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Directed Independent Study

PHI9XA - Locke's Political Philosophy

Electives

Electives are modules of Directed Independent Study. The work you do on such modules is ‘directed’ in the sense that guidance is provided by staff taking the module. However, the aim is that students should research independently on a topic or series of topics. The guidance is designed to encourage and assist you in this and provide you with feedback on your ideas.

Locke’s political philosophy

Many people assume that a government is only legitimate if it is based in some way on the consent of its citizens, that governments should respect their citizens’ rights, and that governments do not rule by ‘divine right’.  Locke’s work has played a central role in the development of these ideas. In this elective we will look in detail at the arguments developed and the positions defended in Locke’s Two Treatises of Government, focusing on the claims that (1) governments are only legitimate if they are established by a ‘social contract’, and (2) governments must respect their citizens’ rights.

The required course text is John Locke, Two Treatises of Government, ed. by Peter Laslett (Cambridge University Press). 

Note: there are many versions of Laslett’s edition, and any version would be fine.

Note also: the second of Locke’s two treatises is initially more interesting to a modern reader than the first, so I suggest you start your preliminary reading with the Second Treatise of Government.

We will also make use of secondary materials including:

• Jonathan Wolff, An Introduction to Political Philosophy (Oxford University Press, 1996), Chapter 1 ‘The State of Nature’. (A very useful overview, placing Locke in context alongside other ‘social contract’ theorists such as Hobbes and Rousseau.)

• D. A. Lloyd Thomas, Locke on Government (Routledge, 1995). (A readable, brief yet comprehensive introduction to Locke’s political thought.)

• :A. John Simmons, The Lockean Theory of Rights (Princeton University Press, 1992). (More advanced secondary reading.)

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Coordinator	Simon Hope
Teaching	There will be five two-hour meetings. Classes will take the form of group discussions, rather than the usual diet of lectures and seminars.
Assessment	Two essays One short essay of around 1000 words (weighted 1/3). An essay of around 2000 words on a topic of your choice, approved by the coordinator (weighted 2/3).

 

For further information about this module please contact Simon Hope.