Philosophy, Politics, Economics

Explain the distinction between metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics.

Articulate and evaluate the core principles of utilitarian ethics as formulated by Bentham and Mill.

Articulate and evaluate Kantian deontological ethics, including the categorical imperative.

Explain and assess virtue ethics as presented by Aristotle.

Compare consequentialist, deontological, and virtue ethics approaches to a given moral dilemma.

Analyze the is-ought problem (Hume's Guillotine) and its implications for moral reasoning.

Explain moral relativism and evaluate arguments for and against it.

State the mind-body problem and explain its philosophical significance.

Explain and evaluate Cartesian substance dualism.

Explain physicalist positions on the mind, focusing on identity theory and functionalism.

Articulate the 'hard problem of consciousness' (Chalmers) and analyze the philosophical zombies thought experiment.

Analyze Searle's Chinese Room thought experiment and its implications for artificial intelligence.

Analyze Jackson's 'Mary's Room' thought experiment as a challenge to physicalism.

Explain the free will–determinism problem and the main positions: compatibilism, libertarianism, and hard determinism.

Evaluate a key argument for compatibilism and a key argument for incompatibilism.

Explain the concept of the 'state of nature' and the social contract theories of Hobbes and Locke.

Explain Rousseau's social contract theory, emphasizing the 'general will' and its contrast with earlier theories.

Compare the social contract theories of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau regarding sovereignty, individual rights, and government legitimacy.

Explain the philosophical foundations of rights, distinguishing between natural rights and legal positivism.

Articulate Rawls's theory of justice, including the original position, veil of ignorance, and two principles of justice.

Explain and evaluate Nozick's libertarian critique of distributive justice.

Analyze the distinction between positive and negative liberty as defined by Isaiah Berlin.

Evaluate arguments for and against political obligation and civil disobedience.

Describe the historical context of the Islamic Golden Age and its role in preserving and advancing philosophical thought.

Explain Al-Farabi's political philosophy and his concept of the 'virtuous city'.

Explain Ibn Sina's (Avicenna) core metaphysical concepts, including the distinction between essence and existence.

Analyze Ibn Sina's (Avicenna) 'Floating Man' thought experiment and his philosophy of the soul.

Articulate Al-Ghazali's critique of Neoplatonic philosophy and his synthesis of theology and mysticism.

Explain Ibn Rushd's (Averroes) defense of rational inquiry and the harmony of philosophy and religion.

Explain Ibn Khaldun's theory of social cohesion ('asabiyyah') and the cyclical nature of dynasties.

Analyze the synthesis of Greek philosophy and Islamic theology in the works of a key philosopher like Ibn Rushd.

Explain the core tenets of classical liberalism, including individual rights, limited government, and free markets.

Explain the core tenets of conservatism (Burke) and its main variants.

Explain the core tenets of socialism, focusing on public ownership and social equality.

Explain Marx's theory of historical materialism, class struggle, and alienation.

Explain Lenin's development of Marxist theory, including the vanguard party and the theory of imperialism.

Explain Maoism's distinct contributions to communist theory, including the role of the peasantry and continuous revolution.

Explain the core tenets of fascism as a political ideology.

Analyze how major ideologies differ on the role of the state, the individual, and economic organization.

Explain the concept of sovereignty and the Westphalian state system.

Explain the 'levels of analysis' framework (individual, state, system) in international relations.

Articulate the core assumptions of realism in international relations (e.g., Morgenthau, Waltz).

Articulate the core assumptions of liberalism in international relations (e.g., Kant, Keohane).

Explain constructivism as an approach to international relations (e.g., Wendt).

Analyze the concepts of the balance of power and the security dilemma.

Explain liberal institutionalism and the role of international organizations (e.g., UN, WTO) in global governance.

Apply realist, liberal, and constructivist frameworks to a contemporary international conflict, comparing the insights generated by each theory.

Explain the fundamental economic problem of scarcity and the concepts of opportunity cost and trade-offs.

Explain how supply and demand interact to determine equilibrium price and quantity in a market.

Analyze how markets adjust to shifts in supply or demand.

Define market failure and analyze the impact of positive and negative externalities.

Explain the characteristics of public goods and the associated free-rider problem.

Explain information asymmetry (adverse selection and moral hazard) as a cause of market failure.

Describe the role of property rights and institutions in enabling economic activity.

Distinguish between positive economics (what is) and normative economics (what ought to be).

Define Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and explain the different approaches to measuring it.

Explain the components of aggregate demand and aggregate supply.

Describe the causes and phases of business cycles.

Explain the concept of unemployment and distinguish between its types (frictional, structural, cyclical).

Describe the causes and consequences of inflation.

Explain the role of central banks and the tools of monetary policy (e.g., interest rates, quantitative easing).

Explain fiscal policy (government spending and taxation) and its effects on economic output and employment.

Analyze the short-run trade-off between inflation and unemployment as represented by the Phillips curve.

Explain the principle of comparative advantage (Ricardo) as the basis for trade.

Analyze the gains from trade for participating countries using simple models.

Explain the economic effects of trade barriers such as tariffs, quotas, and subsidies.

Describe the main arguments for and against free trade.

Explain the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and regional trade agreements in the global economy.

Analyze the economic effects of globalization on labor markets and income inequality.

Evaluate key political and social critiques of globalization.

Define a game in terms of players, strategies, and payoffs.

Distinguish between normal-form (matrix) and extensive-form (game tree) representations of games.

Distinguish between zero-sum and non-zero-sum games with examples.

Solve for dominant strategies and Nash equilibrium in simple normal-form games.

Analyze classic strategic interactions: Prisoner's Dilemma, Chicken, and Stag Hunt.

Explain how cooperation can emerge in repeated games, providing an intuition for the folk theorem.

Apply game-theoretic reasoning to political scenarios, such as arms races or electoral competition.

Apply game-theoretic reasoning to economic scenarios, such as price wars or trade negotiations.

Explain Adam Smith's concepts of the division of labor and the 'invisible hand'.

Analyze Adam Smith's 'The Theory of Moral Sentiments' as an ethical foundation for his economic thought.

Articulate Marx's economic critique of capitalism, focusing on surplus value and exploitation.

Explain Keynesian economics and its departure from classical economic theory in response to the Great Depression.

Describe the core ideas of the Austrian school (Hayek, Mises) and their critique of central planning.

Explain Amartya Sen's capability approach and its implications for measuring human development.

Analyze the tension between economic efficiency and social equity using concrete examples.

Evaluate philosophical arguments about the moral limits of markets (e.g., Michael Sandel).