| source University of Auckland (X) |
level |
department Philosophy (X) |
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof. What is human nature? The course covers competing conceptions of human nature, found in religious, philosophical and political thought, alongside theories that deny the existence of a human nature. Philosophers discussed may include: Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Sartre and Christian thinkers.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof. What is human nature? The course covers competing conceptions of human nature, found in religious, philosophical and political thought, alongside theories that deny the existence of a human nature. Philosophers discussed may include: Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Sartre and Christian thinkers. There are many philosophical problems concerning mental lives (in particular, human mental lives), how they are constituted, and what makes them possible - problems which have generated a vast literature and diverse important philosophical theories. Theories introduced and critically examined will include dualisms, but will mainly comprise forms of physicalism such as philosophical behaviourism, the identity theory and especially functionalist theories.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof. What is human nature? The course covers competing conceptions of human nature, found in religious, philosophical and political thought, alongside theories that deny the existence of a human nature. Philosophers discussed may include: Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Sartre and Christian thinkers. There are many philosophical problems concerning mental lives (in particular, human mental lives), how they are constituted, and what makes them possible - problems which have generated a vast literature and diverse important philosophical theories. Theories introduced and critically examined will include dualisms, but will mainly comprise forms of physicalism such as philosophical behaviourism, the identity theory and especially functionalist theories. The components of language and its use (expressions, utterances, speech acts etc); theories of language and its nature (including structuralism, Chomskyan psychologism and platonism); linguistic meaning and its connection with other sorts of meaning (Grice on meaning, sense and reference, truth-conditional theories of meaning etc); the connection between language, thought and reality.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof. What is human nature? The course covers competing conceptions of human nature, found in religious, philosophical and political thought, alongside theories that deny the existence of a human nature. Philosophers discussed may include: Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Sartre and Christian thinkers. There are many philosophical problems concerning mental lives (in particular, human mental lives), how they are constituted, and what makes them possible - problems which have generated a vast literature and diverse important philosophical theories. Theories introduced and critically examined will include dualisms, but will mainly comprise forms of physicalism such as philosophical behaviourism, the identity theory and especially functionalist theories. The components of language and its use (expressions, utterances, speech acts etc); theories of language and its nature (including structuralism, Chomskyan psychologism and platonism); linguistic meaning and its connection with other sorts of meaning (Grice on meaning, sense and reference, truth-conditional theories of meaning etc); the connection between language, thought and reality. An introduction to some of the important figures in ancient philosophy and the issues with which they were concerned. The work of the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle will be explored, with a detailed discussion of the philosophical system of either Plato or Aristotle and its importance in the history of philosophy.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof. What is human nature? The course covers competing conceptions of human nature, found in religious, philosophical and political thought, alongside theories that deny the existence of a human nature. Philosophers discussed may include: Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Sartre and Christian thinkers. There are many philosophical problems concerning mental lives (in particular, human mental lives), how they are constituted, and what makes them possible - problems which have generated a vast literature and diverse important philosophical theories. Theories introduced and critically examined will include dualisms, but will mainly comprise forms of physicalism such as philosophical behaviourism, the identity theory and especially functionalist theories. The components of language and its use (expressions, utterances, speech acts etc); theories of language and its nature (including structuralism, Chomskyan psychologism and platonism); linguistic meaning and its connection with other sorts of meaning (Grice on meaning, sense and reference, truth-conditional theories of meaning etc); the connection between language, thought and reality. An introduction to some of the important figures in ancient philosophy and the issues with which they were concerned. The work of the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle will be explored, with a detailed discussion of the philosophical system of either Plato or Aristotle and its importance in the history of philosophy. Addresses a variety of topics in political philosophy such as: the political theories of Locke and Hobbes; the nature of rights and rights-holders; sovereignty; strategies for securing stable and just societies between people with significantly different moral, political and cultural views; and the relationship between individuals and communities. Topics will be related to contemporary political issues in New Zealand and, in particular, to the Treaty of Waitangi.