POL478 Classical British Political Philosophy

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2007
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 8 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Pavel Dufek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Tomáš Kačer, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Pavel Dufek, Ph.D.
Department of Political Science – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Lucie Pospíšilová
Timetable
Wed 18:00–19:30 U41
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of the history of political thought and/or history of philosopy, passive knowledge of English.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Students will read selected chapters from essential texts of British political thinkers and from associated secondary materials, dealing also with the context of their time period and their relevance for the present days. The course will focus on the most important authors from the period between the seventeenth and the nineteenth cetury. Topics included: British empiricism, induction, the ideal state, social contract theories, British jurisprudence, liberalism, conservatism and liberties. Selected authors: T. More, F. Bacon, T. Hobbes, J. Locke, D. Hume, A. Smith, J. Bentham, J.S. Mill and others.
Syllabus
  • For detailed information including required readings see "Interactive syllabus" in the Information system. 1. Introduction: organization of the course
  • 2. Introduction to British empiricism. Rationalism v. empiricism.
  • 3. Ideal state. Utopia (T. More, F. Bacon)
  • 4. Ideal state. Social contract (T. Hobbes)
  • 5. Freedom. Tolerance (J. Locke)
  • 6. Freedom. Liberalism (J. Locke)
  • 7. Reading week
  • 8. Critique of contractarianism. Skepticism (D. Hume)
  • 9. Origins of conservatism. Monarchy vs. democracy (D. Hume)
  • 10. Liberal political economy (A. Smith)
  • 11. Utilitarianism. Social engineering (J. Bentham)
  • 12. Utilitarianism. Liberty. Representative government (J.S. Mill)
  • 13. Course evaluation
Assessment methods (in Czech)
Výuka bude probíhat seminářovou formou. Účast studentů v diskuzích je zásadní pro úspěch v kurzu. Hodnocení: participace na hodinách (40%), čtenářský deník - 6krát (40%), prezentace 1krát (20%).
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2006, Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2014, Spring 2016.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2007, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2007/POL478