The subject "Philosophy and social work" is taught within the Degree in Social Work, and belongs to Module C: "Gizarte langintzaren ardurapeko prozesuak eta arazoak / Procesos y problemas sobre los que actúa el Trabajo social". It is a first year compulsory subject (second semester), and consists of 6 ECTS credits.



Module C consists of two subjects: "Giza garapena / Desarrollo Humano" (24 ECTS), and "Egitura, desberdintasuna eta gizarte bazterketa / Estructura, desigualdad y exclusión social" (12 ECTS). It focuses on the first two courses of the degree, offering basic training to future graduates.



The subjects of this module, which mostly belong to the branch of social and legal sciences, are the following: "Filosofia eta gizarte langintza / Filosofía y trabajo social / Philosophy and social work", "Antropologia eta gizarte langintza / Antropología y trabajo social", "Gizarte langintzarako psikologia / Psicología para el trabajo social", "Gizarte langintzarako psikologia soziala / Psicología social para el trabajo social / Social psychology for social work", "Soziologia eta gizarte langintza / Sociología y trabajo social", and "Gizarte egitura eta estratifikazioa / Estructura y estratificación social". These subjects are taught with the purpose of developing contents and competences about human nature and behavior, their relation with social structures, and the difficulties and problems derived from the relationships among people in their potential environments, as with the purpose of developing the proper scientific methodology to study all that.



The module also enables the acquisition of instrumental competences (e.g., analytical and synthetical skills, oral and written communication, problem-solving abilities), personal competences (e.g., teamwork, critical reasoning) and systemic competences (e.g., autonomous learning, creativity).



The general objective of the subject "Philosophy and social work" is to contribute a theoretical and moral reflection about human nature. In this sense, the subject aims to provide the students with a series of basic knowledge and skills in relation to the critical, socio-ethical and epistemological foundations of the profession of social work. In this way, it shares with the other subjects of the module, especially with "Soziologia eta gizarte langintza / Sociología y trabajo social" and "Antropologia eta gizarte langintza / Antropología y trabajo social", an interest to reflect and shed some light on human behavior in its socio-cultural context, as well as to evaluate different strategies of the professional activity of social work on grounds of that understanding.



Anyway, the subject "Philosophy and social work" is characterized by enabling a differentiated second-order area of knowledge from which to reflexively and critically analyze the cultural and disciplinary presuppositions that inform the theories and practices sustaining the activity of social work. From this point of view, philosophical reflection applied to social work is aimed at the analysis of the most general, or basic, foundations and assumptions in which this activity is sustained. Therefore, the subject aspires to develop and promote among the students the competences to identify, interpret and apply certain ideas and conceptions about human beings and society that underlie--sometimes tacitly and, therefore, uncritically, or unreflectively--to the perspectives, decisions and practices of the social workers.



EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES



The general objective of the subject "Philosophy and social work" is that the students are able to identify, elucidate, relate, compare and criticize the principles and theoretical-ideological assumptions on which the profession of social work lies. This general objective can be broken down into the following educational objectives:



- To promote among the students the ability to approach and solve, in a reasoned way, the most characteristic moral dilemmas affecting the social worker-client relationship.



- To promote among the students the ability to evaluate and compare, in a reasoned way, the existing possibilities of professional intervention based on the identification and elucidation of the main determinants of human behavior in its social environment.

- Specific competences of the subject (derived from module competences):



* C1: to develop the capacity for critical thinking, or good argumentation, among the students. [CM07]



* C2: to identify the basic topics of ethics and professional deontology, enhancing the social responsibility of the future social workers. [CM08]



* C3: to understand the fundamental elements that determine human behavior in its social context, as well as the basic theoretical categories that represent them. [CM01]



* C4: to develop the ability of students to identify their values and cognitive schemes in order to develop their future professional practice objectively and respectful of human rights. [CM07]



- Grade competences:



* G007: to enhance the social responsibility of organizations and the professional ethics, applying quality criteria and professional supervision protocols (Transversal).