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof. What is human nature? The course covers competing conceptions of human nature, found in religious, philosophical and political thought, alongside theories that deny the existence of a human nature. Philosophers discussed may include: Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Sartre and Christian thinkers. There are many philosophical problems concerning mental lives (in particular, human mental lives), how they are constituted, and what makes them possible - problems which have generated a vast literature and diverse important philosophical theories. Theories introduced and critically examined will include dualisms, but will mainly comprise forms of physicalism such as philosophical behaviourism, the identity theory and especially functionalist theories. The components of language and its use (expressions, utterances, speech acts etc); theories of language and its nature (including structuralism, Chomskyan psychologism and platonism); linguistic meaning and its connection with other sorts of meaning (Grice on meaning, sense and reference, truth-conditional theories of meaning etc); the connection between language, thought and reality. An introduction to some of the important figures in ancient philosophy and the issues with which they were concerned. The work of the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle will be explored, with a detailed discussion of the philosophical system of either Plato or Aristotle and its importance in the history of philosophy. Addresses a variety of topics in political philosophy such as: the political theories of Locke and Hobbes; the nature of rights and rights-holders; sovereignty; strategies for securing stable and just societies between people with significantly different moral, political and cultural views; and the relationship between individuals and communities. Topics will be related to contemporary political issues in New Zealand and, in particular, to the Treaty of Waitangi. A study of the relationship between reason and faith; is belief in the Judaeo-Christian God reasonable? Topics include: the problem of evil, the meaningfulness of religious language, alternative concepts of God, Hume on miracles, and Kierkegaard and William James on faith and reason.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof. What is human nature? The course covers competing conceptions of human nature, found in religious, philosophical and political thought, alongside theories that deny the existence of a human nature. Philosophers discussed may include: Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Sartre and Christian thinkers. There are many philosophical problems concerning mental lives (in particular, human mental lives), how they are constituted, and what makes them possible - problems which have generated a vast literature and diverse important philosophical theories. Theories introduced and critically examined will include dualisms, but will mainly comprise forms of physicalism such as philosophical behaviourism, the identity theory and especially functionalist theories. The components of language and its use (expressions, utterances, speech acts etc); theories of language and its nature (including structuralism, Chomskyan psychologism and platonism); linguistic meaning and its connection with other sorts of meaning (Grice on meaning, sense and reference, truth-conditional theories of meaning etc); the connection between language, thought and reality. An introduction to some of the important figures in ancient philosophy and the issues with which they were concerned. The work of the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle will be explored, with a detailed discussion of the philosophical system of either Plato or Aristotle and its importance in the history of philosophy. Addresses a variety of topics in political philosophy such as: the political theories of Locke and Hobbes; the nature of rights and rights-holders; sovereignty; strategies for securing stable and just societies between people with significantly different moral, political and cultural views; and the relationship between individuals and communities. Topics will be related to contemporary political issues in New Zealand and, in particular, to the Treaty of Waitangi. A study of the relationship between reason and faith; is belief in the Judaeo-Christian God reasonable? Topics include: the problem of evil, the meaningfulness of religious language, alternative concepts of God, Hume on miracles, and Kierkegaard and William James on faith and reason. A study of the philosophies of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), focusing on their respective attitudes towards the value of life and the meaning of suffering. Schopenhauer's emphasis upon transcendent modes of awareness will be compared with Nietzsche's more down-to-earth existentialism, in light of their views on the redeeming value of artistic and aesthetic experience.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof. What is human nature? The course covers competing conceptions of human nature, found in religious, philosophical and political thought, alongside theories that deny the existence of a human nature. Philosophers discussed may include: Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Sartre and Christian thinkers. There are many philosophical problems concerning mental lives (in particular, human mental lives), how they are constituted, and what makes them possible - problems which have generated a vast literature and diverse important philosophical theories. Theories introduced and critically examined will include dualisms, but will mainly comprise forms of physicalism such as philosophical behaviourism, the identity theory and especially functionalist theories. The components of language and its use (expressions, utterances, speech acts etc); theories of language and its nature (including structuralism, Chomskyan psychologism and platonism); linguistic meaning and its connection with other sorts