Political Philosophy and Theory

The seminar will introduce students into the main concepts, ideas and doctrines, regarding fundamental assumptions, values and objectives of political philosophy and theory. It focuses on the 20th century and current interpretations of politics as such, power and authority, freedom, justice, rights and democracy - as seen from a philosophical perspective.

Political Philosophy and Theory are at the very foundations of political science and political reflection as such. Anyone seeking deeper understanding of elemental political notions and values needs to enter the realm of political philosophy and possibly also political theory.

Quite often both concepts are used interchangeably. It can be argued that in many instances they clearly overlap - such cases will be discussed during the seminar. However, there are also justified reasons for making certain distinctions between the two. Political philosophy usually tends to be associated with conscious axiological preferences, giving more space for unfettered freedom of thought and imagination. Theory is generally seen as more restrictive in the intellectual sense, more related to concepts of “logic”, “consistency”, “objective reality”, “verifiability”, etc., characteristic for the scientific ethos, particularly since the advance of positivistic tendencies in the 19th century. For some (like L. Strauss) philosophy is prior and more profound, and political theory represents a modern and problematic - in fact reductionist - shift towards “value-free facts”. Then, it more recent times, we can observe a significant revival of political philosophy, arguably initiated by J. Rawls in the 1970s.

The seminar will introduce students into the main concepts, ideas and doctrines, regarding fundamental assumptions, values and objectives of political philosophy and theory.

The seminar, being a natural follow up of Political Ideas course, builds up on students’ knowledge of the history of political thought. It focuses therefore on the 20th century and current interpretations of politics, power and authority, freedom, justice, rights and democracy - as seen from a philosophical perspective.

Reading (selected fragments):

A. Heywood, Political Theory. An Introduction (main textbook for the course).

I. Berlin, Two Concepts of Liberty.

R. Dahl, Democracy and its Critics.

J. S. Dryzek, B. Honig, A. Phillips (eds.) Oxford Handbook of Political Theory.

C. Farrelly, Introduction to Contemporary Political Theory. A Reader.

C. Farrelly, Introduction to Contemporary Political Theory (Textbook).

W. Kymlicka, Contemporary Political Philosophy. An Introduction.

Ph. Pettit, R. E. Goodin (eds.), Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Anthology.

L. Strauss, What is Political Philosophy?

All reading materials will be e-mailed directly to students via USOSmail.

The seminar will introduce students into the main concepts, ideas and doctrines, regarding fundamental assumptions, values and objectives of political philosophy and theory. It focuses on the 20th century and current interpretations of politics as such, power and authority, freedom, justice, rights and democracy - as seen from a philosophical perspective.

Political Philosophy and Theory are at the very foundations of political science and political reflection as such. Anyone seeking deeper understanding of elemental political notions and values needs to enter the realm of political philosophy and possibly also political theory.

Quite often both concepts are used interchangeably. It can be argued that in many instances they clearly overlap - such cases will be discussed during the seminar. However, there are also justified reasons for making certain distinctions between the two. Political philosophy usually tends to be associated with conscious axiological preferences, giving more space for unfettered freedom of thought and imagination. Theory is generally seen as more restrictive in the intellectual sense, more related to concepts of “logic”, “consistency”, “objective reality”, “verifiability”, etc., characteristic for the scientific ethos, particularly since the advance of positivistic tendencies in the 19th century. For some (like L. Strauss) philosophy is prior and more profound, and political theory represents a modern and problematic - in fact reductionist - shift towards “value-free facts”. Then, it more recent times, we can observe a significant revival of political philosophy, arguably initiated by J. Rawls in the 1970s.

The seminar will introduce students into the main concepts, ideas and doctrines, regarding fundamental assumptions, values and objectives of political philosophy and theory.

The seminar, being a natural follow up of Political Ideas course, builds up on students’ knowledge of the history of political thought. It focuses therefore on the 20th century and current interpretations of politics, power and authority, freedom, justice, rights and democracy - as seen from a philosophical perspective.

Reading (selected fragments):

A. Heywood, Political Theory. An Introduction (main textbook for the course).

I. Berlin, Two Concepts of Liberty.

R. Dahl, Democracy and its Critics.

J. S. Dryzek, B. Honig, A. Phillips (eds.) Oxford Handbook of Political Theory.

C. Farrelly, Introduction to Contemporary Political Theory. A Reader.

C. Farrelly, Introduction to Contemporary Political Theory (Textbook).

W. Kymlicka, Contemporary Political Philosophy. An Introduction.

Ph. Pettit, R. E. Goodin (eds.), Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Anthology.

L. Strauss, What is Political Philosophy?

All reading materials will be e-mailed directly to students via USOSmail.