ECTS:

4

Code:

ΚΕ0Ε20

Cycle / Level:

Undergraduate

Compulsory / Optional:

Optional

Teaching Period:

Spring

Course Content:

The course explores different accounts of freedom in the philosophy of Marx, in classical and modern liberalism (I.Kant, J.St. Mill, I.Berlin), in modern critical thought (C. Castoriadis, M. Foucault) and in the contemporary theory of social movements (M. Hardt, A. Negri, R. Day, S. Newman). It identifies three key different approaches. The first one assumes the existence of a fixed human nature and objective, universal truths in science, ethics, politics and history. Its understanding of freedom is grounded in these truths. The second foregrounds the negative liberty of individuals to act as they will unimpeded by external obstacles, and the third construes freedom as the power to question established truths and to create society and the self in an active, reflective manner. The course will examine the various epistemological, social and other assumptions of these interpretations of freedom and it will discuss their political implications for the contemporary thought and practice of freedom.

Comprehension and critical assessment of key approaches to the concept of freedom in modern philosophy. Development of analytical and critical, argumentative skills in relevant topics. Development of skills in critical essay writing on the topics of the course and modern political philosophy.