of meaning (Grice on meaning, sense and reference, truth-conditional theories of meaning etc); the connection between language, thought and reality. An introduction to some of the important figures in ancient philosophy and the issues with which they were concerned. The work of the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle will be explored, with a detailed discussion of the philosophical system of either Plato or Aristotle and its importance in the history of philosophy. Addresses a variety of topics in political philosophy such as: the political theories of Locke and Hobbes; the nature of rights and rights-holders; sovereignty; strategies for securing stable and just societies between people with significantly different moral, political and cultural views; and the relationship between individuals and communities. Topics will be related to contemporary political issues in New Zealand and, in particular, to the Treaty of Waitangi. A study of the relationship between reason and faith; is belief in the Judaeo-Christian God reasonable? Topics include: the problem of evil, the meaningfulness of religious language, alternative concepts of God, Hume on miracles, and Kierkegaard and William James on faith and reason. A study of the philosophies of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), focusing on their respective attitudes towards the value of life and the meaning of suffering. Schopenhauer's emphasis upon transcendent modes of awareness will be compared with Nietzsche's more down-to-earth existentialism, in light of their views on the redeeming value of artistic and aesthetic experience. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and our treatment of animals.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof. What is human nature? The course covers competing conceptions of human nature, found in religious, philosophical and political thought, alongside theories that deny the existence of a human nature. Philosophers discussed may include: Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Sartre and Christian thinkers. There are many philosophical problems concerning mental lives (in particular, human mental lives), how they are constituted, and what makes them possible - problems which have generated a vast literature and diverse important philosophical theories. Theories introduced and critically examined will include dualisms, but will mainly comprise forms of physicalism such as philosophical behaviourism, the identity theory and especially functionalist theories. The components of language and its use (expressions, utterances, speech acts etc); theories of language and its nature (including structuralism, Chomskyan psychologism and platonism); linguistic meaning and its connection with other sorts of meaning (Grice on meaning, sense and reference, truth-conditional theories of meaning etc); the connection between language, thought and reality. An introduction to some of the important figures in ancient philosophy and the issues with which they were concerned. The work of the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle will be explored, with a detailed discussion of the philosophical system of either Plato or Aristotle and its importance in the history of philosophy. Addresses a variety of topics in political philosophy such as: the political theories of Locke and Hobbes; the nature of rights and rights-holders; sovereignty; strategies for securing stable and just societies between people with significantly different moral, political and cultural views; and the relationship between individuals and communities. Topics will be related to contemporary political issues in New Zealand and, in particular, to the Treaty of Waitangi. A study of the relationship between reason and faith; is belief in the Judaeo-Christian God reasonable? Topics include: the problem of evil, the meaningfulness of religious language, alternative concepts of God, Hume on miracles, and Kierkegaard and William James on faith and reason. A study of the philosophies of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), focusing on their respective attitudes towards the value of life and the meaning of suffering. Schopenhauer's emphasis upon transcendent modes of awareness will be compared with Nietzsche's more down-to-earth existentialism, in light of their views on the redeeming value of artistic and aesthetic experience. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and our treatment of animals. Philosophical study of moral theory, in both normative ethics and meta-ethics. Topics covered include: theories of value, theories of right action, and the status and justification of such theories.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof. What is human nature? The course covers competing conceptions of human nature, found in religious, philosophical and political thought, alongside theories that deny the existence of a human nature. Philosophers discussed may include: Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Sartre and Christian thinkers. There are many philosophical problems concerning mental lives (in particular, human mental lives), how they are constituted, and what makes them possible - problems which have generated a vast literature and diverse important philosophical theories. Theories introduced and critically examined will include dualisms, but will mainly comprise forms of physicalism such as philosophical behaviourism, the identity theory and especially functionalist theories. The components of language and its use (expressions, utterances, speech acts etc); theories of language and its nature (including structuralism, Chomskyan psychologism and platonism); linguistic meaning and its connection with other sorts of meaning (Grice on meaning, sense and reference, truth-conditional theories of meaning etc); the connection between language, thought and reality. An introduction to some of the important figures in ancient philosophy and the issues with which they were concerned. The work of