Content

This unit is devoted to the examination of the basic Western philosophical understanding of the human person as individual and socio-political. The topics covered in this unit might include nature, agency, the human subject and other issues of the individual, as well as the basis, purpose and structure of the state’s authority, liberalism, and the concept of justice. Historical, modern, and contemporary approaches to the understanding of human nature will be discussed; this will help learners reflect on the human person as a moral and social subject.

Unit code: AP2002C

Unit status: Approved (Major revision)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 2

Unit discipline: Philosophy

Proposing College: Catholic Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Explain the key issues in relation to the theories of human nature and society taught in the unit.

2.

Critically evaluate the basic positions on human nature taught in the unit.

3.

Critically analyse the political theories taught in the unit.

4.

Explain some standard criticisms of certain philosophical positions put forward in the unit.

Pedagogy

Lectures, Tutorials, Seminars

Indicative Bibliography

  • Cahn, Stephen M., ed. Classics of Political and Moral Philosophy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
  • Dupre, Louis. Transcendent Selfhood: The Loss and Recovery of the Inner Life. New York: Seabury, 1976.
  • Goodin, Robert E., and Philip Pettit, eds. A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy. Oxford: Blackwell, 1995.
  • Hampton, Jean E. Political Philosophy. Dimensions of Philosophy. Boulder: Westview, 2018.
  • Knowles, Dudley. Political Philosophy. Fundamentals of Philosophy. London: Routledge, 2001.
  • Scheler, Max. Man’s Place in Nature. Translated and Introduced by H. Meyerhoff. Boston: Beacon Press, 1961.
  • Stevenson, L. The Study of Human Nature: A Reader. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
  • Torchia, Joseph. Exploring Personhood: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Human Nature. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2008.
  • Trigg, Roger. Ideas of Human Nature: A Historical Introduction Ideas of Human Nature: A Historical Introduction. 4th ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 1999.
  • Weigel, Peter, and Joseph Prud’homme, eds. The Philosophy of Human Nature in Christian Perspective. New York: Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers, 2016.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)

Variant 1

Report

Written report. Different parts due in different weeks.

2000 50.0
Essay

Essay

2000 50.0

Variant 2

Essay

Essay

2000 50.0
Written Examination

Written examination

2000 50.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 25 Aug, 2023

Unit record last updated: 2023-08-25 13:08:56 +1000