PHBS Social and Political Philosophy

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2026
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Radim Bělohrad, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Radim Bělohrad, Ph.D.
Department of Philosophy – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Philosophy – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 10:00–11:40 A11, except Mon 20. 4. to Fri 24. 4.
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
Abstract
The goal of the course is to provide students with basic systematic overview of social and political philosophy. At the end of the course students should be able to explain the key concepts and theories in political philosophy and present their own justified opinions on their character. Another goal is to extend the project-conducting competences of students, their communication skills, cooperation in small teams and the creation of micro-courses on themes complementing the main topics of instruction.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, students will be able to:
- list the key problems in social a political philosophy
- analyze the key problems in social and political philosophy
- present the key arguments in the given problems
- defend his or her opinion on the key arguments
- actively cooperate in a team to prepare an on-line instruction unit on an assigned topic.
Key topics
  • Society, the emergence and role of state, political authority
  • Democracy
  • Justice
  • Rights
  • Liberty
  • Equality
  • Oppression, feminism, multiculturalism
  • International affairs, global justice
  • Parallel project work on a selected topic.
Study resources and literature
  • Povinná literatura je součástí doprovodné e-learningové podpory
  • Další literatura k projektové činnosti dle zvoleného tématu.
  • Contemporary debates in political philosophy. Edited by Thomas Christiano - John Philip Christman. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009, xiii, 473. ISBN 9781405133227. info
  • WOLFF, Jonathan. An introduction to political philosophy. First published. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996, xii, 215. ISBN 9780199296095. info
  • A companion to contemporary political philosophy. Edited by Robert E. Goodin - Philip Pettit. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1995, xiii, 679. ISBN 0-631-17993-3. info
Approaches, practices, and methods used in teaching
Seminars, reading, discussions.
Method of verifying learning outcomes and course completion requirements
Elektronický test. Min. skóre 60 procent.
Alternate completion
Like combined students.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
Teacher's information
https://elf.phil.muni.cz/21-22/course/view.php?id=847#section-0
Information for Combined Students: Your studies will take place remotely via the e-learning platform ELF in the Social and Political Philosophy course. Each week, a presentation with an accompanying audio recording of the lecture and a required reading will be available. These materials are intended for independent study. During the semester, there will be three mandatory progress tests in ELF, namely   17. 3., 14. 4. a 12. 5. at 8pm. To be eligible for the final exam, you must obtain at least 60% of all points across these tests. The final exam will be held in person and will consist of an electronic test. Min. score 60 percent.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025, Spring 2027.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2026/PHBS