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School of Philosophy · ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
This course has been replaced by PPEI2001 from 2025 onwards. For more information, please visit https://cass.anu.edu.au/recent-changes-cass-programs The approach taken in this course is at two levels. One level involves direct conceptual analysis of the differences in disciplinary approaches. The other level involves illustrating those differences by reference to specific examples in contemporary policy/institutional analysis. Topics such as global warming (and environmental issues more generally), inequality, dealing with risk and uncertainty, and commodification will be used to examine and contrast what philosophers and economists have said about the issues and attempt an intellectually respectable synthesis. In each case, the role of 'political elements' will be an important part of the story—both substantively, in terms of what the expected role of political institutions might be and what political constraints may be relevant; and conceptually, in terms of the different understanding of political process that philosophers and economists tend to have.
Class participation
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4
Tutorial assignments, 5x400 words each
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4
Take-home end-of-semester examination, 2 responses of 1250 words each
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4
130 hours of total student learning time made up from: a) 35 hours of contact over 12 weeks: 24 hours of lectures and 11 hours of tutorial and tutorial-like activities; and b) 95 hours of independent student research, reading, and writing.
Weekly reading to support the tutorials and lectures will be made available electronically via the Wattle site. Some additional reading will be helpful in stimulating thinking along inter-disciplinary lines, including: Dowding, Keith. 2009. "What is Welfare and How Can We Measure It." Pp.511-539 in The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Economics, edited by H.Kincaid and D. Ross. 2009. The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Economics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Olson, Mancur. 1965/1971. The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Parfit, Derek. 1984. Reasons and Persons. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Preliminary Reading Robert Frank (2011). The Darwin Economy. Daniel Halliday (2018) The Inheritance of Wealth. Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler (2008). Nudge. John Broome (2012). Climate Matters. Elizabeth Anderson (2000). "What is the Point of Equality?" Debra Satz (2010). Why Some Things Should Not Be For Sale: The Moral Limits of Markets.