  The  subject  of  political  Philosophy  Lecture  1:  18  April,  14h–16h  

2.  Authority,  Legitimacy  and  political  obligation  Lecture  2:  25  April,  14h–16h  Seminar  2:  26  April,  10h–12h  

(1)   Simmons,  A.J.  (1999),  ‘Justification  and  Legitimacy’,  Ethics,  109  (4),  739–71.  (2)   Applbaum,  A.I.  (2010),   ‘Legitimacy  without  the  Duty  to  Obey’,  Philosophy  and  

Public  Affairs,  38  (3),  215–39.  

3.  Democracy  Lecture  3:  02  May,  14h–16h  Seminar  3:  03  May,  10h–12h  

(1)   Christiano,   Thomas   (2001),   ‘Knowledge   and   Power   in   the   Justification   of  Democracy’,  Australasian  Journal  of  Philosophy,  79  (2),  197–215.  

(2)   Arneson,   Richard   (2004),   ‘Democracy   Is   Not   Intrinsically   Just’,   in   Dowding,  Keith,   Robert.   E.   Goodin,   and   Carol   Pateman   (eds.),   Justice   and   Democracy  (Justice  and  Democracy,  Cambridge:  Cambridge  University  Press),  40–58.  

 

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4.  Liberty  Lecture  4:  16  May,  14h–16h  Seminar  4:  17  May,  10h–12h  

(1)   MacCallum,   G.C.   (1967),   ‘Negative   and   positive   freedom’,   The   Philosophical  Review,  76  (3),  312–34.  

(2)   Pettit,  Philip  (2011),   ‘The   Instability  of  Freedom  as  Noninterference:  The  Case  of  Isaiah  Berlin’,  Ethics,  121  (4),  693–716.  

5.  Rights  Lecture  5:  23  May,  14h–16h  Seminar  5:  24  May,  10h–12h  

(1)   Wenar,   L   (2005),   ‘The   nature   of   rights’,  Philosophy   and   Public   Affairs,   33   (3),  223–53.  

(2)   Dworkin,  R.  (1981),   ‘Is  there  a  right  to  pornography?’,  Oxford  Journal  of  Legal  Studies,  1  (2),  177–212.  

6.  Justice  and  equality:  Part  I  Lecture  6:  06  June,  14h–16h  Seminar  6:  07  June,  10h–12h  

(1)   Rawls,  J  (1985),  ‘Justice  as  fairness:  political  not  metaphysical’,  Philosophy  and  Public  Affairs,  14  (3),  223–51.  

(2)   Nozick,  R.  (1973),   ‘Distributive  justice’,  Philosophy  and  Public  Affairs,  3  (1),  45–126.  

7.  Justice  and  equality:  Part  II  Lecture  7:  20  June,  14h–16h  Seminar  7:  21  June,  10h–12h  

(1)   Cohen,   Gerald   (1989),   ‘On   the   currency   of   egalitarian   justice’,   Ethics,   99   (4),  906–44.  

(2)   Casal,  P.  (2007),  ‘Why  Sufficiency  Is  Not  Enough’,  Ethics,  117  (2),  296–326.  

8.  Global  Justice,  human  rights,  and  world  poverty  Lecture  8:  27  June,  14h–16h  Seminar  8:  28  June,  10h–12h  

(1)   Nagel,   Thomas   (2005),   ‘The  problem  of  global   justice’,  Philosophy   and  Public  Affairs,  33  (2),  113–47.  

(2)   Sen,  A   (2004),   ‘Elements  of  a   theory  of  human   rights’,  Philosophy  and  Public  Affairs,  32  (4),  315–56.  

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9.  The  use  of  force  and  just  war  Lecture  9:  04  July,  14h–16h  Seminar  9:  05  July,  10h–12h  

(1)   Fabre,  Cecile  (2009),  ‘Guns,  Food,  and  Liability  to  Attack  in  War’,  Ethics,  120  (1),  36–63.  

(2)   Hurka,  Thomas  (2005),  ‘Proportionality  in  the  Morality  of  War’,  Philosophy  and  Public  Affairs,  33  (1),  34–66.  

9.  Climate  change  Lecture  10:  11  July,  14h–16h  Seminar  10:  12  July,  10h–12h  

(1)   Derek   Parfit,   ‘Energy   Policy   and   the   Further   Future’,   in   Caney,   Simon   (ed.)  (2011),  Climate  Ethics  -­‐  Essential  Readings,  112-­‐122.  

(2)   Kagan,  S.  (2011),  ‘Do  I  Make  a  Difference?’,  Philosophy  and  Public  Affairs,  39  (2),  105–41.  

11.  Realism,  institutions  and  non-­‐ideal  theory  Lecture  11:  18  July,  16h–18h  Seminar  11:  19  July,  10h–12h  

(1)   Murphy,  L.B.  (1998),  ‘Institutions  and  the  Demands  of  Justice’,  Philosophy  and  Public  Affairs,  27  (4),  251–91.  

(2)   Simmons,  A.  (2010),   ‘Ideal  and  nonideal  theory’,  Philosophy  and  Public  Affairs,  38  (1),  5–36.