the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle will be explored, with a detailed discussion of the philosophical system of either Plato or Aristotle and its importance in the history of philosophy. Addresses a variety of topics in political philosophy such as: the political theories of Locke and Hobbes; the nature of rights and rights-holders; sovereignty; strategies for securing stable and just societies between people with significantly different moral, political and cultural views; and the relationship between individuals and communities. Topics will be related to contemporary political issues in New Zealand and, in particular, to the Treaty of Waitangi. A study of the relationship between reason and faith; is belief in the Judaeo-Christian God reasonable? Topics include: the problem of evil, the meaningfulness of religious language, alternative concepts of God, Hume on miracles, and Kierkegaard and William James on faith and reason. A study of the philosophies of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), focusing on their respective attitudes towards the value of life and the meaning of suffering. Schopenhauer's emphasis upon transcendent modes of awareness will be compared with Nietzsche's more down-to-earth existentialism, in light of their views on the redeeming value of artistic and aesthetic experience. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and our treatment of animals. Philosophical study of moral theory, in both normative ethics and meta-ethics. Topics covered include: theories of value, theories of right action, and the status and justification of such theories. Considers a range of issues debated by contemporary philosophers concerning the origins, function, definition, ontology, presentation, interpretation, appreciation, expressiveness, representational character, and value of art. Related and applied topics, such as the status of colourised movies, the status of artistic fakes, and the paradox of our enjoying tragedies are also discussed.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof. What is human nature? The course covers competing conceptions of human nature, found in religious, philosophical and political thought, alongside theories that deny the existence of a human nature. Philosophers discussed may include: Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Sartre and Christian thinkers. There are many philosophical problems concerning mental lives (in particular, human mental lives), how they are constituted, and what makes them possible - problems which have generated a vast literature and diverse important philosophical theories. Theories introduced and critically examined will include dualisms, but will mainly comprise forms of physicalism such as philosophical behaviourism, the identity theory and especially functionalist theories. The components of language and its use (expressions, utterances, speech acts etc); theories of language and its nature (including structuralism, Chomskyan psychologism and platonism); linguistic meaning and its connection with other sorts of meaning (Grice on meaning, sense and reference, truth-conditional theories of meaning etc); the connection between language, thought and reality. An introduction to some of the important figures in ancient philosophy and the issues with which they were concerned. The work of the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle will be explored, with a detailed discussion of the philosophical system of either Plato or Aristotle and its importance in the history of philosophy. Addresses a variety of topics in political philosophy such as: the political theories of Locke and Hobbes; the nature of rights and rights-holders; sovereignty; strategies for securing stable and just societies between people with significantly different moral, political and cultural views; and the relationship between individuals and communities. Topics will be related to contemporary political issues in New Zealand and, in particular, to the Treaty of Waitangi. A study of the relationship between reason and faith; is belief in the Judaeo-Christian God reasonable? Topics include: the problem of evil, the meaningfulness of religious language, alternative concepts of God, Hume on miracles, and Kierkegaard and William James on faith and reason. A study of the philosophies of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), focusing on their respective attitudes towards the value of life and the meaning of suffering. Schopenhauer's emphasis upon transcendent modes of awareness will be compared with Nietzsche's more down-to-earth existentialism, in light of their views on the redeeming value of artistic and aesthetic experience. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and our treatment of animals. Philosophical study of moral theory, in both normative ethics and meta-ethics. Topics covered include: theories of value, theories of right action, and the status and justification of such theories. Considers a range of issues debated by contemporary philosophers concerning the origins, function, definition, ontology, presentation, interpretation, appreciation, expressiveness, representational character, and value of art. Related and applied topics, such as the status of colourised movies, the status of artistic fakes, and the paradox of our enjoying tragedies are also discussed. A selection of philosophical issues which arise within feminist thinking, such as: the nature of sexual equality; the relation between gender and embodiment; feminist rejections of the traditional oppositions of mind to body, nature to culture, emotion to reason; concepts of patriarchy, oppression and exploitation and their use in feminist analyses of women's social position. Texts will include works by de Beauvoir, Irigaray, Butler, as well as Foucault and Freud.