Department of Global and Interdisciplinary Studies

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PHL300ZA(哲学 / Philosophy 300)
Readings in Philosophy

Robert SINCLAIR

Class code etc
Faculty/Graduate school Department of Global and Interdisciplinary Studies
Attached documents
Year 2022
Class code A6306
Previous Class code
Previous Class title
Term 春学期授業/Spring
Day/Period 月4/Mon.4
Class Type
Campus 市ヶ谷 / Ichigaya
Classroom name 各学部・研究科等の時間割等で確認
Grade 3~4
Credit(s) 2
Notes
Open Program
Open Program (Notes)
Global Open Program
Interdepartmental class taking system for Academic Achievers
Interdepartmental class taking system for Academic Achievers (Notes) 制度ウェブサイトの3.科目別の注意事項 (1) GIS主催科目の履修上の注意を参照すること。
Class taught by instructors with practical experience
SDGs CP
Urban Design CP
Diversity CP
Learning for the Future CP
Carbon Neutral CP
Chiyoda Campus Consortium
Duplicate Subjects Taken Under Previous Class Title
Category (commenced 2024 onwards)
Category (commenced 2020-2023)
Category (commenced 2016-2019)

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Outline and objectives

The three main objectives of the course are to introduce: (i) some of the real-world problems of global justice and the moral and philosophical challenges they present, (ii) some of the main positions and arguments that philosophers have proposed in response to these problems, and (iii) the philosophical method of analyzing and evaluating these different perspectives and arguments. A larger aim is to show how philosophy can help provide analytical tools for both clarifying and addressing the problems of humanity. Some of the topics we will discuss include: world poverty and economic inequality, human rights and sovereignty, nationalism and cultural diversity, just war and humanitarian intervention, and boundaries and immigration.

Goal

Students will (1) develop a deeper understanding of the basic issues, concepts and viewpoints found in global ethics and global political philosophy, (2) explore how philosophical ideas apply to real life events and (3) learn to think critically and express their opinions accurately. The class provides students with the moral background for their studies in the related fields of political science, international relations and politics.

Which item of the diploma policy will be obtained by taking this class?

Will be able to gain “DP 1”, “DP 2”, “DP 3”, and “DP 4”.

Default language used in class

英語 / English

Method(s)(学期の途中で変更になる場合には、別途提示します。 /If the Method(s) is changed, we will announce the details of any changes. )

Students will attend lectures, read related materials and have two written examinations. Feedback on completed assignments will be given in class.

Active learning in class (Group discussion, Debate.etc.)

あり / Yes

Fieldwork in class

なし / No

Schedule

授業形態/methods of teaching:対面/face to face

※各回の授業形態は予定です。教員の指示に従ってください。

1[オンライン/online]:Introduction

What is this thing called global justice? Global justice as normative inquiry, Organization of the course, selection exam

2[対面/face to face]:World Poverty

Moral responsibility and global poverty, utilitarianism and rights-based approaches

3[対面/face to face]:Global Economic Equality

Global egalitarianism, justice as fairness, resources versus capabilities

4[対面/face to face]:Against Global Egalitarianism

Questioning global Egalitarianism, Rawl's laws of peoples

5[対面/face to face]:Nationalism and Patriotic Sentiments

The problem of nationalism, cosmopolitanism, patriotism and partiality

6[対面/face to face]:The Universality of Human Rights

The nature of human rights, universal rights, liberal rights

7[対面/face to face]:Review & Midterm Exam

Review

8[対面/face to face]:Human Rights: State Sovereignty, Culture and Gender

Possible conflicts between human rights and sovereignty, culture and gender

9[対面/face to face]:Just Wars and Humanitarian Intervention

Just war theory, military intervention

10[対面/face to face]:Borders: Immigration, Secession and Territory

Ethics of immigration, secession and territorial rights

11[対面/face to face]:Climate Change Justice: Sharing the Burden

Climate justice, subsistence, per capita emissions, who pays?

12[対面/face to face]:Global Democracy: Cosmopolitan Versus International

Problems with democracy, Alternatives? Cosmopolitan versus international

13[対面/face to face]:Conclusion

Real world problems, the need for a global theory of justice

14[対面/face to face]:Final Exam & Wrap-up

Review

Work to be done outside of class (preparation, etc.)

Students are expected to read the materials as instructed and prepare for class participation and discussion. Preparatory study and review time for this class are 2 hours each.

Textbooks

What is This Thing Called Global Justice? Kok-Chor Tan, 2017, Routledge.
All required readings for the class are from this text. Any other class materials will be made available by the instructor. Students do not need to purchase the text.

References

International Ethics: Concepts, Theories, and Cases in Global Politics, 4th Edition, Mark R. Amstutz, 2013, Rowman and Littlefield.

The Global Justice Reader, edited by Thom Brooks, 2008, Wiley-Blackwell.

Global Ethics: An Introduction, Heather Widdows, 2014, Routledge.


More difficult, but useful, discussions of these issues can be found in the following articles from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://plato.stanford.edu/): global justice, international distributive justice, globalization, cosmopolitanism, citizenship and many others.  

Grading criteria

Evaluation will be based on a selection exam (10%) class participation (15%) midterm exam (35%) and final exam (40%).

Changes following student comments

Some small changes have been made to the topics covered in the class.

Others

This course is intended for the those new to the philosophical study of global justice, presupposing little or no background in philosophy.

Prerequisite

none.