HSS103 - Violence: An Introduction to Moral and Political Philosophy (2022-2023)

This course serves as an introduction to some major concepts and theories in moral and political philosophy, building on the notion of violence. The aim of the course is to define violence and to shed light on its moral status and political use. The central problem concerns the relation between violence and justice: are violence and injustice equal? Is violence necessarily unfair? Can violence be of any good? Is any injustice a form of violence? Violence will be examined under its political aspect in relation to power and domination: contemporary subjects will be addressed, such as state violence and protests, terrorism and war, as well as symbolic and economic violence. The moral aspect of the subject will be studied in relation to suffering, recognition and vulnerability: violence will be understood in the context of race, gender and class and in the light of contemporary issues such as sexual violence, environmental violence and animal exploitation. This course should help students to get familiar with philosophical methods like following a critical approach, elaborating concepts and discussing texts from Plato to the present day, in an effort to understand contemporary problems in the light of philosophy.