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof. What is human nature? The course covers competing conceptions of human nature, found in religious, philosophical and political thought, alongside theories that deny the existence of a human nature. Philosophers discussed may include: Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Sartre and Christian thinkers. There are many philosophical problems concerning mental lives (in particular, human mental lives), how they are constituted, and what makes them possible - problems which have generated a vast literature and diverse important philosophical theories. Theories introduced and critically examined will include dualisms, but will mainly comprise forms of physicalism such as philosophical behaviourism, the identity theory and especially functionalist theories. The components of language and its use (expressions, utterances, speech acts etc); theories of language and its nature (including structuralism, Chomskyan psychologism and platonism); linguistic meaning and its connection with other sorts of meaning (Grice on meaning, sense and reference, truth-conditional theories of meaning etc); the connection between language, thought and reality. An introduction to some of the important figures in ancient philosophy and the issues with which they were concerned. The work of the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle will be explored, with a detailed discussion of the philosophical system of either Plato or Aristotle and its importance in the history of philosophy. Addresses a variety of topics in political philosophy such as: the political theories of Locke and Hobbes; the nature of rights and rights-holders; sovereignty; strategies for securing stable and just societies between people with significantly different moral, political and cultural views; and the relationship between individuals and communities. Topics will be related to contemporary political issues in New Zealand and, in particular, to the Treaty of Waitangi. A study of the relationship between reason and faith; is belief in the Judaeo-Christian God reasonable? Topics include: the problem of evil, the meaningfulness of religious language, alternative concepts of God, Hume on miracles, and Kierkegaard and William James on faith and reason. A study of the philosophies of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), focusing on their respective attitudes towards the value of life and the meaning of suffering. Schopenhauer's emphasis upon transcendent modes of awareness will be compared with Nietzsche's more down-to-earth existentialism, in light of their views on the redeeming value of artistic and aesthetic experience. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and our treatment of animals. Philosophical study of moral theory, in both normative ethics and meta-ethics. Topics covered include: theories of value, theories of right action, and the status and justification of such theories. Considers a range of issues debated by contemporary philosophers concerning the origins, function, definition, ontology, presentation, interpretation, appreciation, expressiveness, representational character, and value of art. Related and applied topics, such as the status of colourised movies, the status of artistic fakes, and the paradox of our enjoying tragedies are also discussed. A selection of philosophical issues which arise within feminist thinking, such as: the nature of sexual equality; the relation between gender and embodiment; feminist rejections of the traditional oppositions of mind to body, nature to culture, emotion to reason; concepts of patriarchy, oppression and exploitation and their use in feminist analyses of women's social position. Texts will include works by de Beauvoir, Irigaray, Butler, as well as Foucault and Freud. An introduction to the philosophical thought of pre-imperial China, which forms the intellectual foundation for almost all subsequent developments in Chinese philosophy and much of Chinese culture in general. Texts studied, in translation, will include the Analects of Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, the Daodejing of Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, and Hanfeizi.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof. What is human nature? The course covers competing conceptions of human nature, found in religious, philosophical and political thought, alongside theories that deny the existence of a human nature. Philosophers discussed may include: Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Sartre and Christian thinkers. There are many philosophical problems concerning mental lives (in particular, human mental lives), how they are constituted, and what makes them possible - problems which have generated a vast literature and diverse important philosophical theories. Theories introduced and critically examined will include dualisms, but will mainly comprise forms of physicalism such as philosophical behaviourism, the identity theory and especially functionalist theories. The components of language and its use (expressions, utterances, speech acts etc); theories of language and its nature (including structuralism, Chomskyan psychologism and platonism); linguistic meaning and its connection with other sorts of meaning (Grice on meaning, sense and reference, truth-conditional theories of meaning etc); the connection between language, thought and reality. An introduction to some of the important figures in ancient philosophy and the issues with which they were concerned. The work of the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle will be explored, with a detailed discussion of the philosophical system of either Plato or Aristotle and its importance in the history of philosophy. Addresses a variety of topics in political philosophy such as: the political theories of Locke and Hobbes; the nature of rights and rights-holders; sovereignty; strategies for securing stable and just societies between people with significantly different moral, political and cultural views; and the relationship between individuals and communities. Topics will be related to contemporary political issues in New Zealand and, in particular, to the Treaty of Waitangi. A study of the relationship between reason and faith; is belief in the Judaeo-Christian God reasonable? Topics include: the problem of evil, the meaningfulness of religious language, alternative concepts of God, Hume on miracles, and Kierkegaard and William James on faith and reason. A study of the philosophies of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), focusing on their respective attitudes towards the value of life and the meaning of suffering. Schopenhauer's emphasis upon transcendent modes of awareness will be compared with Nietzsche's more down-to-earth existentialism, in light of their views on the redeeming value of artistic and aesthetic experience. