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PHI911 - Philosophy: What Is It All About?

What is knowledge and how, if at all, can we ever be certain of anything? What is the mind and how does the mind relate to the body? Is freedom compatible with determinism—the view that for every event there is a cause sufficient to bring it about? Is morality subjective or objective? These are among the issues explored in this module, which provides a general introduction to philosophy. No prior knowledge of the subject is presupposed. The module is designed to be of interest both to students who intend to continue studying philosophy and to those who wish to supplement their work in other disciplines.

 

Outcomes

1. students will be introduced to a range of central philosophical topics;
2. students will be equipped with an appreciation of the character of philosophical thought and method, with close attention paid to the importance of argument and criticism;
3. students will be introduced to the practice of thinking critically about set topics and communicating their thoughts clearly and accurately in writing and in group discussion.

The main topics to be covered are: knowledge and scepticism; knowledge of other minds; the mind-body problem; freedom and determinism; morality and moral problems; the meaning of life; reason and argument. Instruction on reading and writing philosophy and on essay preparation will be provided in class.

 

Reading

Joel Feinberg and Russ Shafer-Landau (eds.) Reason and Responsibility: Readings in Some Basic Problems of Philosophy (14th Edition, Thomson, Wadsworth, 2010).

 

Students are expected to purchase the above text, which will also be used in the semester two module, PHI912 Mind, Value and Reality. We shall also make use of Thomas Nagel’s What Does It All Mean: A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy (Oxford University Press, 1988). This is useful preliminary reading and also useful for several of the topics on the module.

 

Students taking this module are expected to buy the above text and a course pack, which will be available from the Departmental Office at the beginning of semester. Two other useful introductions to philosophy are

Availability:	Not for students who have already completed a philosophy module.
Prerequisites:	None
Assessment :	Coursework: 100 percent (two essays)
Teaching Pattern:	Two lectures and one one-hour seminar each week.
Regulations:	Seminars on this module are prescribed. Attendance, coursework, and exam regulations are laid out in the Philosophy Student Handbook, section F which will be available at the start of semester.

 

Please contact the Departmental Secretary if you would like to know more about this module.