Special Regulations for the Preliminary Examination for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

[1] A

1. [2] 1. The subjects of the Preliminary Examination for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics shall be:
   1. [3] (1) Introductory Economics
   2. [4] (2) Introduction to Philosophy
   3. [5] (3) Introduction to Politics: The Theory and Practice of Democracy.
2. [6] 2. A candidate shall be allowed to offer himself or herself for examination in one, two, or three subjects.
3. [7] 3. A candidate shall be deemed to have passed the examination if he or she shall have satisfied the Moderators in three subjects.
4. [8] 4. The Moderators may award a distinction to candidates of special merit who have passed all three subjects at a single examination.

[9] B

[10] Three three-hour papers will be set as follows.

[11] Introductory Economics

[12] Elementary economics including: consumer theory; producer theory; market equilibrium with perfect competition, monopoly and simply oligopoly models; factor markets; general equilibrium, welfare and externalities; national income accounting; the determine of national income and employment; monetary institutions and the money supply; inflation; balance of payments and exchange rates. Elementary mathematical economics; application of functions and graphs, differentiation, partial differentiation, maxima and minima, optimization subject to contraints.

[13] Calculators may be used in the examination room subject to the conditions set out under the heading ‘Use of calculators in examinations’ in the Special Regulations concerning Examinations.

[14] Introduction to Philosophy

[15] The paper shall consist of three sections: (I) General Philosophy, (II) Moral

[16] Philosophy, (III) Logic. [Until 1 October 2012: Each candidate shall be required to show adequate knowledge in at least two sections.] [From 1 October 2012: Each candidate will be required to show adequate knowledge in each of the three sections.]

1. [17] I. General Philosophy [18] Subjects to be studied include: [Until 1 October 2012: knowledge, scepticism, perception, induction, primary and secondary qualities, the relation of mind and body, personal identity, and free will. Candidates will have the opportunity to show first-hand knowledge of some canonical writings on these topics.] [From 1 October 2012: knowledge and scepticism, induction, mind and body, personal identity, free will, and God and evil. Candidates will have the opportunity, but will not be required, to show first-hand knowledge of Descartes’ Meditations and Hume’s An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding.]
2. [19] II. Moral Philosophy [20] This section shall be studied in connection with Mill's Utilitarianism. While not being confined to the detailed views of the author of the set text, the section will be satisfactorily answerable by a candidate who has made a critical study of the text. Questions will normally be set on the following topics: pleasure, happiness and well-being; forms of consequentialism; [Until 1 October 2012: the ‘proof’ of utilitarianism; ethical truth and ethical realism; justice; alienation and the demandingness of morality; virtue.] [From 1 October 2012: alternatives to consequentialism; ethical truth, ethical realism and the ‘Proof’ of Utilitarianism; justice and rights; virtue, character and integrity.]
3. [21] III. Logic [22] Subjects to be studied include: syntax and semantics of propositional and predicate logic, identity and definite descriptions, proofs in Natural Deduction, and the critical application of formal logic to the analysis of English sentences and arguments. [23] These topics shall be studied in conjunction with Volker Halbach’s Introduction to Logic manual, published by Oxford University Press. The logical symbols to be used are those found in this publication. [From 1 October 2012: The first question in this section of the paper will be a question of an elementary and straightforward nature.]

[24] Introduction to Politics: the Theory and Practice of Democracy

[25] The paper will contain two sections. Candidates are required to answer four questions, of which at least one must be from section (a) and two from section (b). Candidates choosing to answer two questions from section (b) must show knowledge of at least two of the following political systems: the United States of America; the United Kingdom; France; Germany. Candidates choosing to answer three questions from section (b) must show knowledge of at least three of the following political systems: the United States of America; the United Kingdom; France; Germany. Candidates are expected, where appropriate, to show knowledge of the methodological issues involved in both normative and empirical political research.

1. [26] (a) Theorizing the Democratic State [27] Questions will be set on the following topics: the nature and grounds of democracy; power and influence in the democratic state; ideology; civil society; public choice approaches to democracy; the nature and limits of liberty. Questions will also be set on the following texts: J. J. Rousseau, The Social Contract; J. S. Mill, On Liberty; Alexis de Toqueville, Democracy in America; Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto, Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon, Preface to a Critique of Political Economy, Critique of the Gotha Programme, plus readings 14, 37, 39 in David McLellan, ed., Karl Marx: Selected Writings, Second Edition (Oxford University Press, 2000).
2. [28] (b) Analysis of Democratic Institutions [29] Questions will be set on the following topics: the state and its institutions (executives, legislatures, parties and party systems, courts, constitutions and centre-periphery relations); political representation; the politics of instability; policy continuity and policy change; democratic transitions and consolidation. Questions will also be set on these topics with reference to the political history of the United States of America since 1932, the United Kingdom since 1945, France since 1946, and Germany since 1932, as outlined in the department's official reading list.