Philosophy of the Human Person and Society (AP8002C)

Postgraduate, 24.0 points

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 20th-century 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: AP8002C

Unit status: Approved (Major revision)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Foundational

Unit discipline: Philosophy

Proposing College: Catholic Theological College

Show when this unit is running

Learning outcomes

1.

Characterise the theories of the human person (including political philosophies) studied in the unit
2.

Identify and describe key elements of selected philosophical texts and rigorously assess their implications
3.

Understand the person or the political theory studied, within the broader context the western intellectual tradition
4.

Explain the significance of a philosophical theory of the person or a political theory of the state and critically evaluate it
5.

Demonstrate the capacity to develop a topic of research in a critically rigorous, sustained, and self-directed manner

Pedagogy

Lectures and in-class exercises

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, 1997.
  • Knowles, Dudley. Political Philosophy. Fundamentals of Philosophy. London: Routledge, 2001.
  • Rawls, John. Justice as Fairness: A Restatement. Edited by Erin Kelly. Cambridge: Belknap, 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.
  • Taylor, Charles. Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity. New Haven: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
  • Trigg, Roger. Ideas of Human Nature: A Historical Introduction. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 1989.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)

Variant 1

Essay

One of the variations set out here is chosen by the lecturer/unit coordinator prior to the start of the unit, in conjunction with the Dean, and is published in the unit outline. The lecturer may choose different variations for different levels in the same unit. Students may have choices within a given variation, but are not able to make choices outside that set variation.

 6000 100.0

Variant 2

Essay

One of the variations set out here is chosen by the lecturer/unit coordinator prior to the start of the unit, in conjunction with the Dean, and is published in the unit outline. The lecturer may choose different variations for different levels in the same unit. Students may have choices within a given variation, but are not able to make choices outside that set variation.

 4000 60.0
Written Examination 2000 40.0

Variant 3

Essay

One of the variations set out here is chosen by the lecturer/unit coordinator prior to the start of the unit, in conjunction with the Dean, and is published in the unit outline. The lecturer may choose different variations for different levels in the same unit. Students may have choices within a given variation, but are not able to make choices outside that set variation.

 4000 60.0
Essay 2000 40.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Maggie Kappelhoff on 19 Jul, 2021

Unit record last updated: 2021-07-19 12:14:11 +1000