Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Jean-Philippe Deranty
Contact via jp.deranty@mq.edu.au
Hearing Hub
By appointment
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
(12cp at 100 level or above) or admission to GDipArts
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
‘Freedom' is the most important norm for modern societies, but what do we really mean when we appeal to freedom? Is there more freedom in modern liberal societies than in other forms of society? If so, does this make them better? What about the negation of freedom, the experience of domination? How are we to define it, what are the structures and the forms of domination in modern society? This unit explores these questions by studying four key philosophical reference points in the modern reflection on the nature and conditions of freedom and domination. We begin by examining the culmination of the Enlightenment conception of freedom in the political and historical writings of Kant. We then explore Hegel’s criticism of Kant and his emphasis on the social condition of freedom. In the second part of the course, we explore two equally influential critiques of modern society that challenge the claim that modern individuals are genuinely free: first Marx’s analysis of the economic and political origins of social domination; and finally, Nietzsche’s diagnosis about the crisis of meaning in modern culture and his radical challenge to Enlightenment ideals.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Online quiz | 30% | No | Week 13 |
Take-Home Exam | 50% | No | 17/11/2017 |
Tutorial/Online Participation | 20% | No | Throughout semester |
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 30%
10 weekly quizzes, each worth 3 marks, for a total of 30 marks throughout the semester. The quizzes will run every week, from week 3 to week 12. The deadline for ALL quizzes is the end of week 13.
The aim of the quizzes is to test your understanding of the key texts, main concepts and arguments studied every week. Most quizzes will take the form of multiple-choice questions. There might be one or two short-answer quizzes. A quizz should take a maximum of 30 minutes to do but an hour will be allocated.
Due: 17/11/2017
Weighting: 50%
The take-home exam will consist of 5 questions, each 400-500 words, covering the content studied throughout the unit. The questions will be handed out at the end of Week 12.
Marking criteria for this task are: correct understanding of key concepts and arguments; ability to identify philosophical problems; quality of expression. A marking rubric will be made available on the unit's iLearn.
Due: Throughout semester
Weighting: 20%
There will be 10 tutorials throughout the semester, starting in Week 1, until Week 13. Two weeks (to be announced at the start of the semester) will be without tutorial.
The tutorial mark consists of:
- Attendance/Participation: 1 mark per tutorial for attendance and/or participation in the online forum (max. 10 marks)
- Active Engagement: 1 mark per tutorial for active engagement in discussions in tutorials and/or on the online forum (max. 10 marks)
The components of active engagement will be detailed in a marking rubric available on the unit's iLearn.
Technology Used and Required
This unit uses the PHL 254 ilearn website and Echo360 lecture recordings (https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ/). The website contains links to lecture notes, ilecture recordings, and other learning materials you will require for the course.
PHL254 will be delivered using a combination of lectures (live and pre-recorded) and tutorial/seminar discussion groups. Most weeks there will be live lectures that will be recorded via the ECHO360 recording system and made available via the website. On some weeks there will be pre-recorded lectures that I will upload via ECHO360 on the website. Students will be informed as to which lectures will be live and which will be pre-recorded for viewing or listening via the website. Students will therefore require access to a computer and a good internet connection in order to participate in the unit effectively.
Lecture and Tutorial Times
Lectures:
Monday 11am-12pm E3B 218
Friday 4-5pm E3B 213
There are two tutorial class scheduled (at present):
Monday 12-1pm W5A 202
Monday 1-2pm W5A 202
Weekly tutorials will begin in WEEK 1 and will continue until Week 13. Two weeks, to be announced at the start of semester, will be without tutorial. There will be weekly discussion questions that students are asked to answer.
External students will be required to participate in online tutorials where set questions will be discussed and interaction between students will be encouraged across the semester.
Required and Recommended Texts and/or Materials
PHL254 Freedom and Domination will be using electronically available readings, either via e-reserve at the library, or posted online, or via online open access websites.
Recommended websites, articles, and video clips will also be made available via the PHL254 website. A guide to further reading/recommended bibliography will also be posted for students.
Week 1: Introduction: Freedom and Domination
Different senses of freedom and domination. The idea of philosophy as emancipatory critique. The role of philosophy in society and its relationship to other social sciences.
Week 2: Freedom through Enlightenment
Kant’s core definition of freedom as autonomy. The categorical imperative; the ‘kingdom of ends’ as transition from morality to history and politics. Kant’s philosophy of history and the idea of a rationally constituted free community. The idea of enlightenment as social and political project.
Required Reading:
- Immanuel Kant, “What is Enlightenment?”
Recommended Reading:
- F. Rauscher, "Kant's Social and Political Philosophy", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-social-political/
Weeks 3-5: Hegel’s "social" theory of freedom
Hegel’s critique of the Kantian theory of freedom. Hegel's model of autonomy: individual freedom as social freedom. The political features of social freedom. Social domination and the State. Contemporary relevance of Hegel’s critique of individualistic conceptions of autonomy.
