Chair of Political Philosophy
Political philosophy is a subarea of practical philosophy. As the treatment of the foundations of
political thinking and of political action it therefore also deals with basic
issues of human existence and the structure of practical rationality; questions
of human nature, action theory, and norm theory thus belong to political
philosophy. Furthermore, it discusses problems of social theory and the
philosophy of history, and it analyses contemporary socio-political events.
Political philosophy in a narrower sense is focussed on the philosophy of law
and philosophy of government.
The above points are
addressed in our courses both from historical and topical points of view. It is
in any case imperative that political philosophy be conducted as philosophy and
philosophising, i.e., that an interest in radical self-reflection and
self-understanding is maintained throughout.
Regular courses comprise lectures on the history of political thought, on contemporary political philosophy as well as introductory courses.
Professor
Professor Emeritus
Research Assistants
Research Associates
Forum for the Philosophy of Humanities and Social Sciences
Prof. Dr. Peter-Ulrich Merz-Benz
PhD Students
lic. phil. Adis Merdzanovic, UZH Forschungskredit
Johan Rochel, MA Philosophy, MA Law, SNF
lic. phil. Antoinette Scherz, NCCR
Former Research Assistants