Universität Wien

180175 SE The Moral and Political Philosophy of Freedom (2016S)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 18 - Philosophie
Continuous assessment of course work

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 45 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Structure
This course consists of two blocks. The first block will be made up of four interactive lectures and the second block will have a seminar structure with student presentations.

Each lecture theme will be matched with three presentations.

Block I: Lectures
Friday, 03 June
10:00-12:00 Lecture 1 The Nature of Freedom: Concept and Conceptions
13:00-15:00 Lecture 2 The Value of Freedom
Saturday, 04 June
10:00-12:00 Lecture 3 The Protection of Freedom: Rights
13:00-15:00 Lecture 4 Freedom and Egalitarian Concerns

Block II: Seminars
Thursday, 23 June
1. The Nature of Freedom: Concept and Conceptions
10:00-11:00 Presentation 1 MacCallum, G. (1967) Negative and Positive Freedom, Philosophical Review 76: 312-34.
11:00-12:00 Presentation 2 Skinner, Q. (2003) A Third Concept of Liberty, Proceedings of the British Academy 117: 237-268.
12:00-13:00 Presentation 3 Taylor, C. (1979) What’s Wrong with Negative Liberty, in Alan Ryan (ed.), The Idea of Freedom: Essays in Honour of Isaiah Berlin, Oxford University Press.

2. The Value of Freedom
14:00-15:00 Presentation 4 Mill, J. S. 2008/1859. On Liberty, in John Gray (ed.), On Liberty and Other Essays, Oxford University Press.
15:00-16:00 Presentation 5 Hayek, F. A.(1960) The Constitution of Liberty, University of Chicago Press, chp.
16:00-17:00 Presentation 6 Hurka, T. (1987) Why Value Autonomy? Social Theory and Practice 13: 361-82.

Friday, 24 June
3. The Protection of Freedom: Rights
10:00-11:00 Presentation 1 Hart, H. L. A (1955) Are There Any Natural Rights? Philosophical Review 64: 175-191.
10:00-11:00 Presentation 2 Nozick, R. (1974) Anarchy, State, and Utopia, chp. 5.11:00-12:00 Presentation 3 Cohen, G. A. (1995) Self-Ownership, Freedom, and Equality, Cambridge University Press, chp. 1.

4. Freedom and Egalitarian Concerns
14:00-15:00 Presentation 4 Otsuka, M. (2003) Libertarianism Without Inequality, Oxford University Press, chp. 1.
15:00-16:00 Presentation 5 Cohen, G. A. (2011) On the Currency of Egalitarian Justice, Princeton University Press, chp. 8.
16:00-17:00 Presentation 6 Sen, A.K. (1992) Inequality Reexamined, Harvard University Press,chp.

  • Friday 03.06. 10:00 - 12:00 Hörsaal. 2H NIG 2.Stock
  • Friday 03.06. 13:00 - 15:00 Hörsaal. 2H NIG 2.Stock
  • Saturday 04.06. 10:00 - 12:00 Hörsaal 3E NIG 3.Stock
  • Saturday 04.06. 13:00 - 15:00 Hörsaal 3E NIG 3.Stock
  • Thursday 23.06. 10:00 - 17:00 Seminarraum 3A NIG 3.Stock
  • Friday 24.06. 10:00 - 17:00 Hörsaal. 2H NIG 2.Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Aims & Objectives
Discussions in moral and political philosophy as diverse as those concerning the integration
of cultural minorities, the relation between economic growth and justice, and the
effects of globalisation can all be interpreted as centring around the question of how
various new social developments affect our freedom and how much importance we
should attach to our freedom. This course will provide an introduction to the different
accounts of the nature and value of freedom and examine its relationship to rights and
other values such as equality.
At the end of the course, students will have acquired:
- Knowledge of the contemporary philosophical debates about freedom.
- Knowledge of and (some) ability in use of recent analytical approaches to the study
of freedom.
- Ability to describe practical implications of the theoretic debates about freedom.

Assessment and permitted materials

Assessment
The course will be assessed by:
- Seminar presentations and contributions;
- Written unseen exam for BA students; take-home exam for MA students.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

The course will be divided into four Parts. Part I will focus on the foundational issue of
the concept and conceptions of freedom. In Part II we will discuss why freedom is individually
and socially valuable. In Part III we will examine how freedom is protected and
thus its relationship to rights. Finally in Part IV we will turn to the tension between freedom
and another important moral and political value, that of equality. Throughout the
course we will examine the different concepts and conceptions in the practical context
of politics and policy.

Examination topics

All materials and readings will be made available to you in time in the form of a reader.

Reading list

Association in the course directory

BA M 6.2 und BA M 6.3, BA M 11,M3 D. Ethik/ Angewandte Ethik, Politische Philosophie, Sozialphilosophie,MA M 2 Praxis - Gesellschaft - Kultur

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:36