* G010: to develop the skills necessary for professional practice, and in particular the following abilities: criticism-reflexivity, analysis, communication, relational abilities, team working and networking (and to develop them in inclusive ways regarding gender, inter-culturalism, rurality, etc.) (Transversal).



(In order to know in detail about the rest of grade competences related to CM01, CM07 and CM08, namely, G001, G003 and G004, see the "Memoria para la Solicitud de Verificación del Título Oficial - Grado en Trabajo Social" (2010), available in eGela.)



- Basic MEC competences: MEC2, MEC3 and MEC4.



(In order to know in detail about both these basic MEC competences as well as the rest of them [MEC1 and MEC5], related to G001, G003 and G004, see the "Memoria para la Solicitud de Verificación del Título Oficial - Grado en Trabajo Social" (2010), available in eGela.)

(According to the syllabus approved by the ANECA.)



1. INTRODUCTION: CONTRIBUTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY TO SOCIAL WORK



2. PHILOSOPHY IN THE STUDIES OF SOCIAL WORK: CRITICAL THINKING AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY

2.1. Basic elements of argumentation

2.2. Argumentative fallacies



3. THE MORAL DIMENSION OF SCIENCE: ETHICS AND SOCIAL WORK

3.1. The moral (and ethical) dimension of the human being

3.2. Moral norms and other norms

3.3. Some ethical theories

3.3.1. Deontological ethics

3.3.2. Utilitarian ethics

3.3.3. Virtue ethics

3.4. Principles of social work: beneficence, autonomy, justice



4. THE COGNITIVE ACTIVITY IN SCIENCE AND THE IDEA OF THE HUMAN BEING: EPISTEMOLOGY AND SOCIAL WORK

4.1. The scientific explanation of human behavior

4.1.1. Causal explanation: regularities, laws and singularity

4.1.2. Intentional explanation: reasons and irrationality

4.2. Trust and social work: knowledge, ignorance, values

A- The type of methodology to be used will vary according to the number of students in class. If that number is equal to or less than 20, the method to be used will be that of Problem Based Learning (PBL)--on basis of the ERAGIN model of the UPV/EHU. According to this methodology, the following types of educational activities will be carried out:



* Problem-solving oriented teamwork. Preparation and presentation of: report(s), poster(s), video(s).



* Searching and reading of scientific texts (some of them will be offered by the professor), oriented to the resolution of problems. (The readings will be conducted both individually and in groups.)



* Professional testimonies, aimed at problem-solving. Active and interactive listening of students will be promoted here.



* Reinforcement classes by the professor.



* Autonomous study work by the students.



* Tutorials (individually and in groups).



B- In case the number of students in class is higher than 20, then the following educational activities will be carried out:



* Lecture classes by the professor.



* Reading of scientific texts (offered by the professor), aimed at deepening the issues and problems addressed in class.



* Professional testimony(ies), where the active and interactive listening of students will be promoted.



* Autonomous study work by the students.



* Tutorials.

• Continuous Assessment System
• Final Assessment System
• Tools and qualification percentages:
  • Written test to be taken (%): 50
  • Other types of exercises or written control works (%): 50

Two evaluation systems will be used in this course: continuous evaluation and end-of-course evaluation.



A. Continuous evaluation. This system will be carried out through the following activities:



A.1. One or more exercises or written control works (depending on the nº of students) designed to develop the ability to identify, and argue correctly about, the main normative-evaluative and/or epistemological problems and concepts associated with the practice of social work: 50% of the final grade. [Evaluated competences: C1,2,3,4; G007, G010.]



A.2. One or more written exams (depending on the nº of students) designed to develop the same abilities pointed out in A.2: 50% of the final grade. [EC: C1,2,3,4; G007, G010.]



A.3. Final written exam: included in A.2, it will not weight more than the 50% of the final grade.



