Keywords

Learning outcomes

The participants are aware of the most important historical approaches to ethics and social philosophy and of the principal modern conceptions of the relation between individual and community. They know the ethical and moral questions about goodness and justice. They are familiar with the ontological question of what human beings are in a community, and with the epistemological question of what human communities are as objects and subjects of knowledge. They are capable of reflecting on the philosophical assumptions implicit in contemporary moral and political debates.

Contents

The course includes two sections, ethics and social philosophy.
(a) The ethics section provides an introduction to the most important moral theories such as virtue ethics, utilitarianism, deontological ethics, and value criticism. It covers debates on key concepts and views such as liberty, rights and duties, free will and determinism, and moral responsibility.
(b) The social philosophy section provides an introduction to the history of social and political philosophy (e.g. Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Rousseau, Hegel, Smith, and Marx), and an overview of contemporary debates. It addresses questions such as: What is the role of individuals and communities in society? How is identity understood as a political category? What is the role of groups such as race, gender, or class based groups in social philosophy? How wealth and ownership are understood in social philosophy? What challenges do environmental issues and modern technologies pose for social and political philosophy? What is the role of local communities in global economy and political system?

Evaluation

Belongs to following study modules

2016–2017

Teaching

Archived Teaching Schedule. Please refer to current Teaching Shedule.

YKYYHT4A Johdatus etiikkaan

YKYYHT4B Johdatus yhteiskuntafilosofiaan

For Open University students only

YKYYHT4A Johdatus etiikkaan

YKYYHT4B Johdatus yhteiskuntafilosofiaan