Philosophy of the Human Person and Society (AP2002C)

Thursday 2pm - 5pm

CTC/UD AP2/3/9002C
Philosophy of the Human Person and Society — proposed content 2026

Lecturer _ Wk # ____ Date ______ Content

CL _____ 1 _____ 26 Feb _____ Fortescue, Hobbes. Naturalised power politics and human nature; sovereignty: law or power? Medieval origins of democracy. Theoretical origin of the state, legitimacy and a community of people.

CL _____ 2 _____ 5 Mar _____ Plato Timaeus, Republic. Teleology of Man and perfect politics. Regime change and virtue.

CL _____ 3 _____ 12 Mar _____ Aquinas Summa Contra Gentiles. Body and Soul.

CL _____ 4 _____ 19 Mar _____ Descartes, De La Mettrie, Diderot. Modern dualist and materialist theories of the human person.

JO _____ 5 _____ 26 Mar _____ Locke and Hume. Personal identity.

_____ _____ ___ 30 March – 10 Apr ___ Easter break

_____ _____ ___ Mon 13 Apr _______ Classes resume

CL _____ 6 _____ 16 Apr _____ Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau. Social contract. Non-utopias – starting from and getting out of disagreement scenarios. Politics and human nature without origin stories.

JO _____ 7 _____ 23 Apr _____ Hegel (introduction), Feuerbach, Engels, early Marx. Developing, progressive teleologies – spirit and nature.

CL _____ 8 _____ 30 Apr _____ British Idealists, T. H. Green. Freedom, common good and personal self-realization by the state. 19thC liberalism and nationalism.

CL _____ 9 _____ 7 May _____ J. S. Mill, Wollstonecraft, – positivism, liberalism, individualism, feminism, autonomy (harm principle). Naturalised developing progressivism.

JO _____ 10 _____ 14 May _____ Nietzsche, Sartre, De Beauvoir, Foucault, Marcel. Existentialism – Freedom, human existence before essence or nature.

JO _____ 11 _____ 21 May _____ Rawls, Nozick, Rorty and political liberalism.

JO _____ 12 _____ 28 May _____ Hayek, Schumpeter on justice and politics re Marx and Rawls. Politics naturalised and/or teleological. Coordinating disagreement. Revision / Wrap up / exam outline.