A.4. In order to pass, the number of failed activities cannot be higher than one. In the extraordinary call, only separately failed activities will have to be retaken. Both in ordinary and extraordinary calls, when the final average grade reaches (or exceeds), numerically, a pass (that is, a "5"), but there are two or more activities that have been separately failed, then the final grade will be "3.5".



A.5. Those students who opt for the continuous evaluation system (whether it is linked to the PBL methodology or not) will have to attend all face-to-face classes to pass the subject (unless the absence is duly justified). Otherwise, class attendance will be regulated according to UPV/EHU regulations.



B- End-of-course evaluation:



B.1.a. "Ikasleek eskubidea izango dute azken ebaluazio bidez ebaluatuak izateko (...). [I]kasleak etengabeko ebaluazioari uko egiten diola jasotzen duen idatzi bat aurkeztu beharko dio [...] irakasleari eta, horretarako, bederatzi asteko epea izango du lauhilekoko irakasgaien kasuan edo 18 astekoa urteko irakasgaienean, ikastegiko eskola egutegian zehaztutakoarekin bat lauhilekoa edo ikasturtea hasten denetik kontatzen hasita" (UPV/EHU regulation, art. 8.3).



B.1.b. "En todo caso el alumnado tendrá derecho a ser evaluado mediante el sistema de evaluación final (...). [E]l alumnado deberá presentar por escrito al profesorado (...) la renuncia a la evaluación continua, para lo que dispondrán de un plazo de 9 semanas para las asignaturas cuatrimestrales y de 18 semanas para las anuales, a contar desde el comienzo del cuatrimestre o curso respectivamente, de acuerdo con el calendario académico del centro" (art. 8.3).



B.2. According to section B.1, the student who does not formally and explicitly waive the continuous evaluation system will not be able to be evaluated through the end-of-course evaluation system in ordinary call. In addition, in the event that that same student does not meet the class attendance requirements corresponding to the continuous evaluation system set out in section A.5, his or her grade will be "fail". That "fail", in addition, will not exceed, under any circumstances, the grade "3.5".



B.3. It will consist of a wide set of exercises and tests aimed at demonstrating all the constitutive competences of the subject (C1,2,3,4; G007, G010). The time available to complete this set of exercises and tests will be the maximum time stipulated by the official exams calendar.



C- Renouncement to the call:



C.1. Continuous evaluation: "azken probaren pisua bada irakasgaiko kalifikazioaren %40 baino handiagoa, nahikoa izango da proba horretara ez aurkeztea azken kalifikazioa "aurkezteke" izan dadin. Aldiz, azken probaren pisua bada irakasgaiko kalifikazioaren %40 edo hori baino txikiagoa, deialdiari uko egin nahi dioten ikasleek kasuan kasuko irakasgaiaren irakaskuntza aldia bukatu baino, gutxienez, hilabete lehenago egin beharko dute eskaria. Eskari hori idatziz aurkeztu beharko zaio (...) irakasleari" (art. 12.2). End-of-course evaluation: "azterketa egun ofizialean egin beharreko probara ez aurkezte hutsak ekarriko du automatikoki kasuan kasuko deialdiari uko egitea" (art.12.3).



C.2. Continuous evaluation: "si el peso de la prueba es superior al 40% de la calificación de la asignatura, bastará con no presentarse a dicha prueba final para que la calificación final sea no presentado o no presentada. En caso contrario, si el peso de la prueba final es igual o inferior al 40% de la calificación de la asignatura, el alumnado podrá renunciar a la convocatoria en un plazo que, como mínimo, será hasta un mes antes de la fecha de finalización del período docente de la asignatura correspondiente. Esta renuncia deberá presentarse por escrito ante el profesorado (...)" (art. 12.2). End-of-course evaluation: "la no presentación a la prueba fijada en la fecha oficial de exámenes supondrá la renuncia automática a la convocatoria correspondiente" (art. 12.3).



D- Cheating implies a "fail" and cheating activities will be immediately interrupted (arts. 11.3 and 12.3).



E- This subject adheres to the UPV/EHU protocol on academic ethics.

