University of Edinburgh
Department of Politics
Political Thinkers
2014-2015
Semester
Week
Monday
Date
1
12/01
2
19/01
3
Monday Lecture
Thursday
Date
Thursday Lecture
Introduction to Political
Thinkers? (LD, PC, KO)
Augustine
(PC)
15/01
Augustine
(PC)
22/01
Hobbes (LD)
26/01
Hobbes (LD)
29/01
Locke (KO)
4
02/02
Locke (KO)
05/02
Rousseau (LD)
5
09/02
Rousseau (LD)
12/02
Marx (PC)
Innovative Learning Week, 16/02–20/02: NO LECTURES OR TUTORIALS
6
23/02
Marx (PC)
26/02
Mill (KO)
7
02/03
Mill (KO)
05/03
Ghandi (PC)
8
09/03
Ghandi (PC)
12/03
Arendt (LD)
19/03
Revision and Summary
(LD, KO, PC)
9
16/03
Arendt (LD)
LD: Dr Lynn Dobson (Course Convenor)
KO: Dr Kieran Oberman
PC: Dr Philip Cook
Essay
Deadline
Essay 2000 words Essay Due by 12 Noon on Monday 23rd February at 12 Noon
COURSE AIMS AND OUTCOMES
The course has two main aims. The first is to develop students’ ability to think rigorously and
critically about the fundamental questions of politics, broadly conceived: about different
conceptions of the proper scope of politics itself, the nature of political institutions and
processes, and about the principles and ideals that have featured in political thinking in the
past and which we might employ in our evaluations and judgements about politics today. The
second aim is to introduce students to the main propositional frameworks and claims made by
the most influential thinkers of the past, whose thinking continues to inform current thought
and practice in politics and in international relations, as well as to broaden understanding by
examining some past thinkers whose merits are now becoming recognised within the
tradition.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
By the end of this course, students will have had the opportunity to:
Engage critically and reflectively with a range of theoretical debates
Develop their ability to assess a variety of perspectives and theoretical arguments
Familiarise themselves with some of the key claims made by historically influential thinkers
and commentators
Equip themselves with the skills and knowledge required for the interpretation and analysis
of theoretical texts
Acquire the background understanding of the development of key concepts that will enable
them to contextualise their later learning in succeeding studies in politics and international
relations
General Reading
If you wish to buy a book we recommend Political Thinkers: from Socrates to the Present,
eds David Boucher and Paul Kelly. It contains chapters on a number of the thinkers
addressed in this course (Augustine, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill, and Marx), has chapters
on other thinkers that Politics or International Relations students - at least - will meet in
future courses, and in any case can help you a great deal in building a deep and broad
understanding of the contextual development of western political thought. [NB this text is on
order at the Library.]
Other useful general sources are:
Iain Hampsher-Monk, A History of Modern Political Thought: Major Political Thinkers from
Hobbes to Marx
John S McClelland, A History of Western Political Thought
Additionally there is a series called Cambridge Companions to [thinker] containing
collections relevant to this course. The Library holds electronic versions.
For Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Marx, Boucher and Kelly’s Social Contract from Hobbes
to Rawls may be useful.
The Library holds an electronic 'Past Masters' series containing texts for Augustine, Locke,
Mill, Rousseau and Hobbes.
Required readings specified below are all on e-reserve at the Library so you will have no
difficult accessing them. Additional readings are accessible through the Library: it may hold
books and journals in hard copy or electronically, and copies not already held may be ordered
from other libraries through inter-library loan. Many older journal articles are likely to be
held in JSTOR, an electronic database accessible through the Library’s webpages. Other
relevant databases are available – try Philosophers’ Index. Also through the Library, you can
recall books that are out on loan to another reader. For help recalling books and accessing
research materials, see Library staff.
For most of the thinkers covered in this course the published academic literature is vast, and
our suggestions under ‘additional readings’ are only that: a few suggestions from that vast
literature to help get you started on your research. If you cannot get hold of the specific
sources suggested, there are many, many, others easily available to you – try searching the
Library catalogue, or JSTOR, using the relevant thinker’s name.
Course Structure
LECTURES
The course is taught in Weeks 1-5 and 6-10 of Semester 2. It has two lectures a week, on
Mondays and Thursdays from 15.10-16.00, in the George Square Lecture Theatre. Lectures
commence in Week 1 (week beginning Monday, 12 January 2015). Please note that there will
be no lectures or tutorials during the Innovative Learning Week (between Weeks 5-6) or
during the Reading Week.
The lectures will introduce you to the main ideas of the theorists who are discussed each
week, setting their work in the appropriate context, explaining key claims and concepts, and
showing how they contribute to the broad theoretical question being addressed. You will get
a great deal more out of the lectures if you have already read the key readings, even if only in
a preliminary way.
TUTORIALS
Tutorials are the primary forum for discussion, deliberation, and debate on the ‘big issues’ of
the course. The tutorials start in Week 2 until run until Week 10. There are no classes
between the 17th of February and the 21st of February to allow for Innovative Learning
Week. A full tutorial timetable, including the times and locations of tutorials, will be
available on the course home page in Learn during the first week of the course. Tutorials are
an integral part of the course. Your participation in tutorials is essential, and if you fail to
attend on more than two consecutive occasions without reasonable explanation, your Personal
Tutor will be informed.
