COURSE MANUAL

Political Philosophy I

Lakshmi Arya Thathachar

Associate Professor
Jindal School of International Affairs
O.P. Jindal Global University

Credits: 4

Course Level: Core

Course Instructor: Lakshmi Arya Thathachar

Email: larya@jgu.edu.in

Course Description:

The course invites students to explore and interrogate the concepts that are central to modern
politics: Concepts such as liberty, equality, and fraternity, which dominate our political
imagination today. Through this course, we examine the history and genealogy of each of
these concepts. In other words, we ask where/ when these concepts originated and why.
Crucial to this part of the course is an inquiry into European modernity, for these concepts
form part of the political lexicon of modern Europe.

Europe underwent several changes as she transitioned from the medieval to the modern age
(around the 16th c AD). Part of this transition was political—it was a movement from
monarchy to democracy, with its attendant discourses of rights, citizenship, equality and
freedom. The French Revolution, with its call for liberty, equality and fraternity, and the
literal rolling of aristocratic heads, is a landmark event in this movement towards the modern
form of democratic politics.

In addition to placing these political concepts in their historical context, we will also inquire
into their genealogy, i.e. their roots in a certain intellectual tradition. This entails unearthing
the theological roots of these concepts. There is scholarship that shows that the roots of
modern Western philosophy are religious / Christian. Since the roots are hidden, we do not
see them, and the philosophy comes to us in its ‘secular’ form. We shall read scholarship that
makes this assertion.

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We shall also engage with the pre-Christian, Graeco-Roman heritage of the European
civilization. The point is often made that European modernity owes much to its Graeco-
Roman heritage and the revival of that heritage during the Renaissance. What was the pagan
world of the Greeks and the Romans? What political ideals did they uphold, and how were
these different from those of the European Christian world?

Finally, if we may conclude that modern political concepts come from European socio-
political and intellectual history, can they be applied universally in other contexts, in other
parts of the world as well? Do these concepts have universal salience? In order to answer this
question, we must turn our attention to political thought that has emerged from other, non-
European contexts. We shall focus on Indian political thought, especially that which was
produced during the modern period. By reflecting on traditions of political thought in Europe
and in India, the course seeks to develop a comparative perspective, i.e. it compares how two
different traditions (the European and the Indian) have thought about politics. Tying all this
up is an exploration into questions of truth and freedom, and their inter-relation.

Intended Learning Outcomes:

The course aims to enable students to
 Interrogate concepts such as liberty, equality and fraternity, which we have come to
think of as commensensical and universal today.
 Develop a comparative perspective, by studying two intellectual traditions: the
European and the Indian.
 Reflect on how these two traditions problematise one’s relationship to oneself and to
others, i.e. the question of how “I” should be-in-common with others; how a “We” is
to be formed.
 Explore the problematisation of truth and freedom in these traditions
 Understand political philosophy through an inter-disciplinary approach, spanning
political thought, history, gender studies and religion.

Assessment:

 Class Participation (10 marks)

The texts to be read for each class would be emailed to the students in advance.
Students are required to read the text and come prepared to discuss it in class. Regular
class attendance, attentiveness in class, and respect for the teaching-learning process,
and towards other learners, all matter in this part of the assessment.

 Reflection Journal (20 marks)

 End-term Presentation (20 marks)

Students may work indivdually or in teams on a topic of their choice, and make a
presentation towards the end of the course. They will be assessed on their grasp of the
concepts introduced to them in the course, and their application of those concepts to
the social realities around them. This exercise is meant to encourage students to
appreciate what they learn in the classroom as knowledge that is relevant to their
lives, and their social world; and not as something esoteric and distant.

 End-term examination (50 marks)

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Disabilities:
If you need special accommodation due to a disability, please contact me.

Grading:
To pass this course, students must obtain a minimum of 40% of total course marks. Grades,
once awarded, are non-negotiable. The standard Jindal criteria will be used to convert
numeric to letter grades for this course.

COURSE LETTER GRADES AND THEIR INTERPRETATION 

Letter Percentage Grade
 
Grade of Marks Points
Outstanding: Exceptional knowledge of the subject
80 and matter, thorough understanding of issues; ability to
O 8
above synthesize ideas, rules and principles and extraordinary
critical and analytical ability.
Excellent: Sound knowledge of the subject matter,
thorough understanding of issues; ability to synthesize
A+ 75 - 79 7.5
ideas, rules and principles and critical and analytical
ability. 
Very Good: Sound knowledge of the subject matter,
excellent organizational capacity, ability to synthesize
A 70 - 74 7
ideas, rules and principles, critically analyse existing
material and originality in thinking and presentation. 
Good: Good understanding of the subject matter,
ability to identify issues and provide balanced
A- 65 -69 6
solutions to problems and good critical and analytical
skills.
Fair: Average understanding of the subject matter,
limited ability to identify issues and provide solutions
B+ 60 - 64 5
to problems and reasonable critical and analytical
skills.
Acceptable: Adequate knowledge of the subject
B 55 - 59 4 matter to go to the next level of the study and
reasonable critical and analytical skills.
Marginal: Limited knowledge of the subject matter
B- 50 - 54 3 and irrelevant use of materials, and poor critical and
analytical skills. 
Pass 1: Pass with Basic understanding of the subject
matter .
P1 45 - 49 2
 