With the exception of those who, having opted for the continuous evaluation system (see part A from the previous section), have approved some activity separately in the ordinary call, students will have to conduct in the extraordinary call all the exercises and tests considered as necessary to demonstrate the constitutive competences of the course (C1,2,3,4; G007, G010). The time available to complete this set of exercises and tests will be the maximum time stipulated by the official exams calendar.



The sections D and E presented in the previous section (dedicated to the ordinary call) are also applicable in the extraordinary call.

Materials that will be published throughout the course in the eGela virtual platform (power points, exercises, diagrams, texts, etc.), readings provided by the profesor, and a notebook for each student.

Basic bibliography

- Álvarez, J. F.; Jiménez-Buedo, M.; Zamora, J., 2015, Filosofía de las ciencias sociales (20/02/2015), Madrid: UNED.

- Arp,R.; Barbone, S.; Bruce, M. (eds.). 2019. Bad Arguments. 100 of the Most Important Fallacies in Western Philosophy. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.

- Ayala, F. J. (1987). “The Biological Roots of Morality”. Biology and Philosophy 2, 235-251.

- Beck, U.; Giddens, A.; Lash, S., 1994, Reflexive Modernization. Politics, Tradition and Aesthetics in the Modern Social Order, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

- Beckett, C., Maynard, A., 2013, Values and Ethics in Social Work (2nd ed.), London (et al.): Sage.

- Bermejo, F., 2002, La ética del trabajo social, Bilbao: Desclée de Brouwer.

- Bordes Solanas, M., 2011, Las trampas de Circe: Falacias lógicas y argumentación informal, Madrid: Cátedra.

- Broncano, F., 1995, "El control racional de la conducta", in: F. Broncano (coord.), La mente humana, Madrid: Trotta, pp. 301-331.

- Collingwood, R. G., 2004 [1946], "Human Nature and Human History", in: The Idea of History (revised ed. with lectures 1926-1928; edited with an introd. by Jan van der Dussen), Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 205-231.

- Consejo General del Trabajo Social, 2012, Código deontológico del trabajo social.

- Cortina, A.; Martínez, E., 2001, Ética, Madrid: Akal.

- Díez, J. A.; Moulines, C. U., 1999, Fundamentos de filosofía de la ciencia (2nd ed., revised and updated), Barcelona: Ariel, 1997.

- Donagan, A., 1966, "The Popper-Hempel Theory Reconsidered", in: W. H. Dray (ed.), Philosophical Analysis and History, New York: Harper & Row, pp. 127-159.

- Douglas, M.; Wildavsky, A., 1982, Risk and Culture. An Essay on the Selection of Technological and Environmental Dangers, Berkeley: University of California Press.

- Dray, W. H., 2007 [1989], "La filosofía crítica de la historia", in: A. Jacob (dir.), El universo filosófico, Madrid: Akal, pp. 440-452.

- Durkheim, E., 1982 [1895], The Rules of Sociological Method, New York: The Free Press.

- Elster, J., 1999. Strong Feelings: Emotion, Addiction and Human Behavior, Cambridge, MA; Londres: The MIT Press.

- Elster, J., 2000. Ulysses Unbound: Studies in Rationality, Precommitment, and Constraints, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

- Elster, J., 2015. Explaining Social Behavior: More Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences (Revised Edition), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

- Fernández, T. (coord.). 2009, Fundamentos del Trabajo Social. Madrid: Alianza.

- Giddens, A., 1990, The Consequences of Modernity, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

- Gómez Rodríguez, A., 1992, Sobre actores y tramoyas. La explicación situacional de la acción individual, Barcelona: Anthropos.

- Gordon, S., 1995, Historia y filosofía de las ciencias sociales, Barcelona: Ariel.

- Grünbaum, A., 1953, "Causality and the Science of Human Behavior", in: H. Feigl and M. Brodbeck (eds.), Readings in the Philosophy of Science, New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, pp. 766-778.

