Philosophie en langue anglaise

Responsable: R. DUTHILLE

British political thought from Thomas Hobbes to John Stuart Mill

Content and aims :

This course is taught in English – discussions in French are exceptionally possible when comparing or contrasting with French political philosophy.

It proposes to examine how political thought developed in Britain in the context of major social and political issues, from the mid-17^th century Civil War pitting Royalists against Parliaments to the crisis provoked by the French Revolution (raising questions of popular sovereignty, democracy, social justice) all the way to the mid-19^th century (Victorian) period marked by debates on women’s rights, democracy, the possibility or desirability of social reforms in an industrializing society. This period saw the establishment of the major modern political ideologies, especially liberalism (Hobbes, Locke, Mill), feminism (Wollstonecraft, John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor) and conservatism (Burke). British thinkers debated on questions such as: is man naturally a political or sociable animal? what is the goal of government? what are the limits of legitimate authority and the possible grounds of resistance? whose rights (men’s, women’s, the poor…) were defined and defended and how? The political thinkers were also often activists, and they did not just try to answer timeless philosophical questions: they proposed answers to the social and political problems of their own times.

Organisation des enseignements :

1h30 de CM + 1h30 de TD par semaine.

Contrôle des connaissances :

Session 1 :

Étudiants régime général : contrôle continu.

Session 2 :

Oral (30 minutes).

The aims of the course are:

• to offer an approach to political thought through major works but also lesser-known writings;
• to improve skills in the close reading of select texts;
• to enhance the comprehension of English-language argumentation (definition of key words and concepts, use of syntax, rhetoric…);
• to strengthen writing and debating skills, using both everyday and technical vocabulary:

It is possible to discuss other writers (Adam Smith, David Hume for instance), depending on students’ interests and time constraints.

1ère session


Etudiants en régime général : 50% contrôle continu (exercices réalisés en TD ou à la maison) +  50% examen écrit terminal.


Etudiants en régime spécial : examen écrit terminal
 2ème session (rattrapage) 


Etudiants en régime général et spécial : examen écrit terminal

The following are works of political reflection studied in class. The editions given are recommended but there are others.

• HOBBES, Thomas. Leviathan. Ed. Richard Tuck. “Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought”. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
• LOCKE, John. Two Treatises of Government. Ed. Peter Laslett. “Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought”. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
• BURKE, Edmund. Reflections on the Revolution in France. Ed. L. G. Mitchell. Oxford: Oxford University Press (World’s Classics), 2009.
• MILL, John Stuart, On Liberty and Other Essays. Ed. John Gray. Oxford: Oxford University Press (World’s Classics), 1991.
• PAINE, Thomas. Rights of Man. Ed. Eric Foner, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1990.
• WOLLSTONECRAFT, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, many editions including Political Writings: A Vindication of the Rights of Men, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, An Historical and Moral View of the French Revolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press (World's Classics), 1994; also in Penguin edn, ed. Miriam Brodie, 1992.

• MORVAN, Alain, GOURNAY, Jean-François, LESSAY, Franck. Histoire des idées dans les îles Britanniques.  Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 1996.
• An anthology of extracts from political philosophers from the 16^th to the 20^th century, in English, with short, accessible introductions in French.
• PORTER, Roy. Enlightenment: Britain and the Creation of the Modern World. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 2000. (Several editions)