Honours modules
Before matriculating in September, you must confirm your academic programme for the whole year with the Honours Philosophy Advisor. Changes of modules are permitted only in the first two weeks of each semester—and the Adviser must be consulted again for each change. Any changes of modules, including withdrawals, are unauthorised and may be disregarded unless the Honours Adviser has been consulted about them first.
For Pre-Advising Information for Honours Philosophy 2011/12, please refer to the Guide to Pre-Advising in Honours Philosophy 2011-12. There are printed copies available in the lobby of Edgecliffe. Pre-Advising will open on 25 April 2011.
ID4002 | PY3701 | PY3702 | PY4604 | PY4606 | PY4611 | PY4612 | PY4614 | PY4615 | PY4625 | PY4635 | PY4638 | PY4639 | PY4640 | PY4641 | PY4698 | PY4699 | PY4701
ID4002 Communication and Teaching in Arts and Humanities
15 credits
This module provides final year students within the Faculties of Arts and Divinity with the opportunity to gain first hand experience of education through a mentoring scheme with teachers in local schools. This module will enable students to gain substantial experience of working in a challenging and unpredictable working environment, and to gain a broad understanding of many of the key aspects of teaching in schools.
| Semester: | 1 |
| Credits: | 15 |
PY3701 Language and Reality
30 credits
This module covers a range of foundational issues in the philosophy of language and metaphysics. In the language component we shall focus on questions concerning meaning, reference and communication. How can a spoken utterance or a written word be about something external to itself? Who or what decides what a word means? Is there a distinction between meaning and reference? Is it possible to communicate a truth by saying something false? How is it possible to talk about things that do not exist? In the reality component we shall focus on questions concerning the fundamental nature of reality. For example, what is an object? What is existence? How do objects change and persist? How should we distinguish universals from particulars? Are there universals?
Course texts:
- William Lycan 2000: Introduction to the Philosophy of Language, Routledge.
- David Armstrong 1997: A World of States of Affairs, Cambridge.
| Semester: | 1 |
| Credits: | 30 |
| Time: | Wednesday 11:00am - 1:00pm, School V |
| Teaching: | One 2 hour lecture and one 1 hour seminar. |
| Coordinator: | Ephraim Glick |
| Tutorial times: | Group 1: Monday 2 - 3, Edgecliffe 104 Group 2: Monday 3 – 4, Edgecliffe 104 Group 3: Tuesday 2 - 3, Edgecliffe 104 Group 4: Tuesday 3 - 4, Edgecliffe 104 |
PY3702 Value and Normativity
30 credits
Much of our discourse is normative – characterised by terms such as 'good', 'wrong', 'should', 'reason', 'rational' and so on. We ask, for example, how good a piece of evidence is, what one should feel about something that's been said, what the right thing to do is, whether a person's response was rational.
What are normative claims about (if anything)? Are they about an irreducible realm of value? Can they be said to be true or false? If so, what makes them true or false? And how do we know them to be true or false? Are they expressions of feeling, or of will, rather than of belief? Are there differences in these respects between epistemology and ethics?
Particular attention will be paid to the nature of moral claims. What makes an 'ought' a moral 'ought'? Does morality raise special problems that normative judgements in general do not? Is it relative or subjective in a way that other normative claims are not? Or are they all relative or subjective?
| Semester: | 2 |
| Credits: | 30 |
| Time: | Monday 11:00am - 1:00pm, School I |
| Teaching: | One 2 hour lecture and one 1 hour seminar (seminar times tba) |
| Coordinator: | John Skorupski |
| Tutorial times: | Group 1: Monday 3 – 4, Edgecliffe G01 Group 2: Monday 4 – 5, Edgecliffe 104 Group 3: Wednesday 10 – 11, Edgecliffe 104 Group 4: Thursday 1 – 2, Edgecliffe G01 |
PY4604 Political Philosophy
30 credits
This module provides an introduction to central issues in contemporary political philosophy. We begin with an account of John Rawls's liberal egalitarianism, as presented in A Theory of Justice (1971) and developed in Political Liberalism (1993) and The Law of Peoples (2001). Rawls claims that liberalism provides a theory of justice for a modern democratic society. We then examine various critics of Rawls: utilitarians, libertarians, communitarians, feminists, democrats, and cosmopolitans. We will focus particularly on three questions: (1) Is liberalism neutral between reasonable comprehensive doctrines, as Rawls claims? (2) What is the relationship between liberalism
| Semester: | 1 |
| Credits: | 30 |
| Time: | Wednesday 9-11, Arts Seminar Room 4 |
| Teaching: | One 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour seminar per week (seminar times tba) |
| Coordinator: | Craig Smith |
| Tutorial times: | Group 1: Thursday 2 - 3, Arche Seminar Room Group 2: Thursday 3 - 4, Arche Seminar Room Group 3: Thursday 4 - 5, Arche Seminar Room |
PY4606 Contemporary Epistemology
30 credits
This module covers a range of topics in contemporary epistemology. Specific questions include: Should we ignore the sceptic or try to defeat him? In what way is knowledge compatible with luck? Is knowledge a virtuous state? Can we always tell from the inside whether or not we know? What, if anything, is special about self-knowledge? Is knowledge definable? What are the ethics of belief? In what ways can context affect whether or not we know? Can we have warrant without evidence? Does knowledge have any foundation? What is apriori knowledge and do we have any?
| Semester: | 1 |
| Credits: | 30 |
| Time: | Tuesday 3-5, Arts Seminar Room 8 |
| Teaching: | One 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour seminar per week (seminar times tba) |
| Coordinator: | Patrick Greenough |
| Tutorial times: | Group 1: Tuesday 10 - 11, Arche Seminar Room Group 2: Tuesday 11 – 12, Arche Seminar Room |
PY4611 Classical Philosophy
30 credits
| Semester: | 2 |
| Credits: | 30 |
| Time: | Thursday 3 - 5, Edgecliffe Rm 104 |
| Coordinator: | Sarah Broadie |
| Tutorial times: | Group 1: Friday 11 – 12, Edgecliffe G01 Group 2: Friday 12 – 1, Edgecliffe G01 |
PY4612 Advanced Logic
30 credits
The module presupposes facility in the elementary practice of logic provided by PY2001. Previous logic modules have been focused on making use of particular types of logic. This module makes use of metatheoretical techniques to make logic itself the subject of investigation. The main goals of the module will be to tackle: Henkin's completeness proof for first order logic; and Gödel's celebrated incompleteness theorem. Along the way, there will be preparatory discussion of elementary set theory, model theory and recursion theory. A ubiquitous technique in this field is proof by mathematical induction and we shall devote particular attention to this. The student should develop skills useful for work in philosophical logic, philosophy of mathematics, metaphysics and philosophy of language.
| Semester: | 2 |
| Credits: | 30 |
| Time: | Monday 2 - 4, Arts Seminar Room 2 |
| Teaching: | One 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour seminar per week (seminar times tba) |
| Coordinator: | Toby Meadows |
| Tutorial times: | Group 1: Tuesday 11 – 12, Arche Seminar room Group 2: Tuesday 1 – 2, Arche Seminar room Group 3: Wednesday 1 – 2, Edgecliffe G03 |
PY4614 Philosophy of Mind
30 credits
This module introduces topics of central interest in contemporary philosophy of mind. As well as surveying the main twentieth century approaches to the mind-body problem the module will cover various contemporary issues relating to consciousness and intentionality. The module also illustrates the way in which work in other disciplines such as experimental psychology, neuroscience and artificial intelligence can inform philosophical theorising about the mind. Topics may vary slightly from year to year but are likely to include a number of the following: dualism, identity theories, behaviourism, functionalism, folk psychology, the 'Language of Thought' hypothesis, eliminative materialism
| Semester: | 1 |
| Credits: | 30 |
| Time: | Monday 2 - 4, School I |
| Teaching: | One 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour seminar per week (seminar times tba) |
| Coordinator: | Simon Prosser |
| Tutorial times: | Group 1: Tuesday 1 – 2, Arts Seminar Room 2 Group 2: Tuesday 2 – 3, Arts Seminar Room 2 Group 3: Thursday 1 – 2, Arts Seminar Room 2 |
PY4615 Metaphysics
30 credits
This module covers a series of inter-related issues in the metaphysics of modality and time. Topics to be discussed include: the metaphysical status of past and future objects; how objects and persons persist through time; the metaphysical status of merely possible worlds and individuals; and questions about identity across possible worlds. Readings from Saul Kripke, David Lewis, Ted Sider, Derek Parfit, and others.
