Ethics, Globalization and Sustainability

Some of the most significant challenges facing our societies today are global in nature. In this course, we will examine debates about global justice in political philosophy, with a special focus on sustainability challenges. We will examine foundational issues in global justice, such as debates about what people in rich countries owe to the global poor, whether we should adopt a ‘cosmopolitan' moral view, and the moral status of national identity. We also examine a number of more applied moral and political debates about issues that arise in global politics. Topics may include questions such as how the costs of tackling climate change should be shared, whether and how the movement of people across borders should be regulated, who should own natural resources, and what the significance of historical injustices is for global justice today.

LAS and TCS students who follow this course as part of the core curriculum of their major need to complete a compulsory preparation course/assignment. For more information, see: tcs.sites.uu.nl/.

The aim of this course is for students to:
(a) understand the central ideas and arguments in contemporary debates about ethics, globalization and sustainability in political philosophy;
(b) critically evaluate philosophical arguments in contemporary debates about ethics, globalization and sustainability in political philosophy;
(c) make clear, reasoned, and independent contributions to contemporary debates about ethics, globalization and sustainability by engaging with philosophical texts;
(d) develop skills in philosophical writing and argumentation.

• Yet to be specified All course materials will be available through Brightspace