For each week’s tutorial there is a set of questions designed to explore key concepts and
arguments in the key readings and to stimulate debate about the theoretical and practical
issues they raise. Your tutor will advise you on which of these questions to focus on in
preparing for the tutorial. The tutorial questions for each week can be found on the course
Learn pages. You should come prepared to discuss the readings and be willing to consider
possible applications of the ideas of the individual thinkers under discussion. As well as
exploring these questions you can use tutorials to take up issues raised by your reading or by
the lectures.
The use of electronic devices in Tutorials can be very distracting for your tutor and your
fellow students. Readings should be printed for each class as electronic devices cannot be
used without the express permission of your tutor.
The tutorial schedule and topics are as follows:
Week Date
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
13-17Jan
19-23Jan
26-30 Jan
2-6 Feb
9-13 Feb
16-20 Feb
23-27 Feb
2-6 Mar
9-13 Mar
16-20 Mar
Tutorial Topic
No Tutorial
Augustine
Hobbes
Locke
Rousseau
Innovative Learning Week – No Tutorial
Marx
Mill
Ghandi
Arendt
READINGS
For each week of the course we have identified Required Readings. They provide the
absolutely core materials for the course, and you must read all of them for each week. It will
be difficult to address the tutorial questions if you have not done so, and it will be impossible
to do the coursework assignment and examination.
These readings or extracts from them are all directly available via the ‘Required Readings’
icon on the course Learn site. But they are also identified in the ‘Course Outline’ section
below, so that you can instead access them through the relevant books in the Library. Notice,
though, that in some cases we have made quite a few cuts in ‘whole chapters’ of the
originals, so the Learn versions are more ‘basic’ – where that is the case you might like to
read the Learn version before the lecture, and the fuller version after.
Don’t worry if you find reading these texts quite hard going at first, and don’t be put off by
having to read texts several times. This is a good sign – it means your mind is not plodding
around in its ‘comfort zone’ but instead is being stretched and worked and strengthened!
With ‘theory’ material it’s better to read in small chunks, carefully and thoughtfully, than to
skate over a lot superficially (though a ‘quick read-through’ before you start the detailed
textual study can often be a good way to start).
There may also be Additional Readings for each unit. These are listed only via the
‘Additional Readings’ icon on the course Learn site, and not in this course handbook. Some
of these provide useful background and overviews; others are there to enable you to explore
further issues and debates raised by the main material. Reading some of them will help you,
especially when working on the coursework assignment and preparing for the examination,
and we hope they will anyway interest you.
Teaching Team and Administration Contact Details
This is an extremely large course so it is important that you follow the following protocol
should when contacting a member of the team:
For all academic enquiries, you should contact your tutor in the first instance.
Richard Brodie (Senior Tutor): r.brodie@ed.ac.uk
Andrew Drever
adrever@exseed.ed.ac.uk
Maggie Morrison
s0126379@sms.ed.ac.uk
Pia Halme
poeha68@hotmail.com
Matthew Saunders
Matthew.Saunders@ed.ac.uk
Nick Martin
Nick.Martin@ed.ac.uk
Elena Pollot
epollot@exseed.ed.ac.uk
Lisa Schweiger
s1266463@sms.ed.ac.uk
If you require further assistance, you can contact the following by e-mail:
Richard Brodie (Senior Tutor): r.brodie@ed.ac.uk
For administration enquiries, please contact the Course Secretary by mail:
Amy.Wilson@ed.ac.uk
Please do not contact the Course Convenor directly. The Senior Tutor or Course Secretary
will contact her on your behalf. The Course Convenor will NOT respond to mails that have
been sent directly to her.
Course Assessment
Assessment
Dates
Weighting
Essay (2,000
words)
The essay (questions will relate to the first four theorists 50%
covered in the course) must be submitted through ELMA by 12
noon on Monday 23rd February 2015. The questions will be
available on LEARN.
Exam
The exam (questions will relate to the last four theorists 50%
covered in the course) will be held during the April-May
examination diet. The date will be posted on the Registry
website later in the semester.
“The following are the criteria on which the essay will be marked. However, it is important to
note that the overall mark is a result of a holistic assessment of the assignment as a whole.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Does the essay address the question set, and with sufficient focus?
Does the essay show a grasp of the relevant ideas, claims, and concepts?
Does the essay demonstrate a logical and effective pattern of argument?
Does the essay demonstrate reflexivity and critical thinking in relation to arguments and
evidence?
E. Is the essay well presented in having impeccable referencing and quoting, spelling,
grammar and style, and acceptable layout and visual presentation?
The following are the criteria through on which the exam script will be marked. However, it
is important to note that the overall mark for each question answered is a result of a holistic
assessment of that answer as a whole.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Does the answer address the question set, and with sufficient focus?
Does the answer show a grasp of the relevant ideas, claims, and concepts?
Does the answer demonstrate a logical and effective pattern of argument?
Does the essay demonstrate reflexivity and critical thinking in relation to arguments and
evidence?
E. Is the answer well presented in having quotations (where used) that are accurate and
pertinent; impeccable spelling, grammar and style; legibility?
Course Outline
12 January: Introduction to Political Thinkers
Dr Lynn Dobson, Dr Kieran Oberman, Dr Philip Cook
15 & 19 January:
Augustine – God, Human Nature, the State, and War
How does Augustine view human nature?
Dr Philip Cook
We consider Augustine’s view of human nature, and the influence of humanities’ sinful
nature on politics. We discuss Augustine’s understanding of the relationship between the City
of God and the City of Man. Why does war persist, and what is its place in a just political
order?
Required readings:
Mitchell Cohen and Nicole Fermon eds., Princeton Readings in Political Thought: Essential
Texts since Plato. (Princeton University Press, 1996), Ch. 5 St. Augustine City of God pp.
133-143 Available as an e-reserve on Learn site
St. Augustine, Political Writings, ed. Douglas Kries and Ernest L. Fortin, (Indianapolis,
Indianna, Hackett Publishing, 1994), ‘War’ pp. 218-230, Available as an e-reserve on Learn
site
Additional readings:
Janet Coleman, A History of Political Thought: from Ancient Greece to Early Christianity,
(Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2000), Ch. 6 St Augustine pp. 292-340, Available as an e-reserve
on Learn site
George Klosko, History of Political Theory: an introduction, Vol. 1 Ancient and Medieval
2nd Edition, (OUP 2012), Ch. 8 St. Augustine, pp. 221-256, Available as an e-reserve on
Learn site
Jean Bethke Elshtain, St. Augustine, in David Boucher and Paul Kelly eds., Political
Thinkers, 2nd edition, (Oxford University Press, 2009) (first edition equally acceptable)
Peter Brown, Augustine of Hippo : A Biography (London : Faber, 1967).
Henry Chadwick, Augustine, Past Masters (Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1986).
Herbert Andrew Deane, The Political and Social Ideas of St. Augustine (London: Columbia
University Press, 1963), esp. chs 3–5.
John Neville Figgis, The Political Aspects of S. Augustine’s “City of God” (London :
Longmans,, 1921), chap. 4 – “The State.”
Rex Martin, “The Two Cities in Augustine’s Political Philosophy,” Journal of the History of
Ideas 33, no. 2 (1972): 195–216. Available as an electronic journal article through library
catalogue
Reinhold Niebuhr, The Essential Reinhold Niebuhr: Selected Essays and Addresses (Yale
University Press, 1987), chap. 10 – “Augustine”s Political Realism’.
Paul Weithman, ‘Augustine’s political philosophy’, in The Cambridge Companion to
Augustine, ed. E. Stump and N. Kretzmann (Cambridge University Press, 2001), pp. 234-52
Available as an e-book through library catalogue
R.A. Markus, ‘Saint Augustine’s views on the just war’, in W.J. Sheils ed., The church and
war : papers read at the twenty-first summer meeting and the twenty-second winter meeting
of the Ecclesiastical History Society, 20 (1983), 1-13
Tutorial Question:
What is Augustine’s view of human nature? How does his view of human nature affect his
view of politics and the state?
22 & 26 January
Hobbes: Insecurity and Sovereignty
Dr Lynn Dobson
Why do we have governments? Why should we obey the laws they make? Hobbes is the
first systematic (early) modern thinker addressing these questions, and the first major thinker
of the tradition of the social contract. The answers he gives to questions of legitimate
authority, and resistance to it, have been controversial since they were first expounded.
Required readings:
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, ,ed. Richard Tuck, Chapters XIII to XXX inclusive
Thomas Hobbes, On the Citizen [De Cive], eds Richard Tuck and Michal Silverthorne,
'Preface to the Readers' (pp.7-15), Chapters I to XIV inclusive
Additional readings:
Leo Strauss, The Political Philosophy of Hobbes: its basis and its genesis
Richard Tuck, Hobbes: a very short introduction
David Raphael, Hobbes: Morals and Politics
Johann Sommerville, Thomas Hobbes: Political Ideas in Historical Context
Tom Sorrell, Hobbes
Tom Sorrell, ed, The Cambridge Companion to Hobbes
Patricia Springborg, ed, The Cambridge Companion to Hobbes’s Leviathan
Tom Sorrell & Luc Foisneau, eds, Leviathan after 350 years
K C Brown, ed Hobbes Studies (an edited collection; there is also an e-journal with the same
name which may be useful)
S A Lloyd, ed, ‘Special Issue on Recent Work on the Moral and Political Philosophy of
Thomas Hobbes’, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, (vol) 82 (issues) 3 & 4, 2001
Maurice Cranston & S Peters, eds Hobbes and Rousseau: a collection of critical essays
Christopher Morris, ed, Social Contract Theorists: critical essays on Hobbes, Locke, and
Rousseau
Deborah Baumgold, Hobbes’s Political Theory
David Gauthier, The Logic of ‘Leviathan’: the Moral and Political Theory of Thomas Hobbes
Howard Warrender, The Political Philosophy of Hobbes: his theory of obligation
Quentin Skinnner, ‘Hobbes and the Purely Artificial Person of the State’, Journal of Political
Philosophy, 7/1, 1999
David Runciman, ‘What Kind of Person is Hobbes’s State? A Reply to Skinner’, Journal of
Political Philosophy 8, 2000, (pp 268-78)
Matthew Kramer, ‘Freedom, Unfreedom, and Skinner’s Hobbes’, Journal of Political
Philosophy 9, 2001 (pp 204-16)
David Dyzenhaus, ‘Hobbes and the Legitimacy of Law’, Law and Philosophy 20, 2001
(pp461-98)
Susanne Sreedhar, Hobbes on Resistance: Defying the Leviathan
Tutorial Question:
What does Hobbes mean by saying that the ‘state of nature’ is that of ‘war of all against
all’?
29 January and 2 February
Locke: Consent, Property and Colonisation
Dr Kieran Oberman
John Locke has been hugely influential in his argument for limited and constitutional
government. Yet while Locke’s influence is undisputed, there remains significant
disagreement as to how he should be interpreted. His much discussed account of property, for
instance, remains puzzling in many aspects, taken by some to offer an argument for poverty
relief and by others as a defence of capitalism at home and colonisation abroad. We shall
explore these interpretative puzzles to see whether we can deduce a coherent and convincing
theory of government from Locke’s work.
Required reading:
John Locke, Two Treatises on Government, second treatise, chapters 2, 5, and 8.
Additional readings:
Introductory:
Alex Tuckness, “Locke's Political Philosophy”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy (Winter 2012 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).
Iain Hampsher-Monk, “History of Modern Political Thought: Major Political Thinkers from
Hobbes to Marx”, (Oxford: Blackwell, 1992), chapter 2.
J.S. McClelland, A History of Western Political Thought, (London: Routledge, 1996), part 5,
chapter 12.
Jonathan Wolff, An Introduction to Political Philosophy, (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1996), pp18-26.
On Locke’s theory of legitimate government:
G.A. Cohen, Lectures on the History of Moral and Political Philosophy, (Princeton,
Princeton University Press, 2014), chapter 3.
Michael Otsuka, Libertarianism without Inequality, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003),
chapter 5.
David Hume, Of the Original Contract
A. John Simmons, Moral Principles and Political Obligations, (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1979), chapter 4.
A. John Simmons, On the Edge of Anarchy: Locke, Consent and the Limits of Society,
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993).
Hanna Pitkin, “Obligation and Consent I”, The American Political Science Review 59
(1965): 990-999.
C.B. Macpherson, The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism: Hobbes to Locke,
(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1962).
On property and colonisation:
Barbara Arneil, John Locke and America, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996).
Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State and Utopia, (Oxford: Blackwell, 1974), pp174-182.
Jeremy Waldron, The Right to Private Property, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988), chapters 6
and 7.
G.A. Cohen, Self-Ownership, Freedom, and Equality, (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1995), pp175-194.
Karl Widerquist, “Lockean Theories of Property: Justifications for Unilateral
Appropriation”, Public Reason 2 (2010): 3-26.
Henry George, Progress and Poverty, chapter 26.
James Tully, A Discourse on Property, John Locke and His Adversaries, (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press 1980).
Gopal Sreenivasan, The Limits of Lockean Rights in Property, (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1995).
A. John Simmons, The Lockean Theory of Rights, (Princeton: Princeton University Press,
1992), chapter 5.
A. John Simmons, “On the Territorial Rights of States”, Philosophical Issues 11 (2001): 300326.
Bas Van der Vossen, “Locke on Territorial Rights”, Political Studies (forthcoming).
Tutorial Questions:
What role does actual and tacit consent play in Locke’s theory of legitimate government?
What argument does Locke provide for the right to private property and how successful is
this argument?
5 & 9 February
Rousseau: Freedom as Popular Sovereignty
Dr Lynn Dobson
With Rousseau we continue studying the social contract tradition. Is it possible to reconcile
individual freedom with collective action within a political association? Rousseau proposes a
possible solution.
Required readings:
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract, trans and ed. Maurice Cranston
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality Among
Men or Second Discourse, Part II. In a number of collections e.g. Rousseau: The Discourses
and other early political writings, trans and ed. Victor Gourevitch, where Part II is pp.164188
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Considerations on the Government in Poland, in a number of
collections e.g. Rousseau: Political Writings containing [...... etc], ed. Frederick Watkins
Additional readings:
Maurice Cranston & S Peters, eds Hobbes and Rousseau: a collection of critical essays
Patrick Riley, ed, The Cambridge Companion to Rousseau
Christopher Morris, ed, Social Contract Theorists: critical essays on Hobbes, Locke, and
Rousseau
Ethan Putterman, Rousseau, Law, and the Sovereignty of the People
J L Talmon, The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy
Joshua Cohen, ‘Reflections on Rousseau: Autonomy and Democracy’, Philosophy and Public
Affairs 15, 1986 (pp275-97)
J Broome, Rousseau: a study of his thought
J Chapman, Rousseau: Totalitarian or Liberal?
John Charvet, The Social Problem in the Philosophy of Rousseau
A Cobban, Rousseau and the Modern State
Hilail Gildin, Rousseau’s Social Contract
N Dent, Rousseau: an introduction
S Ellenburg, Rousseau’s Political Philosophy
Robert Grimsley, The Philosophy of Rousseau
J Hall, Rousseau: Introduction to his Political Philosophy
Roger D Masters, The Political Philosophy of J J Rousseau
M Levin, ‘Rousseau and Independence’, Political Studies 1970
J McAdam, ‘Rousseau and General Will’, Dialogue 1967
R Noble, ‘Freedom and Sentiment’, History of Political Thought, 1988
John Plamenatz, Man and Society Vol 1, chapter 10
D Rosenfeld, ‘Rousseau’s unanimous contract’, History of Political Thought 1987
Frederick Newhouser, ‘Freedom, Dependence, and the General Will’, Philosophical Review
102, 1993, pp363-95
Tutorial Question:
What sense can be made of the idea of ‘the general will’?