| Semester: | 2 |
| Credits: | 30 |
| Time: | Friday 2 - 4, Arts Seminar Room 1 |
| Teaching: | One 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour seminar per week (seminar times tba) |
| Coordinator: | Derek Ball |
| Tutorial times: | Group 1: Thursday 9 - 10, Edgecliffe 104 Group 2: Thursday 12 - 1, Edgecliffe 104 Group 3: Thursday 1 - 2, Edgecliffe 104 |
PY4625 Philosophy and Public Affairs
30 credits
This module is an introduction to contemporary developments in the overlap between moral, political and social philosophy and public policy. It will examine the philosophy and public affairs movement and its characteristic methods and styles of argument. It will also explore debates on a number of issues such as just war theory, global distributive justice, education and welfare, arts and culture, environment and bioethics.
| Semester: | 1 |
| Credits: | 30 |
| Time: | Thursday 10 - 12, School I |
| Teaching: | Two lectures and one seminar. |
| Coordinator: | Elizabeth Ashford |
| Tutorial times: | Group 1: Thursday 2 – 3, Edgecliffe 104 Group 2: Thursday 3 – 4, Edgecliffe 104 Group 3: Thursday 4 – 5, Edgecliffe G01 |
PY4635 Contemporary Moral Theory
30 credits
This module aims to provide a critical appreciation of the main contemporary moral theories. It focuses on the debate between the two main rival impartial moral theories, consequentialism and deontology. It then considers critiques of both these theories and their responses, and some alternative approaches, including Hobbesian contractualism, pluralism, and virtue ethics.This module aims to provide a critical appreciation of the main contemporary moral theories. It focuses on the debate between the two main rival impartial moral theories, consequentialism and deontology. It then considers critiques of both these theories and their responses, and some alternative approaches, including virtue ethic, feminist ethics and moral particularism.
| Semester: | 2 |
| Credits: | 30 |
| Time: | Thursday 11 - 1, School V |
| Teaching: | One 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour seminar per week (seminar times tba) |
| Coordinator: | Lisa Jones |
| Additional lecturers: | Brian McElwee |
| Tutorial times: | Group 1: Tuesday 10 - 11, Edgecliffe G01 Group 2: Tuesday 11 - 12, Edgecliffe G01 Group 3: Tuesday 12 – 1, Swallowgate C26 Group 4: Tuesday 2 – 3, Edgecliffe G01 Group 5: Tuesday 3 - 4, Edgecliffe G01 |
PY4638 Philosophy of Religion
30 credits
This module aims to provide a philosophical understanding of the phenomenon of religion and its relation to other central human activities, studying such topics as religious and cultural diversity, religious experience, belief and justification, faith and reason, religious language, religion and metaphysics, religion and science.
| Semester: | 1 |
| Credits: | 30 |
| Time: | Monday 10 - 12, School V |
| Teaching: | One 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour seminar per week (seminar times tba) |
| Coordinator: | Tim Mulgan |
| Tutorial times: | Group 1: Tuesday 10 – 11, Edgecliffe G01 Group 2: Tuesday 11 – 12, Edgecliffe G01 Group 3: Tuesday 2 – 3, Edgecliffe G01 |
PY4639 Philosophy of Creativity
30 credits
This module examines some of the fundamental issues in the philosophy of creativity. Topics typically covered may include the definition of 'creativity'; the relation of creativity to imagination; the nature of the creative process; the relation of creativity to knowledge and skill; whether creativity can be explained; computational theories of creativity; Darwinian theories of creativity; the relation of creativity to tradition; whether creativity is a kind of virtue and its relation to moral and intellectual virtues; and whether creativity differs fundamentally between the arts and the sciences.
