Political Philosophy

What should our government do for us? Do the rich owe anything to the poor? Should society accept all cultures, or are there limits to tolerance? Is democracy really a good system? What is a just war, and can terrorism be justified? These are some of the questions asked in political philosophy. This course approaches the field in two ways. We choose several great political philosophers from ancient times to the twentieth century, and discuss their aims and arguments. Then we select some areas from contemporary political philosophy, and assess solutions to perpetual or recent problems in these areas.

DP requirements: Regular attendance at lectures and tutorials; completion of all tests, submission of all essays and assignments by due dates, and an average mark of at least 35% for the coursework.

Assessment: Coursework counts 40%; one 3-hour examination in June counts 60%.

The University of Cape Town awards credits based on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) to determine course and contact hour recommendations per course. 1 NQF credit represents roughly 10 notional hours of work which includes study time, assignments and examinations. Notional hours may very per courses depending on the course level and modality therefore, CEA recommends using NQF credits as a basis to determine U.S. equivalencies (1 NQF=.222 semester credits)