Pass 2: Pass with Rudimentary understanding of the
P2  40 - 44 1
subject matter.
Fail: Poor comprehension of the subject matter; poor
F Below 40 0 critical and analytical skills and marginal use of the
relevant materials. Will require repeating the course.

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Academic integrity and plagiarism:
Plagiarism includes the use of someone else’s words and ideas, without acknowledgement or
citation. If it is not your original thought, cite the source.

LESSON PLAN

All required readings will be shared via e-mail.

Week 1: European modernity and the emergence of the individual

The modern period in Europe (16th c onwards) is co-terminus with the emergence of the
individual (the “I”), detached from the community (the “We”). There are many processes
whereby the individual emerges. In this week, we study the transition from
communitarianism to individualism in Europe.

Students will also be given an overview of the course.

Reading:

Charles Taylor (1989) Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity. Cambridge,
Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. (Excerpts)

Week 2: Individual Liberty in the Social Contract

The French Revolution is seen as inaugurating a new epoch in the political history of Europe.
Heads rolled, thrones were toppled and the people revolted. Other parts of Europe followed.
One aspect of the revolt against monarchy was the questioning of the ‘divine right’ of kings
to rule. During this week, we will examine this aspect, and also look at a similar phenomenon
in India: the “twilight of the Maharajas”.

The French Revolution also raised a cry for “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.” In this part of
the course, we unpack each of these concepts, beginning with “liberty”. The individual and
his/ her freedom is a central problem for the Western liberal tradition. In social contract
theory, the question of freedom is posed thus: How much of my freedom do I retain for
myself, and how much of it do I give up, when I enter the social contract with others? Thus,
the liberal tradition formulates the problem of freedom as one of the free will of the
individual vis-à-vis that of the collective. Inherent in this is also the demarcation of the public
and private spheres in the social contract. This demarcation is central to many of the issues
we will explore in the later weeks, such as secularism, the place of women in the social
contract, the ideological difference between capitalism and communism, and so on.

Reading:

Isaiah Berlin (1969) ‘Two Concepts of Liberty.’ In Four Essays on Liberty. Oxford
University Press. Pp. 118-172.

Immanuel Kant (1785) Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten. Translated and edited by
Mary Gregor (1998) Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. Cambridge University Press.

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Week 3: Capitalism and Communism

The twentieth century was torn by a battle of two ideologies, capitalism and communism. In
this week, we seek to understand this ideological battle by examining the site on which it was
waged – the individual’s freedom in the state.

Reading:

Jacques LeGoff (1980) ‘Merchant’s Time and Church’s Time in the Middle Ages’, in Time,
Work and Culture in the Middle Ages. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Michael Sandel (2012) What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets. Farrar, Straus
and Giroux.

W. J. Duiker and J. J. Spielvogel (2007) World History (Fifth Edition). Thomson Wadsworth
(Excerpts)

Week 4: Equality and Fraternity

Continuing with our discussion of social contract theory, we engage with feminist critiques of
the ‘fraternal’ social contract. Are women full citizens in the social contract? Carole Pateman
argues that women are excluded from citizenship because they are relegated to the private
sphere. Given this exclusion, how are women to be made full citizens in the social contract?
Are they to be made equal to men? This part of the course is also an inquiry into the concept
of equality.

Reading:

Carole Pateman (1988) “The Patriarchal Welfare State” in Amy Guttman (ed.), Democracy
and the Welfare State. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Tanika Sarkar (2001) Hindu Wife, Hindu Nation: Community, Religion and Cultural
Nationalism. New Delhi: Permanent Black.

Viewing:

Begum Jaan

Week 5: Free Will, Reason and Political Consciousness

To continue with our discussion of freedom, we go into the question of choice, free will or
agency. How free is our ‘will’ when we act? Do we really choose to act in ways that we do,
or are our choices themselves an effect of earlier causes?

In political philosophy (Marxist and feminist), we come across the actor who acts under a
false consciouness,. What is ‘consciouness’ and what is its relation to will? How is the
political subject to be freed from a false consciousness, and by whom? Can such freedom be
forced, even against the subject’s will, for her own good? We will examine the curious case
of Winky, the house-elf, and Hermione, who wishes to free her.