- Hempel, C. G., 1996, La explicación científica (2nd reprint), Buenos Aires: Paidós.

- Howe, D., 1999, Dando sentido a la práctica, Granada: Ed. Maristán.

- Little, D., 1991, Varieties of Social Explanation: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Social Science. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

- Mahajan, G., 1997, Explanation & Understanding in the Human Sciences (2nd ed.), Delhi: Oxford University Press.

- Okasha, S. 2016, Philosophy of Science. A very Short Introduction (2nd ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press.

- Parrish, M. 2014, Social Work Perspectives on Human Behaviour. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

- Reamer, F. G., 2006, Social Work Values and Ethics (3rd ed.), New York: Columbia University Press.

- Risjord, M., 2014, Philosophy of Social Science: A Contemporary Introduction, New York: Routledge.

- Salcedo Megales, D., 1998, Autonomía y bienestar: la ética del trabajo social, Granada: Comares.

- Sandel, M. J., 2009, Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

- Siegrist, M.; Earle, T. C.; Gutscher, H. (eds.), 2007, Trust in Cooperative Risk Management: Uncertainty and Scepticism in the Public Mind, London; Sterling, VA: Earthscan.

- Skinner, B. F., 1982, Reflexiones sobre conductismo y sociedad, Mexico, F.D.: Trillas.

- Smith, C., 2004, "Trust and confidence: Making the moral case for social work", Social Work & Social Sciences Review 11(3), 5-15.

- Wynne, B., 1996, "May the Sheep Safely Graze? A Reflexive View of the Expert-Lay Knowledge Divide", in: S. Lash, B. Szerszynski and B. Wynne (eds.), Risk, Environment & Modernity. London (et al.): Sage, pp. 44-83.

- Zamora Bonilla, J., 2012, "Why Social Sciences are natural, and why they can't", Empiria: Revista de Metodología de Ciencias Sociales 23, 101-116.

In-depth bibliography

- Ander-Egg, E., 1996, Introducción al trabajo social (2nd ed.), Madrid: Siglo XXI.
- Benton, T, Craib, I., 2001, Philosophy of Social Science. The Philosophical Foundations of Social Thought, Basingstoke; New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Bowell, T., Kemp, G., 2010, Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide (3rd ed.), London; New York: Routledge.
- Crisp, R. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the History of Ethics, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Delanty, G.; Strydom, P. (eds.), 2003, Philosophies of Social Science: The Classic and Contemporary Readings. Maidenhead; Philadelphia: Open University Press.
- Gibbs, L.; Gambrill, E., 2002, Critical Thinking for Social Workers: Exercises for the Helping Professions, Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press.
- Gómez Rodríguez, A. 2003, Filosofía y metodología de las ciencias sociales, Madrid: Alianza.
- Gray, M.; Webb, S. A. (eds.), 2010, Ethics and Value Perspectives in Social Work, Basingstoke; New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Hollis, M., 1998, Filosofía de las ciencias sociales, Barcelona: Ariel.
- Horn, T., 2011, Is It Ethical? 101 Scenarios in Everyday Social Work Practice. A Discussion Workbook, Harrisburg: White Hat Communications.
- Little, D. Philosophy of History", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2017 Edition), E. N. Zalta (ed.), URL = .
- Martin, M.; McIntyre, L. C. (eds.), 1994, Readings in the Philosophy of Social Science. Cambridge, MA; London: The MIT Press.
- Reamer, F. G., 1993, The Philosophical Foundations of Social Work, New York: Columbia University Press.
- Reamer, F. G., 2009, The Social Work Ethics Casebook. Cases and Commentary, Washington, DC: NASW Press.
- Rosenberg, A., 1995, Philosophy of Social Science (2nd ed.). Boulder: Westview Press.
- Thomson, A., 2009, Critical Reasoning: A Practical Introduction (3rd ed.), London; New York: Routledge.

Journals

Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics:

http://www.socialworker.com/jswve/

Web addresses

- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://plato.stanford.edu/

- Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://www.iep.utm.edu/