Duration
30h Th
Number of credits
| Master in philosophy (120 ECTS) | 5 crédits | |||
| Master in philosophy (60 ECTS) | 5 crédits | |||
| Specialised master in philosophy and political theories | 5 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
From right to revolution: from Sieyès to Sartre
We will introduce, by way of presentation, the importance of a historical-conceptual approach for the understanding of contemporary representative democracies. In nowadays political debates, as in some academic contexts, the use of fundamental socio-political concepts is often characterized by two implicit assumptions: they designate objective realities (society, state, people) and, at the same time, widely diffused and shared values (human rights, equality, freedom). In other words, these concepts are considered as timeless, valid for different periods, although with specific variations whenever specific. By contrast, we will focus on the historical "origin" of modern political concepts: where do they come from? What is their internal logic and what are their assumptions? By what kind of aporias are they inhabited?
I. Sieyès and the sovereignty of the Nation as "all together"
The first part of the course (sessions 1-3) will analyze the relationship between Natural Right tradition and the French Revolution, as a fundamental conjuncture for the elaboration of modern political conceptuality. Through the reading and commentary of the pamphlet Qu'est-ce que le Tiers État ? by Sieyès, we will see how the sovereignty of the Nation is thought from Natural Right tradition (in particular from the notion of "free will by nature") and the articulation between constituent power and constituted power.
II. Hegel: another articulation between the individual subjects and the political power
In the second part of the course (sessions 4-7) we will study Hegel's Elements of the Philosophy of Right, with a special attention to : Hegelian criticism to the political concepts formed in the framework of Natural Right tradition and historically disseminated starting from the French Revolution (individual freedom, equality, popular sovereignty); the conceptual shifts concerning the notions of right, political representation and constitution; Hegelian effort to articulate the individual dimension to the collective one in the sphere of Ethics.
III. Marx's critique of bourgeois right
The third part of the course (sessions 8-10) will analyze how Marx's political philosophy is constructed in critical confrontation with the Hegelian conception of right and State. In the texts of the period 1842-1843, Marx rethinks the concept of emancipation beyond its anchoring in the legal form of the individual will. Emancipation becomes the name of a revolutionary process that is profoundly different from that which took place in France in the late 18th century. On the philosophical level, it requires exploding conceptual dichotomies between the private and the public sphere, the civil society and the state, the man and the citizen.
IV. Sartre and the intelligibility of the revolution
The fourth part of the course (sessions 11-13) will be dedicated to the analysis of the concept of revolution exposed in the Critique de la Raison dialectique by Sartre: following Marx, he tries to think a political transformation of history starting from a new form of social linking. By studying the notions of "group-in-fusion" and "revolutionary oath", we will examine the dual function that the French Revolution plays in Sartre's political philosophy: on the one hand, he uses this historical event as an example to explain the formation of the group as a revolutionary subject; on the other hand, Sartre deconstructs, by showing their aporetical character, the concept of popular sovereignty and the idea of Nation as totality of the body politic.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
The course aims to provide, through a direct and specific confrontation with the texts, conceptual tools to problematize the representative state shaping of political action. To do this, we will start from the fracture historically and conceptually produced by the French Revolution, which marks the transition from a society divided into states, composed by orders and corporations, to modern society based on the equality and freedom of individuals. In the analysis of these questions, a special attention will be dedicated to the temporal structures and the historical criteria of temporalization which underlie the modern political conceptuality (passage of the plural to the collective singular History, question of the historical progress, self-representation of the modern epoch as a transition time, future-centred approach to historical time, etc.).
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
None
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
In the first phase, the course provides historical-conceptual tools for understanding the general framework of the issues and the authors analysed. The second phase of the course provides a commented reading of philosophical texts. Through the class discussion, students would be asked to discuss on specific topics emerging from the texts. During the course the teacher aims to build an active relationship with the students, with the goal of establishing with them a practice of philosophical dialogue.
