Philosophy of the Human Person and Society (AP9002C)

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 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: AP9002C

Unit status: Approved (Major revision)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Philosophy

Proposing College: Catholic Theological College

Show when this unit is running

Learning outcomes

1.

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

Critically explain key elements of selected philosophical texts and rigorously assess their implications.
3.

Critically contextualise the person or the political theory studied, within the broader context of the western intellectual tradition.
4.

Critically appraise 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, 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

Skeleton Argument 1000 10.0
Essay 6000 90.0

Variant 2

Skeleton Argument 1000 10.0
Essay 4000 55.0
Written Examination 2000 35.0

Variant 3

Skeleton Argument 1000 10.0
Essay 2000 35.0
Essay 4000 55.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 13 Jun, 2023

Unit record last updated: 2023-06-13 15:50:27 +1000