| Semester: | 1 |
| Credits: | 30 |
| Time: | Tuesday 11-1 Arts Seminar Room 4 |
| Teaching: | One 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour seminar (seminar times tba) |
| Coordinator: | Berys Gaut |
| Tutorial times: | Group 1: Thursday 2 - 3, Edgecliffe G01 Group 2: Thursday 3-4, Edgecliffe G01 |
PY4640 Mediaeval Philosophy
30 credits
This module is an introduction to mediaeval philosophy focusing on Aquinas, providing outline of Aristotelian philosophy; assumptions of mediaeval thought; methods and literary forms of scholastic philosophy; then Aquinas' metaphysics of nature; Thomist Theory of the person; natural law and teleology; mediaeval aesthetics. This module will involve close reading of primary texts in a weekly seminar.
| Semester: | 2 |
| Credits: | 30 |
| Time: | Friday 10-12, Edgecliffe Rm G03 |
| Teaching: | One 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour seminar |
| Coordinator: | John Haldane |
| Tutorial times: | Group 1: Monday 10-11, Castlecliffe S12 Group 2: Monday 2 – 3, Edgecliffe G01 |
PY4641 Nineteenth-century Ethics and Philosophy
30 credits
This module critically studies the ethics and philosophy of the first part of the nineteenth century, with special reference to selected works of Hegel and John Stuart Mill.
| Semester: | 2 |
| Credits: | 30 |
| Time: | Tuesday 11 - 1, Edgecliffe Rm 104 |
| Teaching: | One 2-hour lecture and one 1-hour seminar. |
| Coordinator: | John Skorupski |
| Tutorial times: | Group 1: Thursday 10 – 11, Edgecliffe G03 Group 2: Thursday 1 – 2, Edgecliffe G03 |
PY4698 Dissertation (Whole Year)
30 credits
This module aims to develop the philosophical skills of literature review, accurate exposition, clear analysis, and critical thinking for oneself, by writing a dissertation on a selected topic, with the supervision of a tutor. A student must secure the agreement of a member of staff to supervise the work, and submit the Dissertation Proposal Form for the approval of the Honours Adviser before the end of advising Semester One.
The dissertation is completed over two semesters - worth 15 credits for each of two semesters - and is available only to students in the second year of the Honours Programme.
| Semester: | Whole year |
| Credits: | 30 |
| Teaching: | Monthly meetings over two semesters. |
PY4699 Dissertation in Philosophy
30 credits
This module aims to develop the philosophical skills of literature review, accurate exposition, clear analysis, and critical thinking for oneself, by writing a dissertation on a selected topic, with the supervision of a tutor. A student must secure the agreement of a member of staff to supervise the work, and submit the appropriate Dissertation Proposal Form for the approval of the Honours Adviser before the end of advising Semester One.
The dissertation is completed in one semester and is available only to students in the second year of the Honours Programme.
| Semester: | 1 or 2 |
| Credits: | 30 |
| Teaching: | Fortnightly meetings over one semester |
| Notes: | Available only to students in the second year of the Honours Programme. |
PY4701 Philosophy and Pedagogy
15 credits
This module is a complement to ID4002 - Communication and Teaching in Arts & Humanities (a placement module in which students gain substantial experience of a working educational environment, and of communicating philosophical ideas or themes to school pupils). In this module, students will have the opportunity to carry out further study into the place of philosophy in education and/or the role of philosophy in teaching. This is a guided self-study module, which will be supervised by a member of philosophy staff. It is available only to participants in ID4002.
| Semester: | 1 |
| Credits: | 15 |
| Time: | To be arranged. |
| Notes: | Available only to students taking ID4002 in same semester. |