PHCZV002 Moral and Political Philosophy

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2024
Extent and Intensity
0/0/0. Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Radim Bělohrad, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Ing. Mgr. Zdeňka Jastrzembská, Ph.D.
Department of Philosophy – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Philosophy – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites
The ability to understand English text.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
Course objectives
The goal of the course is to introduce students to the basics of moral and political philosophy and the key concepts that these fields focus on (ethics of consequences, ethics of duties, virtue ethics, political authority, democracy, freedom, distributive justice).
Learning outcomes
After the successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- explain the key concepts of moral and political philosophy;
- explain and justify various theories of value;
- describe the basic normative ethical theories, explain their advantages and problems and analyze the basic arguments in their favour and against them.
- explain the concepts of consequences, intentions and virtues;
- explain and justify the difference between causing and allowing, intending and foreseeing negative consequences;
- justify the need for political authority;
- explain the advantages and problems of democracy;
- describe the problems connected to the notion of freedom in democratic societies;
- discuss the concept of just distribution of assets and describe various theories dealing with the question;
- argue in moral and political issues.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction to ethics, theories of value, consequentialism
  • 2. Ethics of duties - deontology
  • 3. Ethics of virtues
  • 4. Workshop I
  • 5. Introduction to Political Philosophy, political authority and democracy
  • 6. Freedom
  • 7. Distributive justice
  • 8. Workshop II
Literature
  • Viz informace učitele níže.
Teaching methods
The course is based on commented presentations that serve as a primary source of students' independent studies. Another source for independent studies is the literature assigned for each instruction unit. Workshops will present practical exercises, applications, sample situations and themes to develop moral and political thinking and argumentation in students.
Assessment methods
The condition for a successful completion of the course is active participation in both workshops.
Language of instruction
Czech
Teacher's information
https://is.muni.cz/auth/el/phil/jaro2024/PHCZV002/index.qwarp?mode=edit
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