Philosophy

This course examines the concept of law from a philosophical perspective and explores the virtues and problems of the contemporary ideal associated with the notions of the rule of law, democracy, and human rights. It explores the contributions of democratic constitutionalism, as well as the meaning of legal activity as a social practice linked to values.

This course examines the complex interactions between gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, age, and species difference in the contemporary world. Through a critical inquiry into various topical cases as well as major theoretical texts within contemporary gender and diversity studies, the course traces the multiple ways in which identity and difference, inclusion and exclusion, equality and inequality are produced and reproduced in ongoing flows of negotiation and transformation. The course is rooted in intersectional feminism, critical race theory, queer and trans studies, decolonial theory, and other critical frameworks that link together academic scholarship and grassroots activism. The emergence of various social movements during the 1960s and 1970s – including the women’s movement, the civil rights movement, the free speech movement, and LGBT+ activism – serves as a historical and conceptual starting point of the course. Special attention is directed to how intersectional feminisms and queer activisms have challenged the identity politics of mainstream social justice movements, and to the implications of these interventions for academic knowledge production. Subsequently, the course looks into the entangled workings of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, religion, and other ‘crucial differences’ through a variety of current case studies. From the ‘headscarf debates' and anti-Muslim racism in France to the medicalization of intersex bodies, from the rise of Dutch homonationalism to queer and anti-racist environmental movements, the course critically examines the manifold dynamics of difference, power, and inequality in the twenty-first century. Simultaneously, the course traces a future landscape of possibility for minoritarian subjects – including women, queer and trans people, persons of color and indigenous people, as well as a range of nonhuman ‘others’ – by mapping critical strategies of resistance, resilience, and social justice. Prerequisites HUM2003 The Making of Crucial Differences (strongly recommended!) or another relevant 2000-level course in the Humanities or Social Sciences.

This course is about philosophical and ethical issues related to the conduct of business. Some tough-minded people believe that business is like a game where winning means making as much money as possible. They believe that "business ethics" does not exist, that it is a contradiction in terms, and that whoever thinks otherwise -- whoever thinks that business is also about treating others respectfully -- is either naive, or deluded, or both. What these tough-minded people do not realise is that they are, in fact, making an ethical claim. They claim that, while we generally have ethical obligations towards others in society, when it comes to the game of business everyone is permitted to pay attention only to their personal gain. This statement may be correct, or it may be false. But it is definitely an ethical statement, simply because it makes claims about how people may permissibly behave. So, inadvertently, they are doing business ethics. In this introductory course to business ethics, we look at different types of ethical theories, and we apply them to problems that tend to arise in business contexts. The primary aim of the course is not to present you with ethical solutions or dogmatic responses, but to practice ethical reasoning, analytical skills, and critical thinking, so that towards the end of the course, you will no longer be satisfied with simple answers to difficult problems. You will also practice argumentative and writing skills that will help you express your thoughts clearly and concisely.

This course offers an introduction to the complex relationship between identity and representation from a philosophical approach to some literary texts that have shaped the European imagination over the past two centuries. It equips students with tools to critically read texts using theoretical categories that situate literary production within systems of domination and exclusion linked to western ideas of progress. This course also examines how the social, economic, and technological transformations of modernity influenced literary and artistic explorations of identity, memory, and experience.

This course calls attention to the fundamental importance of thinking not only in learning per se but also in shaping who we are. It examines the nature of thinking, as well as its mechanisms. It aims to help students experience the excitement of thinking as they try to understand what thinking is; students are thus compelled to critique and re-examine their own assumptions about what they think they know and about themselves as psychosomatic learners and persons.

This course focuses on the reading of classical texts in political theory and philosophy. It confronts foundational texts in the Western tradition (Plato, Hobbes, Tocqueville, Marx, Arendt, Foucault) to improve reading skills, better understand the history of political ideas, and develop views on current political events. The course provides an opportunity to practice the use of precise concepts and to develop stronger argumentations.

This course examines three philosophical schools: the Stoics, the Epicureans, and the Skeptics. It covers topics including: rival ethical systems, and arguments attempting to derive ethical standards from nature; philosophy as a way of life, and one entailing a radical break from conventional values; Epicurean atomic theory, Stoic determinism, and the development of the free will problem; the Stoic view that emotions should be eliminated; and Skeptical arguments that our entire perception of our world may be nothing more than a dream. It also considers recent revivals of these theories and connections with contemporary culture and philosophy.