Practical Philosophy
Code: 100291 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2500246 Philosophy | FB | 1 | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Daniel Gamper Sachse
- Email:
- Daniel.Gamper@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- catalan (cat)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- Yes
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- No
Teachers
- Angel Puyol González
- Daniel Gamper Sachse
Prerequisites
It is recommended that students have knowledge of English and French to access directly to some of the bibliographic sources that will be treated throughout the course.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The specific objective of the subject "Practical Philosophy" is to introduce the students to some basic questions of political philosophy and ethics. From the reading and analysis of classical texts, the student should become familiar with the problems and the central questions that have dominated the discourse of practical philosophy since its origins. Concrete and practical cases are also dealt with to increase knowledge of practical philosophy. Likewise, the subject prepares students to orient themselves in the history of political philosophy and to study classical texts autonomously.
Competences
- Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
- Recognising and interpreting topics and problems of philosophy in its various disciplines.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- Thinking in a critical and independent manner on the basis of the specific topics, debates and problems of philosophy, both historically and conceptually.
Learning Outcomes
- Arguing about several issues and philosophical problems for the purpose of different works and the assessment of the results.
- Autonomously searching, selecting and processing information both from structured sources (databases, bibliographies, specialized magazines) and from across the network.
- Correctly drawing up a previously analysed non-regulatory text.
- Correctly, accurately and clearly communicating the acquired philosophical knowledge in oral and written form.
- Demonstrating a personal stance over a problem or controversy of philosophical nature, or a work of philosophical research.
- Distinguishing and analysing representative texts of the main genres of the philosophical literature.
- Distinguishing the topics of philosophical relevance in current debates.
- Establishing relationships between science, philosophy, art, religion, politics, etc.
- Expressing both orally and in written form, the issues and basic problems of the philosophical tradition.
- Indicating and summarising the common content of several manifestations of various fields of culture.
- Organizing their own time and work resources: designing plans with priorities of objectives, calendars and action commitments.
- Relating several ideas of the current philosophical debates.
- Submitting works in accordance with both individual and small group demands and personal styles.
- Summarizing the main arguments of the analysed philosophical texts.
- Using suitable terminology when drawing up an academic text.
Content
- Ethics and politics
- Practical ethics: case study
- The justification of political power
- Freedom
Methodology
In the sessions dedicated to the analysis of classical texts (topics 1, 3 and 4) it is recommended that students attend classes having read the texts (indicated in the bibliography). The sessions dedicated to the analysis of practical ethics (topic 2) will be seminars, combining the previous reading of texts (which the teacher will announce in advance) with the debate in class. Thus, the teaching will combine master classes with debates and group discussions.
We will use the moodle basically to share materials and publish marks.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Managed | 45 | 1.8 | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Supervised | 22.5 | 0.9 | 10, 7, 15, 13, 3, 12, 14 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Autonomous | 75 | 3 | 2, 5, 7, 11 |
Assessment
The evaluation of the course will consist of 3 tests (each of which constitutes a 1/3 of the final grade), which will be done throughout the course.
1. A text that the students will have to deliver through the moodle in which they will have to develop a question that they will know week in advance (THEME 1).
2. An exam in the classroom (ITEM 2)
3. An exam in the classroom (TEMES 3 and 4)
The specific dates of the tests will be published in the moodle during the first two weeks of the course. There will be an individual review of each test if the student requests it.
The evaluation will assess the expository correction, the quality of the writing, the argumentation and the knowledge of the evaluated contents.
More than 3 misspellings in a test can lead to failure.
The final grade will take into consideration that the student has improved throughout the course.
The student who has passed the three tests will be considered approved. The fact of having suspended one will imply the suspension of the whole subject except if an improvement is observed throughout the course.
Those students who have failed any of the three or all three tests, as well as those who have not taken one of the three tests of the continuous evaluation (not those who did not complete two or three tests) will have the right to re-evaluation. In the event that plagiarism is detected in any of the tests, the subject will be considered suspended without possibility of re-evaluation. It is considered that the students are not evaluable if they do not perform any of the three tests or do not present themselves to the re-evaluation.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Test Text delivered through Moodle | 33% | 3 | 0.12 | 1, 2, 8, 15, 3 |
| 2on Test Exam | 33% | 1.5 | 0.06 | 10, 9, 11, 13, 14 |
| 3er Test Exam | 33% | 3 | 0.12 | 4, 5, 7, 6, 12 |
Bibliography
TEMA 1:
Plato, Republic
Machiavelli, The Prince
TEMA 3:
Hobbes, Leviathan
Locke, Second Treatise on Civil Government
Rousseau, Social Contract
TEMA 4:
John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
Isaiah Berlin, Two Concepts of Freedom
Other:
Victòria Camps, Breve historia de la ética (RBA)
Victòria Camps (ed.), Historia de la ética (Crítica)
Fernando Vallespín, Historia de la Teoría Política (Alianza)
Peter Singer (ed.) Compendio de Ética (Alianza)