For Aristotle, ethical reflection was a mere preparatory endeavour towards the most superior of all strands of philosophy: Political Science. In turn, the truly philosophically informed political life, he thought, would naturally find its expression in good laws, recognized and obeyed by the citizens. This course uniquely brings together the influential ideas of the most prominent authors of thought on politics, philosophy and the law.
Guided readings of classical and contemporary authors, explanatory lectures about the intellectual context of each subject ranging from contract law to ethics, and engaging debates in a supportive environment will form a distinctive aspect of this course, providing students with a profound understanding and enabling them to handle confidently crucial concepts, core principles, and topical debates in the fields of politics, philosophy and law. The course covers the intellectual context, crucial concepts, and main principles underlying and connecting the fields of politics, philosophy and the law.
Particular topics covered:
- Comparing different political and legal systems;
- The scholarly art of political sciences, philosophical and legal studies;
- Ancient and contemporary political philosophy (e.g. Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Weber, Wittgenstein, Rawls, Nozick, Zizek);
- Ethics and theories of justice;
- The function of the rule of law, elements of contract law, theories of property law;
- Human rights and international law, and the challenges of a global community.
Period
07-07-2014 - 25-07-2014 (3 weeks)
Target group
The course will suit anyone wishing to develop or further enhance their knowledge of the field of politics, philosophy and law. It very much welcomes and will be of benefit to participants from all academic and professional backgrounds.
Course aim
In this course, students will familiarize themselves with classical and contemporary thought, leading to a thorough understanding of important concepts of and relations between politics, philosophy and the law. In addition to day visits to relevant sites in London (courts, parliament, historic sites), techniques of how to approach influential classical arguments as well as text interpretation methods will form a unique aspect of this course. The aim is to equip students with a broad overview of relevant sources and prevailing ideas as well as to develop the participants skills to orientate themselves confidently in the vast fields of politics, philosophy and the law.
At the end of the course, students will have a competent access to relevant ideas in the field of politics, philosophy and the law, and will be able to give reasons for opinions, using the canon of classical and contemporary literature on the subject. Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to demonstrate intellectual, transferable and practicable skills appropriate to a level 4 module and in particular will be able to demonstrate the following subject specific skills:
- Explain and understand the central issues in the field
- Know how to autonomously approach, analyse, assess and relate core scholarly literature on the subject in a comprehensible and meaningful way
- Formulate substantially and rhetorically informed personal opinions in debates with peers, applying creativity and subjective insight into established discourses
Credits
0.0 ECTS credits
Course fee
GBP 1430: tuition fee only
Course leader
Mr Stefan MandelbaumStefan has been a PhD researcher in Legal Philosophy and International Law at Kings College London since 2011, having previously obtained his Magister Artium (distinction) in Philosophy, Law and Greek Philology. He is an experienc
King's College London
Address: Strand, London
Postal code: WC2R 2LS
City: London
Country: United Kingdom
Website: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/summerschool
E-mail: summerschool@kcl.ac.uk
Phone: +44 20 7848 1533
Politics, Philosophy and the Law
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Diverse
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2014-01-27, 00:00
autorenew
2025-09-29, 17:01
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Ioana Dinescu