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)
Face-to-face
Recommended or required readings
Mandatory readings (the English edition of the texts will be communicated on demand)
1) J. E. Sieyès, Qu'est-ce que le Tiers état ? édition critique avec introduction et notes de R. Zapperi, Genève, Droz, 1970, dont: Chapitres I et II (p. 119-133) ; V et VI (p.177-218)
2) G. W. F. Hegel, Principes de la philosophie du droit, éd. J.-F. Kervégan [1998], Paris, PUF, 2013:
- Préface
- § 1-33 (Introduction)
- § 71- 81
- § 121-137
- § 141-158
- § 181-189
- § 200-208
- § 250-279
- § 301-315
4) K. Marx, Sur la question juive, trad. J.-F. Poirier, présentation et commentaires de D. Bensaid, Paris, La Fabrique, 2006: p. 39-63
5) J.-P. Sartre, La Critique de la Raison dialectique, tome I, Théorie des ensembles pratiques, précédé de Questions de méthode [1960] ; texte établi et annoté par Arlette Elkaïm-Sartre, Paris, Gallimard, 1985, Livre II : « Du groupe à l'Histoire », section A : « Du groupe », p. 449-542.
Recommended readings:
P. Rosanvallon, Le Peuple introuvable. Histoire de la représentation démocratique en France, Paris, Gallimard, 1998, dont : Introduction : Malaise dans la démocratie et Chapitre I : L'âge de l'abstraction (p. 11-83)
L. Jaume, Le nom du peuple dans la Révolution Française et sa représentation politique, « Cahiers du CEVIPOF », n. 57, 2014, p. 43-52
B. Constant, De la liberté des anciens comparée à celle des modernes, Paris, Éditions Milles et une Nuits (Fayard), 2010 (texte complet disponible sur Gallica.fr)
L. Scuccimarra, Généalogie de la nation. Sieyès comme fondateur de la communauté politique, « Revue française d'Histoire et des Idées Politiques », n. 33, 2011, p. 27-45
J.-F. Kervegan, Souveraineté et représentation chez Hegel, « Revue française d'Histoire et des Idées Politiques », n. 14, 2001, p. 321-336
J.-F. Kervegan, L'effectif et le rationnel. Hegel et l'esprit objectif, Paris, Vrin, 2007, en particulier :
p. 17-102 :
Prologue : L'effectif et le rationnel:
Première Partie : Le droit. Positivité de l'abstraction
Liminaire : Objectivité du vouloir
Chapitre I : Le droit : son concept, ses actualisations
Chapitre II : Entre nature et histoire : le droit
p. 135-149 :
Deuxième Partie : Vitalité et failles du social:
Liminaire : Archéologie de la société
p. 213-235 :
Chapitre VI : L'éthicité perdue dans ses extrêmes
E. Balibar, Universalité bourgeoise et différences anthropologiques, dans Citoyen-sujet et d'autres écrits d'anthropologie philosophique, Paris, PUF, 2011, p. 465-515.
J. Derrida, Déclarations d'Indépendance, in Otobiographies, Paris, Galilée, 1984, p. 13-32
Assessment methods and criteria
The evaluation will take into account: degree of learning of the proposed contents; adequacy of the used vocabulary; argumentative capacity; ability to autonomous critical re-elaboration of topics.
Work placement(s)
Organizational remarks
The course will be provided:
Every Wednesday, starting from 18.09.2019, 11.00-13.00
Room: A1/2/69A (Couloir de l'ISLV)
Contacts
chiara.collamati@uliege.be
Adaptation of teaching commitments following the COVID-19 pandemic for the May-June 2020 session
Teaching methods implemented : distance-learning
Assessment subjects
Assessment methods
The modality and method of evaluation remain unchanged.
The course requires a written examination which consists of a list of questions that were loaded in December in the "Course Materials" section. The students will have to answer them according to the modalities indicated and send the file by e-mail to the teacher.
Contacts
Adaptation of teaching commitments following the COVID-19 pandemic for the Aug-Sept 2020 session
Assessment subjects
The modality and method of evaluation remain unchanged.
The course requires a written examination which consists of a list of questions that were loaded in December in the "Course Materials" section. The students will have to answer them according to the modalities indicated and send the file by e-mail to the teacher.
Assessment methods
Contacts
chiara.collamati@uliege.be
Students who need to discuss the arguments of the course and/or the exam modalities in person are invited to contact the teacher by email to arrange a Skype appointment.