Module Outline (updated 08.05.18)
This module is open to all first-year students whose course permits them to choose an optional module. It is compulsory for students on the BA Philosophy, BA Philosophy, Religion and Ethics, BA Philosophy and Film, BA Philosophy and History, BA Philosophy with Human Rights; BA Philosophy and Law, LLB Law and Philosophy, BA Philosophy and Literature, BA Philosophy and/with Modern Languages, BA Philosophy and Politics, BA Philosophy, Politics and Economics, BA Philosophy and Sociology.
Students taking this module will follow the topics described below. Each lecture will be followed by a one-hour discussion class, at which issues covered in the lecture will be discussed in smaller class groups. In Week 4 the discussion class will cover essay preparation and writing techniques. There will be two revision sessions in the summer term, one for each term.
Autumn Term (Lecturer: Irene McMullin)
In this part of the module, students are introduced to moral philosophy through the study of a number of life and death issues (such as suicide, abortion, euthanasia, torture, and capital punishment). Considering these issues will bring some of the fundamental approaches to moral philosophy and some of its key distinctions into focus. It will also allow students to familiarise themselves with the way we argue in (moral) philosophy. Questions considered will include: Is taking a human life always and absolutely wrong? Does it make a difference whether we take a human life or merely refrain from saving it? What weight (if any) should we attach to the victim's choice in these matters? Do benefits to the individuals concerned or to society matter in deciding about them? What are the moral requirements involved? How demanding should morality be and how much of our lives should it govern? What role(s) do examples and intuitions play in our moral reasoning? How can we defend or criticise a moral theory?
Spring Term (Lecturer: Ellisif Wasmuth)
In this part of the module, we will look at different approaches to questions about knowledge and scepticism. We will consider questions such as ‘what things, if any, can we know?’, ‘how does knowledge differ from belief?’, ‘does knowledge require certainty?’, ‘(why) should we prefer knowledge to true belief?’ and ‘are there ways of being better or worse knowers?’. Throughout the history of philosophy, philosophers have shaped their accounts of knowledge in response to sceptical arguments. Starting with the Ancient Sceptics, we will look at a range of sceptical arguments and see how different philosophers have responded to them. We will end by looking at contemporary discussions of the intersection between ethics and the topics of knowledge and ignorance, asking, for instance, whether we can do someone an injustice by not believing what they say or whether we have a duty to seek the knowledge that we lack, for instance before elections or about the experiences of marginalised groups in society.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the module students should be able to:
1. articulate certain philosophical problems in the areas studied;
2. expound and critically evaluate some responses to these problems;
3. employ their powers of philosophical argument and analysis in written work.
These outcomes are assessed through continuous coursework and final examinations.
Coursework tests the ability to research a topic using, for example, library and internet resources, expound specified texts and enter into detailed argumentation with them. Final exams test the ability to rehearse and assess arguments in relation to specific questions posed within a limited time frame.
This module is open to all first-year students whose course permits them to choose an optional module. It is compulsory for students on the BA Philosophy, BA Philosophy, Religion and Ethics, BA Philosophy and Film, BA Philosophy and History, BA Philosophy with Human Rights; BA Philosophy and Law, LLB Law and Philosophy, BA Philosophy and Literature, BA Philosophy and/with Modern Languages, BA Philosophy and Politics, BA Philosophy, Politics and Economics, BA Philosophy and Sociology.
Students taking this module will follow the topics described below. Each lecture will be followed by a one-hour discussion class, at which issues covered in the lecture will be discussed in smaller class groups. In Week 4 the discussion class will cover essay preparation and writing techniques. There will be two revision sessions in the summer term, one for each term.
Autumn Term (Lecturer: Irene McMullin)
In this part of the module, students are introduced to moral philosophy through the study of a number of life and death issues (such as suicide, abortion, euthanasia, torture, and capital punishment). Considering these issues will bring some of the fundamental approaches to moral philosophy and some of its key distinctions into focus. It will also allow students to familiarise themselves with the way we argue in (moral) philosophy. Questions considered will include: Is taking a human life always and absolutely wrong? Does it make a difference whether we take a human life or merely refrain from saving it? What weight (if any) should we attach to the victim's choice in these matters? Do benefits to the individuals concerned or to society matter in deciding about them? What are the moral requirements involved? How demanding should morality be and how much of our lives should it govern? What role(s) do examples and intuitions play in our moral reasoning? How can we defend or criticise a moral theory?
Spring Term (Lecturer: Ellisif Wasmuth)
In this part of the module, we will look at different approaches to questions about knowledge and scepticism. We will consider questions such as ‘what things, if any, can we know?’, ‘how does knowledge differ from belief?’, ‘does knowledge require certainty?’, ‘(why) should we prefer knowledge to true belief?’ and ‘are there ways of being better or worse knowers?’. Throughout the history of philosophy, philosophers have shaped their accounts of knowledge in response to sceptical arguments. Starting with the Ancient Sceptics, we will look at a range of sceptical arguments and see how different philosophers have responded to them. We will end by looking at contemporary discussions of the intersection between ethics and the topics of knowledge and ignorance, asking, for instance, whether we can do someone an injustice by not believing what they say or whether we have a duty to seek the knowledge that we lack, for instance before elections or about the experiences of marginalised groups in society.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the module students should be able to:
1. articulate certain philosophical problems in the areas studied;
2. expound and critically evaluate some responses to these problems;
3. employ their powers of philosophical argument and analysis in written work.
These outcomes are assessed through continuous coursework and final examinations.
Coursework tests the ability to research a topic using, for example, library and internet resources, expound specified texts and enter into detailed argumentation with them. Final exams test the ability to rehearse and assess arguments in relation to specific questions posed within a limited time frame.
- Module Supervisor: Matthew Burch
- Module Supervisor: Irene McMullin