Please Note: 16 & 20 February INNOVATIVE LEARNING
WEEK – There will be no Lectures or Tutorials
12 & 23 February
Marx – Capitalism, History, and Revolution
Dr Philip Cook
We consider Marx’s view of human nature and material production. We examine his notion
of historical materialism and laws governing social life. We discuss his critique of capitalism
(and the capitalist state) and his argument that it will inevitably collapse and lead to
communism.
Required Reading
Andrew Bailey, Samantha Brennan, Will Kymlicka, Jacob Levy, Alex Sager, & Clark Wolf
eds., The Broadview Anthology of Social and Political Thought: Essential Readings Ancient,
Modern, and Contemporary Texts, (Broadview Press 2012), Chapter: Karl Marx and
Friedrich Engels, Available as an e-reserve on Learn site
Additional Reading
Iain Hampsher-Monk, A History of Modern Political Thought, Oxford: Blackwell 1992, ch.
10 Marx, pp. 483-563 Available as an e-reserve on Learn site
George Klosko History of Political Theory: an introduction, Vol. 2 Modern 2nd Edition, OUP
2013 Ch. 10 Karl Marx, pp. 498-558, 23 Available as an e-reserve on Learn site
Gareth Stedman Jones. (2011). The Young Hegelians, Marx and Engels. In: Gareth Stedman
Jones and Gregory Claeys (eds.) The Cambridge History of Nineteenth-Century Political
Thought. pp. 556-600. Available as an e-book through library catalogue
David McLellan, Marx, Fontana Modern Masters (London: Fontana, 1975).
Peter Singer, Marx, Past Masters (Oxford University Press, 1980).
Allen W. Wood, Karl Marx, The Arguments of the Philosophers (London: Routledge &
Kegan Paul, 1981), chap. 1.
Allen E. Buchanan, Ethics, Efficiency and the Market (Totowa, N.J.: Rowman & Allanheld,,
1985), pp. 87–95.
J. Rawls, Lectures on the History of Political Philosophy, Samuel Freeman (ed), (Cambridge
MA, 2007), ‘Lectures on Marx’, pp. 319-372.
S. S. Wolin, Politics and Vision: Continuity and Innovation in Western Political Thought,
expanded edn., (Princeton NJ, 2004), chapter 12 ‘Marx: Theorist of the Political Economy o
the Proletariat or of Uncollapsed Capitalism?’, pp. 406-453.
W. J. Booth, ‘Gone Fishing: Making Sense of Marx’s Concept of Communism’, Political
Theory, 17 (1989), 205-222 Available as an online journal through Library catalogue
Tutorial Questions:
How does Marx understand the relationship between economic production and
politics/society? Why does Marx argue that capitalism will inevitably collapse?
26 February & 2 March
J.S. Mill: Individual Autonomy and National Self-Determination
Dr Kieran Oberman
According to JS Mill, societies must respect personal autonomy by allowing people to act as
they choose as long as they do not harm to others. Mill also argued that each society should,
on the whole, be cautious about intervening in the affairs of other societies, even when those
other societies violate exactly the kinds of freedoms that Mill espoused. In these classes, we
shall investigate whether Mill’s arguments for either of these positions are plausible in
themselves and consistent when assessed together.
Required reading:
J.S. Mill, On Liberty, introduction and chapter 4.
JS Mill, “A Few Words on Non-Intervention”, in New England Review, 27/3 ([1859] 2006):
252-264.
Additional reading:
Introductory:
David Brink, “Mill's Moral and Political Philosophy”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy (Fall 2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).
Jonathan Wolff, An Introduction to Political Philosophy, (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1996), chapter 4.
On “On Liberty”
J.C. Rees, “A Re-Reading of Mill on Liberty”, in John Gray and GW Smith, eds., JS Mill On
Liberty in Focus, (London: Routeledge, 2003).
Gerald Dworkin, “Paternalism”, in Richard A. Wasserstrom (ed.), Morality and the Law,
(Belmont: Wadsworth, 1971).
Joel Feinburg, Offense to Others, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985) chapter 9.
John Skurupski, Why Read Mill Today? (London: Routledge, 2006).
C.L. Ten, Mill on Liberty, (Oxford: Clarendon Press 1980).
Jonathan Riley, Mill On Liberty, (London: Routledge, 1998).
David O. Brink, “Millian Principles, Freedom Of Expression, and Hate Speech”, Legal
Theory 7 (2001): 119-157.
Richard, Wollheim, “John Stuart Mill and the Limits of State Action” Social Research 40
(1973): 1-30.
Jonathan Riley, “One Very Simple Principle’ Utilitas 3 (1991): 1-35.
Non-Intervention and Colonialism
Michael W. Doyle, “A Few Words on Mill, Walzer and Non-Intervention”, Ethics &
International Affairs, 23/4 (2009): 349–369
Arthur Applebaum, “Forcing a People to be Free”, Philosophy and Public Affairs, 25/4
(2007): 359-400
Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars, (New York: Basic Books, 2006), pp51-63, pp86-108.
David Luban, “Just War and Human Rights”, Philosophy and Public Affairs, 9/2 (1980): 160181
Yvonne Chiu and Robert S. Taylor, “The Self-Extinguishing Despot: Millian
Democratization”, The Journal of Politics 73 (2011): 1239-1250
Uday Singh Metah, Liberalism and Empire, A Study of Nineteenth Century British Liberal
Thought (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999), pp97-106.