Required Readings:
- Week 3: G.W.F. Hegel, The Philosophy of Right, Introduction to "Ethical Life", sections 142-157.
- Week 4: G.W.F. Hegel, The Philosophy of Right, sections, sections 182-208, 250-256.
- Weel 5: G.W.F Hegel, The Philosophy of Right, "The State" , sections 257-271.
Recommended Readings:
- David Kolb, The Critique of Pure Modernity. Hegel, Heidegger, and after, p.20-37.
- Michael Hardimon, Hegel's Social Philosophy: The Project of Reconciliation (Cambridge UP: 2009).
- Axel Honneth, Suffering from Indeterminacy, p.52-60.
- Allen Wood, Hegel's Ethical Thought (Cambridge University Press, 1990).
Week 6: The End of History? Hegel’s critical interpretation of modernity
Historical dimensions of freedom and domination: the idea of moral progress. The idea of an “end of history”. Current debates about the “end of history”: the meaning of neoliberalism.
Required Reading:
- G.W.F. Hegel, “The realisation of Spirit in history” in his Lectures on the Philosophy of World History, p.47-67, 93-97.
Recommended Readings:
- Francis Fukuyama, The End of History and the Last Man (NY: The Free Press, 1992).
- Francis Fukuyama, America at the Crossroads. Democracy, Power and the Neoconservative Legacy (Yale University Press, 2006).
- Michael Roth, "A Problem of Recognition: Alexandre Kojève and the End of History", History and Theory, 24(3), pp. 293-306
Week 7: Feuerbach, the Critique of Religious Alienation
Feuerbach's "projection-theory" of religion. Comparative and historical hermeneutics of religion. Religious alienation and social-political domination. The place of Christianity in the history of religions. The new humanism. Feuerbach's influence on Marx.
Required Reading:
- Ludwig Feuerbach, extracts from The Essence of Christianity.
Recommended Readings:
- Van Harvey, Feuerbach and the Interpretation of Religion (NY: Cambridge University Press, 1995).
- Marx Warfosky, Feuerbach (Oxford UP: 1977).
MID-SEMESTER BREAK (19 September - 3 October)
Weeks 8-10: Marx’s critique of domination in modern society
Marx’ early critique of the Hegelian state and Hegel’s political philosophy; the relationship between philosophy and social life; freedom through labour and activity; alienation as alienated activity; losing oneself in alienated labour; the alienated society. The description and critique of modern alienation; the program of liberation; history as emancipation of alienated labour.
Required Readings:
- Week 8: Karl Marx, Economico-Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844, in: The Portable Karl Marx, pp. 131-152.
- Week 9: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Communist Manifesto, part 1, pp. 54-75.
- Week 10: Karl Marx, Capital, vol.1, chapter 26, "The Secret of Primitive Accumulation".
Recommended Readings:
- Etienne Balibar, The Philosophy of Marx (London: Verso, 1995).
- Emmanuel Renault, "Work and Domination in Marx", Critical Horizons, 15(2), 2014, 179-193.
- Allen Wood, Karl Marx (London: Routledge, 2004).
Weeks 11: Nietzsche on nihilism and the death of God
Nietzsche’s challenge to modern conceptions of freedom. Nietzsche’s diagnosis of nihilism and the (moral, social, cultural) meaning of the ‘death of God’. Philosophical and cultural responses to nihilism.
Required Readings:
· Friedrich Nietzsche. The Will to Power, Book I, “European Nihilism” (New York: Vintage Books, 1968), pp. 7-19, 34-39.
· Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science, ## 357-377, trans. J. Nauckhoff (Cambridge University Press, 2001).
Recommended Reading:
· Simon Critchley, “Travels in Nihilon”, from Very Little … Almost Nothing. Death, Philosophy, Literature (London: Routledge, 1997).
Week 12: Nietzsche’s Critique of Modernity: freedom as alienation
Nietzsche’s radical critique of Western society, culture, and politics. The problem with liberal and social democracy. Nietzsche as aristocratic radical or conservative revolutionary? The contemporary legacy of Nietzsche’s critique of modernity.
Required Readings:
- Friedrich Nietzsche, “A Glance at the State” in Human, All Too Human, trans. R.J. Hollingdale (Cambridge University Press, 1986).
- Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols, ## 37-43, trans. R. Polt (Hackett Publishing Company, 1997), pp. 72-78.
- Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, ##257-263, trans. J. Norman, Cambridge University Press, 2002, pp. 151-162.
Recommended Readings:
· Robert B. Pippin, “Nietzsche’s Alleged Farewell: The premodern, modern, and postmodern Nietzsche,” in The Cambridge Companion to Nietzsche, Cambridge University Press, 1996.
· Stanley Rosen, “Nietzsche’s Revolution” from his The Ancients and the Moderns. Rethinking Modernity, Yale University Press, 1989.
Week 13: Reading Week
No scheduled lectures: tutorials will be devoted to working on the take-home exam and the quizzes.
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html
Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html
Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
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Date | Description |
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22/06/2017 | Details about marking criteria were added. |