Programme

This track offers a state-of-the-art programme in political philosophy, focused on contemporary political philosophy in the analytical tradition; a tradition which conceives of political philosophy as a normative theory and is often closely aligned with concerns in moral philosophy. It offers several courses designed to give an in depth knowledge of the variety of themes that have been prominent in this tradition over the last decades. These include theories of liberalism and their rivals (communitarianism, republicanism, etc), the relation between politics and morality, theories of distributive justice, multiculturalism and identity.

By exploring these and other themes, the student gains a thorough knowledge of current political debates and the analytical power to understand the principles and arguments underlying them. The programme focuses on teaching the student to reflect on these debates in a philosophical way, getting a grip on their complexity and unmasking confusions that often pervade these debates.

Throughout the programme, the student is trained to write shorter and longer papers in political philosophy. This makes for an ambitious trajectory in which the student needs to learn to find his or her own voice and shape his or her writing style to appeal to a philosophical audience. Our team of professors provides extensive feedback to motivate and engage with the projects and ideas that the students set themselves to develop, culminating in the master’s thesis in the last part of the programme.

Information on courses and time-tables can be found in the e-Prospectus