Tutorial Questions:
How does Mill distinguish between other regarding and self-regarding behaviour? Why
does Mill believe this distinction is so important? Why is Mill in favour of international
intervention in some cases and against it in other cases?
5 & 9 March
Ghandi – Freedom, Truth, and Non-Violence
Dr Philip Cook
We will consider Gandhi’s views on truth and freedom in politics. We will analyse his
arguments for non-violence in politics. We will examine his legacy and character as a
political thinker.
Required Readings
Mohandas K. Gandhi, The Penguin Gandhi Reader, ed. Rudrangshu Mukherjee, 2 edition
(New Delhi ; New York: Penguin Books, 1995), section: The Creed of Non–Violence, pp.
93–122.
Mahatma Gandhi, The Essential Writings, ed. Judith M. Brown, New Ed edition (Oxford ;
New York: OUP Oxford, 2008), chap. Four – India Under British Rule, making a new nation.
Recommended Readings
Bidyut Chakrabarty, The Social and Political Thought of Mahatma Gahndi, London: Taylor
and Francis, 2006, 9780415360968 Gandhi – The Mahatma at the Grassroots: the practice of
ahimsa or non-violence Available as an e-reserve on the Learn site
Indira Rothermund, “The Individual and Society in Gandhi’s Political Thought,” The Journal
of Asian Studies 28, no. 2 (February 1, 1969): 313–20,Karuna Mantena, “Another Realism:
The Politics of Gandhian Nonviolence,” American Political Science Review 106, no. 02 (May
2012): 455–70 Available as an e-journal through library catalogue
Judith M. Brown, Gandhi : Prisoner of Hope (London: Yale University Press, 1989).
Judith M. Brown and Anthony Parel, eds., The Cambridge Companion to Gandhi
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), chap. 5–9, Available as an e-book through
library catalogue
Bhikhu Parekh, Gandhi’s Political Philosophy : A Critical Examination (Basingstoke :
Macmillan, 1989);
Bhikhu Parekh, Gandhi: A Very Short Introduction, New Ed edition (Oxford ; New York:
Oxford Paperbacks, 2001)
Antony Copley, Gandhi: Against the Tide (Oxford University Press, 1987).
Tutorial question:
How does Gandhi understand truth and freedom in political life? Why is non-violence so
important in his thinking about politics?
12 & 16 March
Arendt: Responsibility and the Common World
Dr Lynn Dobson
Arendt has a distinctive view on the space and nature of political being, and her work on
responsibility, judgement, and evil in times of political extremism – written in response to
Nazism and Stalinism - is increasingly influential.
Required reading:
Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition, Chapters: 1, 2, 4-10 inclusive, 24-28 inclusive, 32-34
inclusive, 41-43 inclusive
Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem: a report on the banality of evil, Chapter VIII
Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, Chapter 9 Part II ('The Perplexities of the
Rights of Man'), and Chapter 13 ('Ideology and Terror: a Novel Form of Government')'
Additional reading:
All chapters in The Human Condition
Hannah Arendt, ‘Freedom and Politics: a lecture’, Chicago Review, 14 (1), 1960
Hannah Arendt, ‘The Great Tradition, I: Law and Power’, Social Research 74 (3), and ‘The
Great Tradition, II: Ruling and Being Ruled’, Social Research 74 (4), 2007
Hannah Arendt, ‘Postscript’, Eichmann in Jerusalem (scan uploaded on LEARN)
Dana Villa, ed, The Cambridge Companion to Hannah Arendt
Garrath Williams, ‘Hannah Arendt on Power’, in Keith Dowding, ed, Encyclopedia of Power
Majid Yar, ‘From Actor to Spectator: Hannah Arendt’s ‘Two Theories’ of Political
Judgement’, Philosophy and Social Criticism 26 (2), 2000
Majid Yar, ‘Hannah Arendt’, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Roger Berkowitz et al, Thinking in Dark Times: Hannah Arendt on Ethics and Politics
Hannah Arendt, 'Personal Responsibility under Dictatorship' in Hannah Arendt:
Responsibility and Judgment, ed Jerome Kohn
Steve Buckler, Hannah Arendt and Political Theory
Peg Birmingham, Hannah Arendt and Human Rights: the predicament of common
responsibility
Dana Villa, Politics, Philosophy, Terror: essays on the thought of Hannah Arendt
Seyla Benhabib, The Reluctant Modernism of Hannah Arendt
Maurizio Passerin d’Entreves, The Political Philosophy of Hannah Arendt
Tutorial Question:
What, for Arendt, does it mean to be a citizen?
19 March Revision
Dr Lynn Dobson, Dr Kieran Oberman, Dr Philip Cook
Appendix 1: Essay Referencing
The key to essay referencing is that you convey the relevant information about a source and
do so in a consistent fashion. The point of referencing is that any reader of your work should
be able to check every single one of its references against the original source to see that, for
example, the author you are citing really did write what you claim s/he wrote, or that where
you have presented a fact then it has been accurately presented and comes from an
authoritative source. So it is your responsibility as a scholar to ensure that any potential
reader of your essay could easily trace every single one of your claims. One way of doing
this is to use the Harvard system, outlined below. If you do not wish to use this system, you
must use another recognised system – not one you have made up - which conveys the same
information. The library website contains guidance on referencing, including a subscription
to ‘Cite Them Right’, an excellent on-line referencing tool.
