Students
PHIL3051 – Social Philosophy
2020 – Session 1, Fully online/virtual
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Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, any references to assessment tasks and on-campus delivery may no longer be up-to-date on this page.
Students should consult iLearn for revised unit information.
Find out more about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and potential impacts on staff and students
General Information
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| Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
James Dorahy
Jean-Philippe Deranty
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|---|---|
| Credit points |
Credit points
10
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| Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
130cp at 1000 level or above
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| Corequisites |
Corequisites
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| Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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| Unit description |
Unit description
Social philosophy is a type of philosophical investigation that focuses on issues affecting individuals and communities as a result of dysfunctions in modern society. Using the tools of philosophical analysis, it seeks to define the perspective from which criticism can be formulated, and how possible solutions can be found. The unit draws on key social philosophers of the 20th century to address some of the most pressing issues faced by contemporary societies, such as the social and environmental impacts of the current economic system; the effects of technology upon human bodies and lives; and the limitations placed on individual rights and freedoms by new forms of state and corporate institutions.
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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:
- ULO1: Demonstrate a general understanding of the history and significance of European social philosophy.
- ULO2: Critically analyse philosophical theories in relation to significant social issues.
- ULO3: Apply concepts and arguments in European social philosophy to current social, cultural and political debates.
- ULO4: Communicate clearly your own perspectives 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
Delivery and Resources
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update
Any references to on-campus delivery below may no longer be relevant due to COVID-19.
Please check here for updated delivery information: https://ask.mq.edu.au/account/pub/display/unit_status
This unit uses the PHL3051 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. PHL3051 will be delivered using a combination of lectures (live and pre-recorded) and tutorial/seminar discussion groups. Online students will therefore require access to a computer and a good internet connection in order to participate in the unit effectively.
Required readings: required readings are listed in the unit guide and available for download from library eReserve or from iLearn. There is no printed unit reader.
You must read the required readings BEFORE the lecture and tutorial.
Recommended readings: As well as the required reading, recommended additional readings for each topic are listed on iLearn. You do not need to read these each week but they are highly recommended for a better understanding of the topics. They are also useful references for your assignments.
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: Introduction to Social Philosophy
Week 1: What is Social Philosophy?
Required Reading:
Axel Honneth, Pathologies of the Social: The Past and Present of Social Philosophy, in Disrespect: The Normative Foundations of Critical Theory. Joseph Ganahl (trans.) Polity Press, 2007, pp. 3-48.
Recommended Reading:
György Márkus, After the System: Philosophy in the Epoch of the Sciences, in Culture, Science, Society, The Constitution of Cultural Modernity, Brill, 2011, pp. 263-284.
Week 2: Conceptual Foundations: Rationalisation & Reification
Required Reading:
Georg Lukács, Reification and the Consciousness of the Proletariat, in History and Class Consciousness: Studies in Marxist Dialectics, Rodney Livingstone (trans.), The MIT Press, 1973, pp. 83-109.
Recommended Reading:
Max Weber, Prefatory Remarks to Collected Essays in the Sociology of Religion, in The
Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Stephen Kalberg (trans.), OUP, 2011 pp. 233-250.
Section 2: German Social Philosophy: The Frankfurt School
Week 3: Modernity in Crisis (I): The Dialectic of Enlightenment
Required Reading:
Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno, The Concept of Enlightenment, in Dialectic of Enlightenment: Philosophical Fragments, Edmund Jephcott (trans.) Stanford University Press, 2002, pp. 1-35.
Recommended Reading:
Max Horkheimer, Means and Ends, in The Eclipse of Reason, Continuum, 2004, pp. 3-40.
Week 4: Modernity in Crisis (II): The Authoritarian State and the Decline of the Individual
Required Reading:
Max Horkheimer, The Rise and Decline of the Individual, in The Eclipse of Reason, Continuum, 2004, pp. 87-109.
Recommended Reading:
Max Horkheimer, The Authoritarian State, in The Essential Frankfurt School Reader, A. Arato & E. Gebhardt (eds.), Continuum, 1985, pp. 95-117.
Section 3: Contemporary Approaches to Critical Theory
Week 5: Jürgen Habermas & the Reconstruction of Critical Theory
Required Reading:
Jürgen Habermas, Toward a Reconstruction of Historical Materialism, in Communication and the Evolution of Society, Thomas McCarthy (trans.), Polity, 1991, pp. 130-178.
Recommended Reading:
Jürgen Habermas, The Entwinement of Myth and Enlightenment: Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno, in The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity: Twelve Lectures, Frederick Lawrence (trans.), Polity, 1987, pp. 106-130.
Week 6: Communicative Rationality & The Colonisation of the Lifeworld
Required Reading:
Jürgen Habermas, extracts from The Theory of Communicative Action, Volume II: Lifeworld and System, Thomas McCarthy (trans.), Beacon Press, 1987, pp. TBA.
Week 7: Reading Week
No classes due to Good Friday public holiday.
Week 8: The Struggle for Recognition
Required Reading:
Axel Honneth, Patterns of Intersubjective Recognition: Love, Rights and Solidarity, in The Struggle for Recognition, Joel Anderson (trans.), The MIT Press, pp. 92-130.
Recommended Reading:
Axel Honneth, Personal Identity and Disrespect: The Violation of the Body, the Denial of Rights, and the Denigration of Ways of Life, in The Struggle for Recognition, Joel Anderson (trans.), The MIT Press, pp. 131-140.
Week 9: Reinterpreting Reification
Required Reading:
Axel Honneth, Reification: A New Look at an Old Idea, Joseph Ganahl (trans.), OUP, 2008, pp. 17-85.
Section 4: Eastern European Social Philosophy: The Budapest School
Week 10: The Dissatisfied Society
Required Reading:
Agnes Heller, The Dissatisfied Society in The Power of Shame, 1985, pp. 300-314.
Agnes Heller and Ferenc Fehér, On Being Satisfied a Dissatisfied Society, in The Postmodern Political Condition, Columbia University Press, 1988, pp.14-30.
Week 11: The Logic(s) of Modernity and the Modern Imagination
Required Reading:
Agnes Heller, A Theory of Modernity, Blackwell, 1999, pp. 64-114.
Week 12: The Contradictions of Modern Culture
Required Reading:
György Márkus, The Paradoxical Unity of Culture: The Arts and Sciences, in Culture, Science, Society, The Constitution of Cultural Modernity, Brill, 2011, pp. 59-81.
Recommended Reading:
György Márkus, The Antinomies of ‘Culture,’ in Culture, Science, Society, The Constitution of Cultural Modernity, Brill, 2011, pp. 633-653.
Week 13: Conclusion and Recap
No readings for Week 13.
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