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and our treatment of animals. Philosophical study of moral theory, in both normative ethics and meta-ethics. Topics covered include: theories of value, theories of right action, and the status and justification of such theories. Considers a range of issues debated by contemporary philosophers concerning the origins, function, definition, ontology, presentation, interpretation, appreciation, expressiveness, representational character, and value of art. Related and applied topics, such as the status of colourised movies, the status of artistic fakes, and the paradox of our enjoying tragedies are also discussed. A selection of philosophical issues which arise within feminist thinking, such as: the nature of sexual equality; the relation between gender and embodiment; feminist rejections of the traditional oppositions of mind to body, nature to culture, emotion to reason; concepts of patriarchy, oppression and exploitation and their use in feminist analyses of women's social position. Texts will include works by de Beauvoir, Irigaray, Butler, as well as Foucault and Freud. An introduction to the philosophical thought of pre-imperial China, which forms the intellectual foundation for almost all subsequent developments in Chinese philosophy and much of Chinese culture in general. Texts studied, in translation, will include the Analects of Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, the Daodejing of Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, and Hanfeizi. An examination of the development of contemporary French philosophy through the intellectual movements of Existentialism, Phenomenology, Structuralism and Post-Structuralism.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof. What is human nature? The course covers competing conceptions of human nature, found in religious, philosophical and political thought, alongside theories that deny the existence of a human nature. Philosophers discussed may include: Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Sartre and Christian thinkers. There are many philosophical problems concerning mental lives (in particular, human mental lives), how they are constituted, and what makes them possible - problems which have generated a vast literature and diverse important philosophical theories. Theories introduced and critically examined will include dualisms, but will mainly comprise forms of physicalism such as philosophical behaviourism, the identity theory and especially functionalist theories. The components of language and its use (expressions, utterances, speech acts etc); theories of language and its nature (including structuralism, Chomskyan psychologism and platonism); linguistic meaning and its connection with other sorts of meaning (Grice on meaning, sense and reference, truth-conditional theories of meaning etc); the connection between language, thought and reality. An introduction to some of the important figures in ancient philosophy and the issues with which they were concerned. The work of the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle will be explored, with a detailed discussion of the philosophical system of either Plato or Aristotle and its importance in the history of philosophy. Addresses a variety of topics in political philosophy such as: the political theories of Locke and Hobbes; the nature of rights and rights-holders; sovereignty; strategies for securing stable and just societies between people with significantly different moral, political and cultural views; and the relationship between individuals and communities. Topics will be related to contemporary political issues in New Zealand and, in particular, to the Treaty of Waitangi. A study of the relationship between reason and faith; is belief in the Judaeo-Christian God reasonable? Topics include: the problem of evil, the meaningfulness of religious language, alternative concepts of God, Hume on miracles, and Kierkegaard and William James on faith and reason. A study of the philosophies of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), focusing on their respective attitudes towards the value of life and the meaning of suffering. Schopenhauer's emphasis upon transcendent modes of awareness will be compared with Nietzsche's more down-to-earth existentialism, in light of their views on the redeeming value of artistic and aesthetic experience. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and our treatment of animals. Philosophical study of moral theory, in both normative ethics and meta-ethics. Topics covered include: theories of value, theories of right action, and the status and justification of such theories. Considers a range of issues debated by contemporary philosophers concerning the origins, function, definition, ontology, presentation, interpretation, appreciation, expressiveness, representational character, and value of art. Related and applied topics, such as the status of colourised movies, the status of artistic fakes, and the paradox of our enjoying tragedies are also discussed. A selection of philosophical issues which arise within feminist thinking, such as: the nature of sexual equality; the relation between gender and embodiment; feminist rejections of the traditional oppositions of mind to body, nature to culture, emotion to reason; concepts of patriarchy, oppression and exploitation and their use in feminist analyses