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Reading:

https://noodlesandprose.wordpress.com (Blog entries 16 to 19, for a discussion of the rights

of individuals, communities, and how Hermione Granger wishes to free the house elves –
even those who do not wish to be freed).

Week 6: Nationalism

The nation-state is the unit of politics in the modern world. In this week, we examine the
phenomenon of nationalism and the definition of a national identity.

Reading:

Hutchinson, J and Smith, Anthony D. (eds.) (1994), Nationalism, Oxford: Oxford University
Press. (Excerpts)

Week 8: Nationalism in India

As mentioned before, the formation of nation-states is a characteristic feature of the modern

world. After decolonization, independent nation-states emerged in Asia, Africa and Latin
America. One aspect of nation-building is the defining of a national self, an identity – of
being Indian, or Chinese, or American. During this week, we read two modern Indian
thinkers – Savarkar and Mahatma Gandhi – and their visions for an independent, postcolonial
India. The question that these thinkers also pose is: “Whose homeland is India? Who belongs
in India and who does not?”

Reading:

Tapan Basu et al. (1993) Khaki Shorts and Saffron Flags: A Critique of the Hindu Right. New
Delhi: Orient Longman Ltd.

Rudrangshu Mukherjee (1993) Ed. The Penguin Gandhi Reader. New Delhi: Penguin Books.
(Excerpts)

Viewing:

Pico Iyer, Where is Home? (Ted Talk, 2013)

Week 9: Nation, Gender and Caste

Is the nation a monolithic, united whole, or is it fragmented and torn internally? In this week,
we look at the internal divisions within the nation-state of India, and at those who are left
out / excluded from narratives of nation and national identity.

Reading:

Uma Chakravarti (1989) ‘Whatever happened to the Vedic Dasi? Orientalism, Nationalism
and a Script for the Past’ in K. Sangari and S. Vaid (eds), Recasting Women: Essays in
Colonial History. New Delhi: Kali for Women.

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Anveshi Law Committee. ‘Is gender justice only a legal issue?: The political stakes in the
UCC debate’, Economic and Political Weekly 32, 9–10: 453–8. 1997.

Viewing:

Axone (2020)

Student research:

Bhanwari Devi’s rape case; Mathura rape case

Week 10: Freedom and Truth in the Indian and Greek Traditions

In this and subsequent weeks, we shift our focus to non-Western / non-Christian traditions.
We particularly engage with the Indian and the Greek traditions, and their problematisation of
truth and its relation to freedom.

Reading:

Shankaracharya’s Nirvana Shatakam

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave: TED Ed video

Suggested Reading:

Jonardon Ganeri (2007) The Concealed Art of the Soul: Theories of Self and Practices of Truth
in Indian Ethics and Epistemology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Week 11: Practices of the Self

In the previous weeks, we discussed free will and its relation to action. The Western
intellectual tradition poses this question as follows: How free are we in “choosing” to act in
certain ways? What are the constraints on our freedom? What stops us from acting as we
want to? (In other words, what restrains / constrains us?) What forces us to act in ways that
we do not will to? (Or, what coerces us?) The understanding here is that something ‘out
there’ in the world coerces or restrains us. Systems of power (caste, class, gender, race, etc)
stand in the way of our freedom. They regulate us. The totalitarian state is seen as one such
illiberal institution that takes away individual liberty.

There is, however, another register in which freedom and slavery are conceptualized: One
that locates the sources of unfreedom within the individual, not without. In this week, we
inquire into three traditions – the Greek, the Indian and the Christian — and examine how
each of them thinks of the individuals’ quest for freedom.

Reading:

Michel Foucault (1981-2) 2005. The Hermeneutics of the Subject: Lectures at the College de
France 1981-1982. Ed. and trans. F. Gros. New York and Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
(Excerpts)

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——2000. ‘The ethics of the concern of the self as a practice of freedom’ in Paul Rabinow
(ed.), Ethics: Subjectivity and Truth, Essential Works of Foucault 1954-1984, Volume One.
Penguin Books (Excerpts)

Week 12: The Greeks

Modern European political and scientific thought claims its legacy from the Greeks. To end
this course, we revisit classical Greek philosophy by reading Plato and Aristotle.

Reading:

Excerpts from Plato, The Republic

Martha C. Nussbaum (1982): “Saving Aristotle's appearances”. In: Malcolm Schofield and
Martha C. Nussbaum (Eds.), Language and Logos: Studies in Ancient Greek Philosophy,
Cambridge University Press. Pages: 267-293

Week 13: Student Presentations

Week 14: Student Presentations

Week 15: Revision