Essentials of the Harvard system:
1. After you have quoted from or referred to a particular text in your essay, add in
parentheses the author’s name, the publication date and page numbers (if relevant). Place the
full reference in your bibliography. Here is an example of a quoted passage and its proper
citation:
Quotation in essay:
‘Marx and Freud are the two great heroes of the radicalized Enlightenment’ (Callinicos,
1989: 172).
Book entry in bibliography:
Callinicos, A. (1989), Against Postmodernism: A Marxist Critique, Cambridge: Polity Press.
Note the sequence: author, year of publication, title, edition or translation information if
needed, place of publication, publisher.
2. If you are employing someone else’s arguments, ideas or categorization, you will need to
cite them even if you are not using a direct quote. One simple way to do so is as follows:
Callinicos (1989: 162-5) argues that postmodernism is more a symptom of ‘Good Times’
than of ‘New Times.’
3. How to cite various sources:
(i) Course Learn site:
An assignment that makes heavy use of Learn materials and cites little else is almost certain
to be an assignment that is under-researched. That said, you may reasonably need to refer to
a reading from Learn, and a particular referencing issue that arises on this course is that some
of the sources provided on the course Learn site may not have page numbers or other
publication details. Where these details are provided, cite in the standard ways listed here for
book chapters, articles, etc. Where these details are not provided, then you should trace the
original text in the Library or online. If you need only to cite the main publication details,
then the information held on the Library catalogue will be sufficient. If you need to refer to a
specific page number – for example, because you are presenting a direct quote, then you
should make your best attempt to check the original text, but if that is unavailing you will
have to do the best you can to provide as much detail as you can. If the quote is in a specific
subsection you could locate it as follows: (Marx and Engels, 1846/1930: Preface). Otherwise
just indicate the author(s) and year. For any specific problems of this nature, consult your
tutor for advice about how to provide the most information to the reader that you reasonably
can.
(ii) Chapters in book:
In your essay, cite the author, e.g. (Jameson, 1999). In your bibliography details, should be
arranged in this sequence: author of chapter, year of publication, chapter title, editor(s) of
book, title of book, place of publication, publisher, article or chapter pages. For example:
Jameson, F. (1999), ‘The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism’, in A. Elliott (ed.), The
Blackwell Reader in Contemporary Social Theory, Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 338-350.
(iii) Journal article:
In your essay, cite the author, e.g. (Gruffydd-Jones, 2001). In your bibliography, details
should be arranged in this sequence: author of journal article, year of publication, article title,
journal title, journal volume, journal issue or number, article pages. For example:
Gruffydd-Jones, B. (2001), ‘Explaining Global Poverty: A Realist Critique of the Orthodox
Approach’, Journal of Critical Realism, 3(2): 2-10.
(iv) Newspaper or magazine article:
If the article has an author, cite as normal in the text (Giddens, 1998). In bibliography cite as
follows:
Giddens, A. (1998), ‘Beyond left and right’, The Observer, 13 Sept, pp. 27-8.
If the article has no author, cite name of newspaper in text (The Herald) and list the source in
the bibliography by magazine or newspaper title. For example:
The Herald (1999), ‘Brown takes on the jobless’, 6 Sept, p. 14.
(v) Internet sites:
If the site has an author, cite in the text as normal, e.g. (Weiss and Wesley, 2001). In the
bibliography, provide a full reference which should include author, date, title of website and
URL address. For example:
Weiss, S. & Wesley, K. (2001), ‘Postmodernism and its Critics.’ Available at:
http://.www.brief.berkeley.edu/phil/postmodern.html
If the site has no author, cite the address of the site in your text, e.g. for Centre for Europe’s
Children (http://Eurochild.gla.ac.uk/). In the bibliography, provide a full reference including
the title of the website, URL address, publisher or owner of the site, and if no date is
available, indicate the date you accessed the site. For example:
‘Fourteen Countries Meet in Manila to Tackle Childhood Trafficking’ (www.asem.org),
ASEM Resource Centre, Child Welfare Initiative, 23 Oct, 2001.
In this course you are unlikely to need to consult internet sites.
Appendix 2: Administrative Guidance
Procedure for Viewing Marked Exam Scripts:
If you would like to see your exam script after the final marks have been published then you
should contact the course secretary by email to arrange a time to do this. Please note that
there will be no feedback comments written on the scripts, but you may find it useful to look
at what you wrote, and see the marks achieved for each individual question. You will not be
permitted to keep the exam script but you are welcome to take it away to read over or make
photocopies. If you wish to do this please bring a form of ID that can be left at the office
until you return the script. Please note that scripts cannot be taken away overnight.
Word Count Penalties:
Your essay should be between 2000 words (excluding bibliography)*. Essays above 2000
words will be penalised using the Ordinary level criterion of 1 mark for every 20 words over
length: anything between 2001 and 2020 words will lose one mark, between 2021 and 2040
two marks, and so on.
You will not be penalised for submitting work below the word limit. However, you should
note that shorter essays are unlikely to achieve the required depth and that this will be
reflected in your mark.
Return of Feedback:
Feedback for essays will be returned online via ELMA on Monday 16 March.
Plagiarism Guidance for Students:
Avoiding Plagiarism:
Material you submit for assessment, such as your essays, must be your own work. You can,
and should, draw upon published work, ideas from lectures and class discussions, and (if
appropriate) even upon discussions with other students, but you must always make clear that
you are doing so. Passing off anyone else’s work (including another student’s work or
material from the Web or a published author) as your own is plagiarism and will be
punished severely. When you upload your work to ELMA you will be asked to check a box
to confirm the work is your own. ELMA automatically runs all submissions through
‘Turnitin’, our plagiarism detection software, and compares every essay against a constantlyupdated database, which highlights all plagiarised work. Assessed work that contains
plagiarised material will be awarded a mark of zero, and serious cases of plagiarism will also
be reported to the College Academic Misconduct officer. In either case, the actions taken
will be noted permanently on the student's record. For further details on plagiarism see
the Academic Services’ website:
http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/academicservices/students/undergraduate/discipline/plagiarism
Data Protection Guidance for Students:
In most circumstances, students are responsible for ensuring that their work with information
about living, identifiable individuals complies with the requirements of the Data Protection
Act. The document, Personal Data Processed by Students, provides an explanation of why
this is the case. It can be found, with advice on data protection compliance and ethical best
practice in the handling of information about living, identifiable individuals, on the Records
Management section of the University website at:
http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/records-management-section/dataprotection/guidance-policies/dpforstudents
ELMA: Submission and Return of Coursework
Coursework is submitted online using our electronic submission system, ELMA. You will
not be required to submit a paper copy of your work.
Marked coursework, grades and feedback will be returned to you via ELMA. You will not
receive a paper copy of your marked course work or feedback.
For information, help and advice on submitting coursework and accessing feedback, please
see the ELMA wiki at https://www.wiki.ed.ac.uk/display/SPSITWiki/ELMA. Further
detailed guidance on the essay deadline and a link to the wiki and submission page will be
available on the course Learn page. The wiki is the primary source of information on how to
submit your work correctly and provides advice on approved file formats, uploading cover
sheets and how to name your files correctly.
When you submit your work electronically, you will be asked to tick a box confirming that
your work complies with university regulations on plagiarism. This confirms that the work
you have submitted is your own.
Occasionally, there can be technical problems with a submission. We request that you
monitor your university student email account in the 24 hours following the deadline for
submitting your work. If there are any problems with your submission the course secretary
will email you at this stage.
We undertake to return all coursework within 15 working days of submission. This time is
needed for marking, moderation, second marking and input of results. If there are any
unanticipated delays, it is the course organiser’s responsibility to inform you of the reasons.
All our coursework is assessed anonymously to ensure fairness: to facilitate this process
put your Examination number (on your student card), not your name or student
number, on your coursework or cover sheet.
The Operation of Lateness Penalties
Management of deadlines and timely submission of all assessed items (coursework, essays,
project reports, etc.) is a vitally important responsibility in your university career. Unexcused
lateness will mean your work is subject to penalties and will therefore have an adverse effect
on your final grade.
If you miss the submission deadline for any piece of assessed work 5 marks will be deducted
for each calendar day that work is late, up to a maximum of five calendar days (25 marks).
Work that is submitted more than five days late will not be accepted and will receive a mark
of zero. There is no grace period for lateness and penalties begin to apply immediately
following the deadline. For example, if the deadline is Tuesday at 12 noon, work submitted
on Tuesday at 12.01pm will be marked as one day late, work submitted at 12.01pm on
Wednesday will be marked as two days late, and so on.
Extension Policy
If you have good reason for not meeting a coursework deadline, you may request an
extension from either your tutor (for extensions of up to five calendar days) or the course
organiser (for extensions of six or more calendar days), normally before the deadline. Any
requests submitted after the deadline may still be considered by the course organiser if there
have been extenuating circumstances. A good reason is illness, or serious personal
circumstances, but not pressure of work or poor time management. Your tutor/course
organiser must inform the course secretary in writing about the extension, for which
supporting evidence may be requested. Work which is submitted late without your tutor's or
course organiser's permission (or without a medical certificate or other supportive evidence)
will be subject to lateness penalties.
Learning Resources for Undergraduates:
The Study Development Team at the Institute for Academic Development (IAD) provides
resources and workshops aimed at helping all students to enhance their learning skills and
develop effective study techniques. Resources and workshops cover a range of topics, such as
managing your own learning, reading, note making, essay and report writing, exam
preparation and exam techniques.
The study development resources are housed on 'LearnBetter' (undergraduate), part of Learn,
the University's virtual learning environment. Follow the link from the IAD Study
Development web page to enrol: www.ed.ac.uk/iad/undergraduates
Workshops are interactive: they will give you the chance to take part in activities, have
discussions, exchange strategies, share ideas and ask questions. They are 90 minutes long and
held on Wednesday afternoons at 1.30pm or 3.30pm. The schedule is available from the IAD
Undergraduate web page (see above).
Workshops are open to all undergraduates but you need to book in advance, using the MyEd
booking system. Each workshop opens for booking 2 weeks before the date of the workshop
itself. If you book and then cannot attend, please cancel in advance through MyEd so that
another student can have your place. (To be fair to all students, anyone who persistently
books on workshops and fails to attend may be barred from signing up for future events).
Study Development Advisors are also available for an individual consultation if you have
specific questions about your own approach to studying, working more effectively, strategies
for improving your learning and your academic work. Please note, however, that Study
Development Advisors are not subject specialists so they cannot comment on the content of
your work. They also do not check or proof read students' work.
To make an appointment with a Study Development Advisor, email iad.study@ed.ac.uk
(For support with English Language, you should contact the English Language Teaching
Centre).
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