Outline

Overview

This unit examines ethical questions concerning social justice. It surveys influential theories of which institutions and social relationships are necessary for a just society. The unit provides students with an overview of views of freedom and equality. Finally, it critically reviews attempts to reconcile these apparently conflicting goals, e.g. as they pertain to questions like: Is taxation theft? Is private education inegalitarian? Are there moral limits to markets? Should we be free to engage in speech that undermines others' statuses?

Unit details and rules

Unit code	PHIL2663
Academic unit	Philosophy
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	PHIL3663
Prerequisites ?	12 credit points at 1000 level in Philosophy
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Luara Ferracioli, luara.ferracioli@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Tutorial quiz	Tutorial assessment n/a	5%	-	600 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Final essay n/a	40%	-	1800 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Argument analysis assessment n/a	15%	-	600 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Final exam Take-home exam	40%	Formal exam period	n/a
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	To be awarded to students who, in their performance in assessment tasks, demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an exceptional standard as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars established by the faculty.
Distinction	75 - 84	To be awarded to students who, in their performance in assessment tasks, demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a very high standard as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars established by the faculty
Credit	65 - 74	To be awarded to students who, in their performance in assessment tasks, demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at a good standard as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars established by the faculty
Pass	50 - 64	To be awarded to students who, in their performance in assessment tasks, demonstrate the learning outcomes for the unit at an acceptable standard as defined by grade descriptors or exemplars established by the faculty.
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Political Philosophy and Justice	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	Introduction to justice	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	Introduction to justice	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 03	Liberalism 1	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 03	Liberalism 1	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 04	Liberalism 2	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 04	Liberalism 2	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 05	Luck egalitarianism	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 05	Luck egalitarianism	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 06	Relational egalitarianism	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 06	Relational egalitarianism	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 07	Republicanism	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 07	Republicanism	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 08	Capabilities approach	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 08	Capabilities approach	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 09	Colonialism	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 09	Colonialism	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 10	Global poverty	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 10	Global Poverty	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 11	Immigration	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 11	Immigration	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 12	Citizenship	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 12	Citizenship	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 13	Climate change	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 13	Climate Change	Tutorial (1 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.
Lecture recording: Most lectures (in recording-equipped venues) will be recorded and may be made available to students on the LMS. However, you should not rely on lecture recording to substitute your classroom learning experience.
Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Readings

PHIL2663

Week 1 Justice and Political Philosophy

Swift, A. 2008. “The Value of Philosophy in Nonideal Circumstances.” Social Theory and Practice 34 (3): 363-387.

Week 2 Introduction to Justice

Required: Kymlicka, W. 2002. Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction (Second Edition), Oxford, UK, Oxford University Press. Chapter 1.

Recommended:

Kymlicka, W. 2002. Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction (Second Edition), Oxford, UK, Oxford University Press. Chapter 2: Utilitarianism

Week 3 Liberalism I

- Rawls, J. 1999. A Theory of Justice (Revised Edition), Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press. Sections 1-5, 11-13, 24-26. (please note: Sections, not pages).

Week 4 Liberalism II

- Nussbaum, M. C. 2011. “Perfectionist liberalism and political liberalism.” Philosophy & Public Affairs 39 (1): 3-45.

Week 5 Luck Egalitarianism

- Dworkin, R. 2000. Sovereign Virtue, Cambridge MA, Harvard University Press. Chapter 2.

Week 6 Relational Egalitarianism

- Anderson, E. 1999. “What Is the Point of Equality?” Ethics 109: 287-337.

Week 7 Republicanism

- Pettit, P. (1997). Republicanism: a theory of freedom and government. OUP Oxford. Chapter 1 (Pages 17-19.5, 21.8- 27.2) & Chapter 2 (pages 51-58, 67.5-71.5).

Week 8 Capabilities Approach

- Robeyns, I. 2006. “The capability approach in practice.” Journal of Political Philosophy 14(3): 351-376.

Week 9 Colonialism

- Ypi, L. 2013. “What's wrong with colonialism.” Philosophy & Public Affairs 41(2): 158-191.

- Valentini, L. 2015. “On the Distinctive Procedural Wrong of Colonialism.” Philosophy & Public Affairs 43(4): 312–31.

Week 10 Global Poverty

- Pogge, T. 2008. World Poverty and Human Rights (Second Edition), Malden, MA, Polity Press. Pages 97-123.

- Singer, P. 1972. “Famine, Affluence, and Morality.” Philosophy and Public Affairs 1: 229-243.

Week 11 Immigration

- Christopher H. W. 2008. “Immigration and Freedom of Association.” Ethics 119 (1): 109-141.

- Fine. S. 2010. “Freedom of Association Is Not the Answer.” Ethics 120 (2): 338-356.

Week 12 Citizenship

- Brezger, J., & Cassee, A. 2016. “Debate: Immigrants and Newcomers by Birth—Do Statist Arguments Imply a Right to Exclude Both?.” Journal of Political Philosophy 24(3): 367-378.

- Ferracioli, L. 2018. “Citizenship for children: By soil, by blood, or by paternalism.” Philosophical Studies 175 (11): 2859–2877.

Week 13 Climate Change

- Gardiner, S. M. 2006. “A perfect moral storm: Climate change, intergenerational ethics and the problem of moral corruption.” Environmental values, 397-413.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. demonstrate a body of knowledge concerning social justice, and a firm grasp of the principles, practices, and boundaries of political philosophy
LO2. demonstrate an understanding of different conceptions of freedom, equality and fairness, and the tradeoffs that can come with promoting any particular value over others
LO3. identify, define, investigate, and solve problems of social justice as they arise in real life
LO4. develop your abilities to think independently, analytically and creatively about political questions.
LO5. critically analyse problems concerning social justice from multiple perspectives

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Due to feedback from the previous coordinator, I have swapped the week on equal citizenship for a discussion on the role of political philosophy under non ideal conditions.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

PHIL2663: Justice

Semester 1, 2021 [Normal day] - Remote

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect