Prospectus

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Analysis of Texts in Political Philosophy

Course
2016-2017

Description

Objectives
This seminar introduces students to the analysis of important texts in the history of philosophy. By the end of the course students should have a deeper understanding of 18th and 19th century debates in moral and political philosophy, an appreciation of relevant concepts and the ability to think well about them.

Content

This year we will study Kant’s Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals and Marx and Engels’ Communist Manifesto.

Study Material

Primary sources

Kant, I. (1996) Practical Philosophy, in The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Immanuel Kant, Paul Guyer and Allen Wood (eds.), Cambridge University Press.
Marx, K. & F. Engels (2002), The Communist Manifesto, Stedman-Jones, G. (ed.). Penguin.

Secondary sources

on Kant:
Guyer, P. (1993), Kant and the Experience of Freedom, Cambridge University Press.
Herman, B. (1993), The Practice of Moral Judgment, Harvard University Press.
Hill, T. (1991), Autonomy and Self-Respect, Cambridge University Press.
Korsgaard, C. (1996), Creating the Kingdom of Ends, Cambridge University Press.
O’Neill, O. (1990), Constructions of Reason, Cambridge University Press.
Paton, H.J. (1947), The Categorical Imperative, University of Pennsylvania Press.
Wood, A. (1999), Kant’s Ethical Thought, Cambridge University Press.
Wood, A. (2008), Kantian Ethics, Cambridge University Press.

On Marx and Engels:
Avineri, S. (1968), Karl Marx: Social and Political Thought. Cambridge.
Elster, J. (1985), Making Sense of Marx, Oxford.
Leopold, D. (2007), The Young Karl Marx. Cambridge.
Lichtheim, G. (1982), Marxism: An Historical and Critical Study, Columbia.
Stedman-Jones, G. (2002), ‘Introduction’, in Marx and Engels, Communist Manifesto. Penguin.
Wood, A. (2004), Karl Marx. Routledge.

Examination

10% participation, 20% class presentation, 70% essay (up to 4000 words)

Admission requirements

Politieke Filosofie

Schedule

Rooster

Contact

Instructor: Dr. N. Vrousalis (n.vrousalis@fsw.leidenuniv.nl)