Unit Code: Unit Name: Department: Faculty: 475Z02 METAPHYSICS (INBOUND STUDENT MOBILITY - SEPT ENTRY) Politics & Philosophy Faculty Of Arts & Humanities Level: 5 Credits: 5 ECTS: 7.5 This unit will address fundamental issues in metaphysics on the basis of key texts in Early Modern Philosophy. This unit provides a grounding in central philosophical concerns of Metaphysics by means of in-depth study of some key issues and key thinkers of the Early Modern period. The unit addresses the 'rationalist' tradition represented by thinkers from Descartes to Leibniz. The focus will be on the key notions - such as substance, reality, causality, power, perception and personal identity - addressed by all the philospohers examined. read philosophical texts in Early Modern Philosophy criticise and analyse arguments employed by key thinkers of the Early Modern period define and make appropriate use of key philosophical terms in Metaphysics apply ideas and approaches from the Early Modern period to contemporary philosophical problems Coursework 00 Analyse real world situations critically Essay The essay of ca. 3000 words will allow students to respond to a particular metaphysical issue as it has been approached by one or more of the thinkers within the 'rationalist' tradition. Formative feedback is applied to students handing in a draft of this essay at least a week before its deadline. LEARNING RESOURCES
Unit Code: 475Z025 Unit Name: GREEK PHILOSOPHY (INBOUND STUDENT MOBILITY- SEPT ENTRY) Department: Politics & Philosophy Faculty: Faculty Of Arts & Humanities Level: 5 Credits: 5 ECTS: 7.5 An examination of the origins and early development of key philosophical concepts, themes and problems in the work of the first philosophers. The work of the first Greek philosophers established the basis on which all subsequent scientific enquiry and political theory within the Western tradition rests and it has thereby had a fundamental influence on the historical development of our world. This unit offers students the opportunity to study the origins of both political philosophy and metaphysical enquiry. It shows how the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle, the two greatest Greek philosophers, emerges from a critical engagement with their immediate predecessors (the Presocratics and the Sophists), simultaneously making more precise and narrowing down the enquiries of the earliest Greek thinkers into nature, culture and the human being's relation to both. identify and explain the implications of some of the key philosophical issues and concepts in Ancient Greek Philosophy; demonstrate knowledge of the historical development of the concepts and issues in the writings studied; present their work in accordance with the conventions used in the study of Ancient Greek philosophy. Coursework 00 Portfolio Manage own professional development reflectively Communicate effectively using a range of media Demonstrate professionalism and ethical awareness Use systems and scenario thinking Find, evaluate, synthesise and use information A portfolio comprising two elements: ) a,000 word dictionary-style entry for a philosophical concept identifying its implications and displaying knowledge of its historical developing. The entry should including a bibliography of resources; 2) a 2,000 word essay critically examining the work of one or more of the philosophers studied on the course. This portfolio will be submitted as a single submission and will achieve a single mark. Formative feedback will be given on plans and drafts, and in discussion in seminars of the component parts of the portfolio
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Unit Code: Unit Name: Department: Faculty: 475Z027 VIRTUES AND VALUES (INBOUND STUDENT MOBILITY - SEPT ENTRY) Politics & Philosophy Faculty Of Arts & Humanities Level: 5 Credits: 5 ECTS: 7.5 This unit focuses on key areas and themes in moral philosophy. This unit focuses on topics in normative and practical ethics from a historical and contemporary perspective. It begins with a survey and critical re-assessment of the distinction between consequentialism and deontology in ethical theory, before moving on to examining the alternative approach of virtue ethics in Aristotle's 'Nicomachean Ethics'. Throughout the course of study, emphasis will be placed on developing the critical, analytical and conceptual skills needed both to comprehend the complexity of ethical debates in the modern world and to engage with them. Use Consequentialist and Deontological approaches in moral philosophy. Critically analyse core features of Aristotle's Virtue Ethics in the form of planning and structuring a research essay. Coursework 00 Analyse real world situations critically Use systems and scenario thinking Find, evaluate, synthesise and use information Apply teamwork and leadership skills Demonstrate professionalism and ethical awareness Portfolio Portfolio consisting of two elements: an article review (000 words) and a short essay (2000 words). The portfolio will be submitted as a single submission and will achieve a single mark. For the article review, students will be given a choice of articles to review, summarizing its key argument before evaluating its merit. For the short essay: write a 2000 word essay on a topic covered in the course of the first term. Students taking this unit are invited to discuss their ideas for assessed coursework with their tutor, either in person or by email. Moreover, students will be able to gain tutor feedback on one draft version of any element of assessment by submitting the draft at least 7 days prior to the submission deadline.
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Unit Code: Unit Name: Department: Faculty: 475Z029 Philosophy of Religion (STUDENT MOBILITY - SEPT ENTRY) Politics & Philosophy Faculty Of Arts & Humanities Level: 5 Credits: 5 ECTS: 7.5 An exploration of some of the key philosophical issues pertaining to religion This unit introduces students to various core topics and themes in the philosophy of religion. While the emphasis of the unit will be very much on contemporary developments in the philosophy of religion, the relevant historical background will not be neglected. To this end, the work of important historical thinkers will be discussed and examined throughout. As well as looking at several classical arguments for the existence of God, such as the cosmological argument and the teleological argument, we will explore other central issues in the philosophy of religion, such as whether it is possible to reconcile a belief in God with the existence of suffering in the world, through the associated projects of defence and theodicy. Other key topics covered may include: the nature of God, and the divine attributes, the rationality of faith, religious experience, pluralism and the place of religion in life. Throughout the unit students will be encouraged to read and engage with contemporary contributions to the various debates, which will leave them with an up-to-date understanding of this area of philosophy. identify the important philosophical issues bound up with various core features or doctrines of one or more of the main religious traditions critically appraise key notions, ideas, or arguments advanced by contemporary philosophers of religion summarise, interpret, and critically analyse important contemporary writings in the philosophy of religion Coursework 00 Portfolio Communicate effectively using a range of media Find, evaluate, synthesise and use information Analyse real world situations critically A portfolio of four reading summaries and critical exercises, each of 750 words, prepared on the material covered in the first term. a choice of summaries and exercises will be provided in the unit document. Formative feedback will be provided throughout.
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Unit Code: 476Z026 Unit Name: AESTHETICS AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF ART (INBOUND STUDENT MOBILITY - SEPT ENTRY) Department: Politics & Philosophy Faculty: Faculty Of Arts & Humanities Level: 6 Credits: 5 ECTS: 7.5 This unit provides an approach to central issues in Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art on the basis of readings of key texts in the philosophical tradition. This unit examine important issues within the philosophy of art and aesthetics from Plato to the 8th century. The unit is concerned with how the philosophical tradition has addressed the artwork - in its different forms, such as painting, theatre, music - as an object of reflection, and it will attempt to determine the specificity of the modern mode of reflection on art that, from the 7th century, bears the name 'aesthetics'. After assessing Plato's critique of representative forms of art, and Aristotle's implicit response to this critique, the unit addresses the invention of the idea of taste in 8th century Scottish philosophy. This will lead to a reading of Kant's analyses of the beautiful and the sublime. reflect philosophicaly about the relations between different forms of art; relate issues in aesthetics and the philosophy of art to the wider tradition of philosophy; interpret, analyse and evalute primary texts in the philosophy of art and reflect critically upon them; compose written assignments with clarity, accuracy and fluency appropriate to level six in response to philosophical problems. Coursework 00 Analyse real world situations critically Essay This essay of ca. 3000 words will allow students to address in depath a particular question in the philosophy of art and in relation to the work of a particular author. A choice of essay questions will be provided. Formative feedback will be provided by comments on draft essays submitted at least one week before the final deadline. LEARNING RESOURCES
Unit Code: 476Z028 Unit Name: KANT (INBOUND STUDENT MOBILITY - SEPT ENTRY) Department: Politics & Philosophy Faculty: Faculty Of Arts & Humanities Level: 6 Credits: 5 ECTS: 7.5 This unit will allow students to study one of the most influential philosophers of the last 250 years, who has influenced our contemporary ideas and understanding of the world. This unit will be dedicated to the thought of Immanuel Kant. His seminal "Critique of Pure Reason" (78/87) is undoubtedly one of the most influential works of philosophy ever written. In it Kant seeks to discover the limits of what can be known by reason. The book is renowned for its difficulty as much as it is for containing ideas and approaches that are, even today, considered by philosophers to be of the greatest philosophical importance. An in-depth examination of key parts of this text forms the heart of this part of this unit summarize, understand and explain central concepts and terminology of Kant's 'Critique of Pure Reason'; construct a philosophically themed presentation on a core topic of Kant's 'Critique of Pure Reason', appropriate for use as a resource for third-year undergraduates. Coursework 00 Portfolio Use systems and scenario thinking Demonstrate professionalism and ethical awareness Communicate effectively using a range of media Find, evaluate, synthesise and use information This portfolio consists of two elements: an article review (000 words) and a short essay (2000 to 3000 words). For the article review, students will be given a choice of articles to review, summarizing its key argument before evaluating its merit. The essay will deal with a topic covered in the first term. Students are invited to discuss their ideas for assessed coursework with their tutor. Students will be able to gain tutor feedback on one draft version of any element of assessment by submitting the draft at least 7 days prior to the submission deadline.
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Unit Code: Unit Name: Department: Faculty: 476Z0224 BIOETHICS AND MORAL DILEMMAS (INBOUND STUDENT MOBILITY - SEPT ENTRY) Politics & Philosophy Faculty Of Arts & Humanities Level: 6 Credits: 5 ECTS: 7.5 This unit focuses on key concepts and areas in bioethics and normative ethics. This unit examines advanced issues and challenges in bioethics and contemporary moral philosophy. We begin the term with a survey and critical assessment of key concepts in bioethics, with special emphasis on the concept of autonomy. We will contrast `communitarian' critiques of subject-centered rationality with the purportedly more radical attacks on the Enlightenment conception of the autonomous self that are associated with feminist ethical thought. We then examine a contemporary debate about objectivity and knowledge in medical ethics, contrasting the approach of `evidence based medicine' with an alternative `value based' conception of professional judgement inspired by virtue ethics. Throughout the unit emphasis will be placed on developing the critical, analytical and conceptual skills needed both to comprehend the complexity of ethical debates in the modern world and to engage with them. summarize the key argument of a journal article in the broad field of bioethics and evaluate its merit; appraise the relevance of Communitarian and/or Feminist challenges to the Enlightenment conception of the autonomous self by means of planning and structuring a research essay; Coursework 00 Demonstrate professionalism and ethical awareness Analyse real world situations critically Find, evaluate, synthesise and use information Use systems and scenario thinking Portfolio The assessed portfolio consists of two elements: an article review (ca. 000 words) and a short essay (ca. 2000 words). For the article review, students will be given a choice of articles to review, summarizing its key argument before evaluating its merit. For the short essay: write a ca. 2000 word essay on a topic covered during the first term. Students are invited to discuss their ideas for assessed coursework with their tutor. Moreover, students will be able to gain tutor feedback on one draft version of any element of assessment by submitting a draft at least 7 days prior to the submission deadline.
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