Seminar on social and political philosophy [ LFILO2920 ]

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The seminar will deal with a topic in the area of practical philosophy to be determined by its members, in relation to research projects they are working on. Attendance at meetings of the seminar and active participation in discussions is strongly encouraged. Professors and other researchers from the UCL interested in the topic, as well as other specialists on the topic from outside the UCL, may participate in the seminar.

Upon completion of the seminar the student should be able to :
- Handle a particular research topic in the area of practical philosophy (ethics, political philosophy, social philosophy), basing work on a critical analysis of major works and texts by authors that deal with the topic in question, and on contributions presented within the framework of the seminar ;
- Write a scientific paper on a precisely delimited research topic that is germane to the topic of the seminar ;
- Participate actively in cooperative research on practical philosophy, especially through discussion of contributions made within the framework of the seminar.

The final evaluation will take into consideration

• the regular and active participation;
• the oral presentation of a paper;
• the quality of a written version (15 pages) of this paper.

There won't be any oral exam. The active involvement in the research dynamics of the seminar cannot be replaced by any other kind of evaluation.

After some introductory lectures given by the professor, the students will be responsible of preparing and presenting papers and discussions.

Moral relativism

Ethics will always be confronted with the challenges of moral relativism questioning the universal validity of values and norms. Does this really weaken the moral point of view? The seminar will present the positions of the main protagonists of the contemporary debate in order to analyze the meta-ethical and practical implications in the framework of ethics and in dialogue with other philosophical disciplines.

Some texts will be available on iCampus. Bibliographical research will be a part of the activities at the beginning of the seminar.