(in Polish) Violence, human rights and global justice

elective seminars
general courses

Student should have basic knowledge about main ethical theories and an ability of analytical thinking. At least intermediate knowledge of English is required.

The aim of the seminar is to analyze the relationship between violence and human rights in the international context and to evaluate it from the perspective of chosen theories of justice such as nationalism, realism or cosmopolitanism. During the meetings we will discuss various forms of human rights violations, from those related to bioethical issues of the body to the more collective ones, such as genocide or terrorism. By examining various cases of human rights violations we will try to identify what needs to be done to reduce the risk of violence; what factors are trigger for violence; what kind of security strategies are proposed by various philosophical approaches and to what axiological basis they are referred to. Meetings will be held in the workshop style and in the texts’ analysis style. Details concerning the work in the classroom will be given at the first meeting. Fluency in English is required.

Living in a globalized world, we can now observe many types of new phenomena: hybrid war in Ukraine, cyber attacks targeted websites, international surrogacy. Such phenomena also call for an analysis from the perspective of a political philosophy. Thus the main goal of the seminar will be to analyze various types of violence in the light of human rights. Thanks to this pattern it will be also possible to see the scope of the recognition of moral principles, such as human rights, which are assumed to be criteria for assessing and resolving conflicts by the international community. Moreover, by analyzing various forms in which violence manifest itself and different philosophical ways of explaining such manifestation, we will have an opportunity to discover anthropological and axiological similarities and differences in its understanding. Especially case studies of human rights violations could be helpful to find answers to the question about the scope of the shared axiological worldview that is required to justify the global standard of human rights. The assumption of a commonly shared moral foundation, which is supposed to unite people, raises objections from the supporters of cultural relativism. The ethical and political discourse of protecting lives of individuals reveals also many other philosophical problems, that we will discuss during the course, such as the problem of state sovereignty and the role of state borders in enforcing security standards - e.g. health, food, and culture.

Selected issues:

- Refuges;

- Hybrid War;

- Global Terrorism;

- International Surrogacy;

- Hunger;

- Pandemics;

Wybór/Selection:

Benatar S., Brock G, (Ed.), Global Health and Global Health Ethics; Beylis J., Smith S., The Globalization of World Politics; Donnelly J., Human Rights in Theory and Practice; Kant I., On the Common Saying; Thucydides, Peloponnesian War; Machiavelli N., The Prince; Kymlicka Ch., Politics in the Vernacular; Arendt H., On Revolution; Brooks T.,(ed.), The Global Justice Reader; Mandle J., Global Justice; Singer P., One World; Walzer M., Just and Unjust Wars; Amstutz M., International Ethics. Concepts, Theories and Cases in Global Politics; Hastedt G., (and others), Cases in International Relations; Jones Ch., Basic Human Rights; Dower N., Global Citizenship. A Critical Reader;

Knowledge:

Student knows:

K_W01, a significance of philosophy in relation to the sciences, as well as the subject and methodological specificity of philosophy

K_W02, research methods and argumentative strategies of political philosophy, bioethics and methods of philosophical text interpretation

K_W04, philosophical terminology in English (at level B2+)

K_W05 the most important new achievements within the scope of political philosophy, theory of human rights, bioethics and theory of international justice

K_W06 selected positions of contemporary philosophy in the field of political philosophy

K_W07 views of the selected leading philosophical author or the current state of research in the field of political philosophy and bioethics

Skills:

Student can:

K_U01 interpret the philosophical text independently, creatively and innovatively comment and confront ideas derived from various texts

K_U02 determine the degree of significance of ideas for the examined problem or argumentation

K_U03 analyze complex philosophical arguments, identify assumptions, determine logical and argumentative relationships between them

K_U04 identify advanced argumentative strategies in oral and written statements

K_U06 creatively and innovatively use philosophical and methodological knowledge in formulating hypotheses and constructing critical arguments

K_U07 precisely formulate philosophical problems orally and in writing;

K_U08 choose and create argumentative strategies, construct advanced and innovative critical arguments, formulate comprehensive responses to criticism

K_U10 write texts based on independently selected literature, using original, innovative approaches and taking into account new achievements in the field of philosophy

K_U13 search and select information from written and electronic sources, using professional search tools

K_U14 independently acquire knowledge, develop research skills and plan research projects

Competences:

Student is ready to:

K_K01, identify his/her knowledge and skills

K_K02, recognize deficiencies in his/her knowledge and skills and seeking the possibility of removing these deficiencies

K_K03 independently undertake professional activities as well as planning and organizing them

K_K04 notice and formulate ethical problems related to one’s own research work and responsibility to colleagues and other members of society, as well as to being active in solving these problems

K_K05 actively participate in social and cultural life; is interested in innovative philosophical concepts in connection with other parts of cultural and social life and encourages the implementation of these concepts

Paper, Essay

Number of absences: 4