Theories of Justice and Equity

Code:

MFIL049

Acronym:

TJE

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Philosophy

Instance: 2024/2025 - 1S

Active?	Yes
E-learning page:	https://moodle.up.pt/
Responsible unit:	Department of Philosophy
Course/CS Responsible:	Masters in Philosophy

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MFIL	11	study plan	1	-	6	41	162

Teaching language

Suitable for English-speaking students

Objectives

By the end of this Curricular Unit, students should know / be able to:
— Analyze the interrelation or the identification of justice with equity.
— Identify and interpret the most influent positions on justice in the history of philosophy.
— Know the importance of the question of justice in contemporary philosophical debate.
— Analyze the possibility or impossibility of a univocal concept of justice in areas as different as war, the exploitation of natural resources, and healthcare access.

Learning outcomes and competences

The three sections of the syllabus articulate between themselves three different ways of discussing the problem of justice. Starting from (1) the ongoing debates in political philosophy over the work of John Rawls, it (2) returns to the long history of philosophical discussions on justice, in order to broaden the perspectives of the contemporary debate, which will be tested in (3) some of the multiple contexts in which, today and in the tradition, some problematic aspects on justice and equity have been discussed.

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

Not applicacle.

Program

1. Contemporary debates on justice, and Rawls’ mark
1.1. Divergences on freedom and equal opportunities
1.2. Pluralism and individualism
1.3. Distributive justice
2. Return to the past. Variations of the classics about justice and equity
2.2. Plato, justice, and the protection of the polis
2.3. Aristotle, justice, and the ethical virtues
2.4. Suárez, the natural law of peoples
2.5. Kant, Hegel, Marx, on duty, law and exchanges
3. Passage to the future. Justice and equity in the controversies over:
3.1. War and Peace
3.2. Markets and resources
3.3. Legality and corruption
3.4. Frontiers and security
3.5. Work and leisure
3.6. Disability and healthcare
3.7 Minorities and majorities

Mandatory literature

Christian Arnsperger; Ética económica e social. ISBN: 972-36-0669-0
Estlund, D. (ed.); The Oxford Handbook of Political Philosophy, OUP, Oxford, 2012
Johnston, M.; A Brief History of Justice, WB, Oxford, 2011
António Manuel Martins; Sociedade civil. ISBN: 972-9038-60-0
John Rawls; Uma^teoria da justiça. ISBN: 972-23-1715-3
Paul Ricoeur; O^justo ou a essencia da justiça. ISBN: 972-8407-18-1
João Cardoso Rosas; Concepções da Justiça. ISBN: 978-972-44-1673-1
João Cardoso Rosas; Manual de filosofia política. ISBN: 978-972-40-3584-0
Scanlon, T. ; Why Does Inequality Matter?, CUP, Cambridge, 2018
Schmidtz, D.; Elements of Justice, CUP, New York, 2006
Amartya Sen; A^ideia de justiça. ISBN: 978-972-40-4324-1
Amartya Sen; Escolha coletiva e bem-estar social. ISBN: 978-972-40-7288-3
Walzer, Michael; LinkAs esferas da justiça: em defesa do pluralismo e da igualdade, Presença, Lisboa, 1999
Michael Walzer; A^guerra em debate. ISBN: 972-795-097-3

Teaching methods and learning activities

This Curricular Unit aims for the discussion of contemporary positions on justice from three different perspectives: a) the Rawlsian position on justice, among epigones and opponents; (b) the long tradition of justice and equity in the history of philosophy; c) the problematic spots of the contemporary debate over domains of experience that cut across the individual, the social, and the global. Our aim is for students to explore and discuss those domains through research papers to be presented and discussed in the seminars.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Participação presencial	15,00
Trabalho laboratorial	45,00
Trabalho prático ou de projeto	40,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	1,00
Frequência das aulas	41,00
Trabalho de investigação	120,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

Not Applicable.

Calculation formula of final grade

Assessment distributed without a final exam, with presentation and defense of a written paper. Assessment components: participation (15 %), individual written paper (70%), presentation and defense of the paper(15%).

Examinations or Special Assignments

Not Applicable.

Internship work/project

Not Applicable.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Accordingly to the assessment regulations.

Classification improvement

Accordingly to the assessment regulations.

Observations

Not Applicable.