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PHIX3057 – Theories of Justice

2020 – Session 1, Fully online/virtual

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Students should consult iLearn for revised unit information.

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General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
A/Prof Paul Formosa
Dr Jennifer Duke-Yonge
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
What is justice? What is fair? This unit explores these important questions by examining several leading contemporary philosophical theories of justice, including John Rawls's influential theory of justice, and assessing the capacity of these theories to respond to pressing social issues. To do this we look at issues of inequality and diversity in society by asking: what degree of inequality, if any, can be justified? We explore the different answers to this question proposed by liberals, libertarians, and Marxists. We shall also examine broader questions around social and retributive justice, such as: How can we justify punishing those who violate justice? Should we focus more on the well-being of communities and less on the rights of individuals? Is justice biased against women? Should minorities receive special rights? What are the obligations of democratic citizenship? And what do we owe the poor in other countries? All enrolment queries should be directed to Open Universities Australia (OUA): see www.open.edu.au

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO2: analyse arguments in the relevant literature.
  • ULO3: evaluate relevant theories and arguments critically.
  • ULO1: understand some of the major theories and current debates in contemporary political philosophy.
  • ULO4: communicate clearly your own own perspective on the views and arguments presented in the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

Assessment details are no longer provided here as a result of changes due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Students should consult iLearn for revised unit information.

Find out more about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and potential impacts on staff and students

General Assessment Information

All assessment is to be submitted on-line through iLearn.  

Late Submission Policy “Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.”

Delivery and Resources

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Please check here for updated delivery information: https://ask.mq.edu.au/account/pub/display/unit_status

Required Readings Textbook: Will Kymlicka, Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction. (2nd edition), Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2002.

Other Required readings: Other required readings are listed in the unit guide and available for download from iLearn and Leganto. There is no printed unit reader.

You must read the required readings BEFORE the lecture and tutorial.

Additional readings: As well as the required reading, recommended additional readings for each topic are listed on iLearn. Kymlicka also provides suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter and offers useful comments about what each text contains. You do NOT need to read these each week.

Unit Schedule

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

The unit schedule/topics and any references to on-campus delivery below may no longer be relevant due to COVID-19. Please consult iLearn for latest details, and check here for updated delivery information: https://ask.mq.edu.au/account/pub/display/unit_status

Section 1: Equality and Inequality

Week 1 (24 February)

Lecture 1: Introduction: Equality and Diversity

No tutorial

No required reading

 

Week 2 (2 March)

Lecture 2: Utilitarianism

Tutorial 1: Utilitarianism

Required Reading:

1. Kymlicka, CPP, Ch. 2, pp. 10-37; 45-52. [OPTIONAL: Section 5, pp.37-45].

Quizzes start this week and continue until end of semester

Participation rubric handed out: March 2

 

Week 3 (9 March)

Lecture 3: Rawls

Tutorial 2: Rawls

Required Reading:

1. John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (Harvard University Press, 1971), Ch. 1, Sections 1-6 (pp.

3-33), Ch. 2, Sections 11-12 (pp. 60-78), Ch. 3, Sections 24-26 (pp. 136-161).

2. Kymlicka, CPP, Ch. 3, Sections 1-3 ONLY (pp.53-75). Do NOT read past p.75, we will cover that next week.

 

Comparative Analysis handed out: March 9

 

Week 4 (March 16)

Lecture 4: Dworkin

Tutorial 3: Dworkin

Required Reading:

1. Ronald Dworkin, ‘What is Equality? Part 2: Equality of Resources’, Philosophy & Public Affairs, 10:4, 1981, Section I-IV & VII ONLY (pp.283-314; pp. 335-345). [OPTIONAL: Sections V & VI (pp. 314-334).

2. Kymlicka, CPP, Ch. 3, Sections 4-5.

 

Week 5 (March 23)

Lecture 5: Nozick

Tutorial 4: Nozick

Required Reading:

1. Robert Nozick, ‘Distributive Justice’ Ch. 7 (Section 1, pp. 149-182 & from 'Natural Assets' until end of chapter, pp. 213-231) of Anarchy, State and Utopia, (New York: Basic Books, 1974).

2. Kymlicka, CPP, Ch. 4, Section 2 (pp. 107-127), Section 4 (pp. 138-153), & Section 5

(pp.154-159) ONLY [OPTIONAL: Section 1 and Section 3 on Chapter 4].

 

Week 6 (March 30)

Lecture 6: Analytical Marxism

Tutorial 5: Analytical Marxism

Required Reading:

1. Kymlicka, CPP, Ch. 5

 

Section 2: Diversity, Citizenship and Justice

Week 7 (6 April)

Lecture 7: Retributive Justice, Criminality and Punishment

Tutorial 6: Retributive Justice, Criminality and Punishment

Required Reading:

1. Rawls, A Theory of Justice, Section: The Rule of Law, section 38, pp. 235-243.

2. Walen, Alec, "Retributive Justice", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2016 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2016/entries/justice-retributive/>.

 

RECESS

 

Week 8 (27 April)

 

Comparative Analysis assessment due: April 28

 

No lecture or tutorials this week – public holiday

 

Week 9 (4 May)

Lecture 8: Feminism

Tutorial 7: Feminism

Required Reading:

1. Susan Moller Okin, ‘Justice as Fairness: For Whom?’ Ch. 5 of Justice, Gender and the Family (pp. 88-109), (New York: Basic Books, 1989)

2. Eva Feder Kittay, ‘Human Dependency and Rawlsian Equality’ (pp. 219-266), in Diana Meyers (ed.) Feminists Rethink the Self (Boulder: Westview Press, 1997)

 

Essay Plan and Essay assessment handed out: 4 May

 

Week 10 (11 May)

Lecture 9: Democracy and Multiculturalism

Tutorial 8: Democracy and Multiculturalism

Required reading:

1. Joshua Cohen, ‘Deliberation and Democratic Legitimacy’ (pp. 67-91) in James Bohman & William Rehg (eds) Deliberative Democracy: Essays on Reason and Politics, (MIT Press, 1997)

2. Kymlicka, CPP, Ch. 8

 

Week 11 (18 May)

Lecture 10: Global Justice

Tutorial 9: Global Justice

Required reading:

1. Brian Barry, ‘Humanity and Justice in Global Perspective’ (pp. 525-539) in Goodin and Pettit (eds.), Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Anthology

2. John Rawls, The Law of Peoples (Harvard, 1999), Part III, Sections 15 & 16 (pp. 105-120).

 

Week 12 (25 May)

Lecture 11: Environmental and Animal Justice

Tutorial 10: Environmental and Animal Justice

Required reading:

1. Bell, Derek. “Environmental Justice and Rawls’ Difference Principle:” Environmental Ethics 26, no. 3 (2004): 287–306.

2. Garner, Robert. A Theory of Justice for Animals: Animal Rights in a Nonideal World. Oxford University Press, 2013. Chapter 2 “Contractarianism, Animals, and Justice”, pp. 20-37 (up to the section “Justice as Impartiality”) ONLY.

3. Brandstedt, Eric. “Non-Ideal Climate Justice.” Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 22, no. 2 (February 23, 2019): 221–34.

 

 

Week 13 (1 June)

No Lectures or Tutorials this week - Writing Week

 

Essay Plan and Essay due Thursday June 4 at 11:59PM

 

All quizzes close Friday June 5 at 11:59PM

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Changes since First Published

Date Description
09/03/2020 Corrected assessment dates