Social and Political Philosophy I (PHIL 243)

Social and Political Philosophy I (PHIL 243)

Lecturer: Y. Sandy Berkovski
Spring 2026
Contact details
sandy.berkovski+comment@gmail.com
Office hours
H147, Wed 1330-1530, and by appointment

Readings

These texts are all required, and you will need your own copy of them. Their electronic versions are combined in one PDF file available on Moodle (joint course). Note that only hard copies will be allowed to use in class.

[Ari09]
Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics. Oxford University Press, New York, 2009. Translated by D. Ross. Revised by L. Brown.
[Cic91]
Cicero. On Duties. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1991. Edited by M. T. Griffin and E. M. Atkins.
[DG03]
J. Dillon and T. Gergel, editors. The Greek Sophists. Penguin Books, London, 2003.
[Pla92]
Plato. The Republic. Hackett, 1992. Translated by G. M. A. Grube. Revised by C. D. C. Reeve.
[Pla02]
Plato. Five Dialogues. Hackett, 2002. Translated by G. M. A. Grube. Revised by J. M. Cooper.

Preliminary term schedule

Week 1
Introduction; Relativism: [DG03]
Week 2
Piety and reciprocity: [Pla02], Euthyphro
Week 3
Laws and obedience: [Pla02], Crito
Week 4
Morality, happiness, reciprocity: [Pla92], Book I
Week 5
Morality and immorality: [Pla92], Book II
Week 6
Happiness: [Ari09], Book I (1-9)
Week 7
Highest happiness: [Ari09], Book X (6-9)
Week 7
Midterm essay I
Week 8
Virtue: [Ari09], Book II (1, 2, 4, 5); Courage: Book III (7-9)
Week 9
Pleasure: [Ari09], Book X (1-5); Responsibility: [Ari09], Book III (1-5)
Week 10
Justice: [Ari09], Book V (5-11)
Week 11
Weakness of the will: [Ari09], Book I (13), Book VII (1-3, 8)
Week 12
Honourableness: [Cic91], Book I (9-14); Justice: [Cic91], Book I (20-22, 31-35, 41, 50-58); Greatness of spirit: [Cic91], Book I (61-63, 66)
Week 13
Seemliness: [Cic91], Book I (93-141)
Week 14
The beneficial and the honourable: [Cic91], Book II (9-10); Rule of procedure and ethical dilemmas: [Cic91], Book III (19-32, 35-39, 86-119)
Week 14
Midterm essay II
Exam week
Final exam

Requirements

Midterm essay I and II
Students will write two in-class essays (open book).
Final exam
Students will sit an in-class final exam (closed book).
Participation
Discussing assigned readings is an essential activity of the course. There is a reading assignment for each lecture. The readings are often short but tend to require close study. You should complete at least parts of the assigned readings before each lecture, as many lectures will presuppose some familiarity with the material in the texts. Occasionally, lectures will contain material not in the readings, so attendance at each and every lecture is crucial if you want to do well in the course. Random quizzes may be administered. Their grades will contribute to the participation grade.
Etiquette
Please note that latecomers will not be allowed into class, including those that are late from the break. This rule will be strictly enforced throughout the semester. No electronic devices (=laptops, tablets, mobile phones) are allowed in class without an explicit leave by the lecturer. Toilet breaks, while not strictly prohibited, are actively discouraged. The failure to respect the rules of etiquette is liable to interrupt the normal flow of the class and result in unpleasant scenes.

Grading

The grades will have the following weight:
Midterm essay I                     32%
Midterm essay II                     32%
Final exam                     26%
Class participation                     10%
Your essay, final exam, and participation grades will take the following values: 100, 99, 90, 84, 70, 59, 10, 0. These values roughly correspond to the Bilkent percentage scale:
Numerical scale (%)                     Letter scale
95 - 100                     A
90 - 94                     A-
86 - 89                     B+
82 - 85                     B
78 - 81                     B-
74 - 77                     C+
70 - 73                     C
67 - 69                     C-
63 - 66                     D+
59 - 62                     D
00 - 58                     F
Please note that the students will be allowed to sit the final exam only if their total grade for the ENG part of the course is above 58. If they are not allowed to sit the final exam, their grade will be FZ.
Your final letter grade for the course will be the arithmetical average of the final grades received for the PHIL and ENG parts of the course (according to the conversion table above). However, if your final grade for the PHIL part is below 59, your total final grade will be F.


File translated from TEX by TTH, version 4.15.