Political philosophy and the European Union

leusl2202  2018-2019  Bruxelles

Political philosophy and the European Union
5 credits
30.0 h
Q2
Teacher(s)
Van Parijs Philippe;
Language
English
Main themes
The central themes of political philosophy 'justice and democracy' have traditionally been treated at the level of the nation state and, more recently, at the level of the world as a whole. The course will focus on the specific issues they raise at the level of this intermediate entity of an unprecedented nature that is now called the European Union, including the interpretation and role to be given in this context to nationalism and patriotism, competitiveness and security, freedom and solidarity.
Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

1

The course aims to stimulate and feed rigorous and relevant normative thinking about the future of the European Union, its purpose, scope and institutions, by relating philosophical theories of justice and democracy to the down-to-earth challenges Europe faces in today's world.

 

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.
Content
The course consists of
(1) an introductory and a concluding session that will link explicitly philosophical theories and current challenges ;
(2) a sequence of four dialogues with prominent European personalities (open to a limited number of outsiders individually invited);
(3) a set of meetings that will prepare these dialogues .
Teaching methods
Reading of writings by the invited guests and preparation of the dialogues on this basis.
Preparation of essays onthe basis of the dialogues.
Evaluation methods
Written essay followed by oral discussion of the essay.
Bibliography
Une bibliographie plus large sera communiuée séparement.
Pour avoir un avant-goût des sujest qui seront discutés, voir John Rawls and Philippe Van Parijs, 'Three Letters on the Law of Peoples and the European Union', Revue de philosophie économique 7, 2003, pp. 7-20, downloadable from www.uclouvain.be/8609.
Faculty or entity
EURO


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Aims

Master [60] in Philosophy

Master [120] in Philosophy

Master [120] in European Studies

Teacher Training Certificate (upper secondary education) - Philosophy

Master [120] in Ethics