of women's social position. Texts will include works by de Beauvoir, Irigaray, Butler, as well as Foucault and Freud. An introduction to the philosophical thought of pre-imperial China, which forms the intellectual foundation for almost all subsequent developments in Chinese philosophy and much of Chinese culture in general. Texts studied, in translation, will include the Analects of Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, the Daodejing of Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, and Hanfeizi. An examination of the development of contemporary French philosophy through the intellectual movements of Existentialism, Phenomenology, Structuralism and Post-Structuralism. An introduction to modal logic, which is a variation of the system of predicate logic studied in PHIL 101. Modal logic is well-suited for studying philosophically important concepts such as necessity, time, knowledge, vagueness, action and obligation. It is also used in computer science for studying the behaviour of programs and is recommended as preparation for studying logic at Stage III.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof. What is human nature? The course covers competing conceptions of human nature, found in religious, philosophical and political thought, alongside theories that deny the existence of a human nature. Philosophers discussed may include: Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Sartre and Christian thinkers. There are many philosophical problems concerning mental lives (in particular, human mental lives), how they are constituted, and what makes them possible - problems which have generated a vast literature and diverse important philosophical theories. Theories introduced and critically examined will include dualisms, but will mainly comprise forms of physicalism such as philosophical behaviourism, the identity theory and especially functionalist theories. The components of language and its use (expressions, utterances, speech acts etc); theories of language and its nature (including structuralism, Chomskyan psychologism and platonism); linguistic meaning and its connection with other sorts of meaning (Grice on meaning, sense and reference, truth-conditional theories of meaning etc); the connection between language, thought and reality. An introduction to some of the important figures in ancient philosophy and the issues with which they were concerned. The work of the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle will be explored, with a detailed discussion of the philosophical system of either Plato or Aristotle and its importance in the history of philosophy. Addresses a variety of topics in political philosophy such as: the political theories of Locke and Hobbes; the nature of rights and rights-holders; sovereignty; strategies for securing stable and just societies between people with significantly different moral, political and cultural views; and the relationship between individuals and communities. Topics will be related to contemporary political issues in New Zealand and, in particular, to the Treaty of Waitangi. A study of the relationship between reason and faith; is belief in the Judaeo-Christian God reasonable? Topics include: the problem of evil, the meaningfulness of religious language, alternative concepts of God, Hume on miracles, and Kierkegaard and William James on faith and reason. A study of the philosophies of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), focusing on their respective attitudes towards the value of life and the meaning of suffering. Schopenhauer's emphasis upon transcendent modes of awareness will be compared with Nietzsche's more down-to-earth existentialism, in light of their views on the redeeming value of artistic and aesthetic experience. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and our treatment of animals. Philosophical study of moral theory, in both normative ethics and meta-ethics. Topics covered include: theories of value, theories of right action, and the status and justification of such theories. Considers a range of issues debated by contemporary philosophers concerning the origins, function, definition, ontology, presentation, interpretation, appreciation, expressiveness, representational character, and value of art. Related and applied topics, such as the status of colourised movies, the status of artistic fakes, and the paradox of our enjoying tragedies are also discussed. A selection of philosophical issues which arise within feminist thinking, such as: the nature of sexual equality; the relation between gender and embodiment; feminist rejections of the traditional oppositions of mind to body, nature to culture, emotion to reason; concepts of patriarchy, oppression and exploitation and their use in feminist analyses of women's social position. Texts will include works by de Beauvoir, Irigaray, Butler, as well as Foucault and Freud. An introduction to the philosophical thought of pre-imperial China, which forms the intellectual foundation for almost all subsequent developments in Chinese philosophy and much of Chinese culture in general. Texts studied, in translation, will include the Analects of Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, the Daodejing of Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, and Hanfeizi. An examination of the development of contemporary French philosophy through the intellectual movements of Existentialism, Phenomenology, Structuralism and Post-Structuralism. An introduction to modal logic, which is a variation of the system of predicate logic studied in PHIL 101. Modal logic is well-suited for studying philosophically important concepts such as necessity, time, knowledge, vagueness, action and obligation. It is also used in computer science for studying the behaviour of programs and is recommended as preparation for studying logic at Stage III. Themes in contemporary Western philosophy of law, relating to debates between liberal and non-liberal conceptions of law, including questions about the nature of legal rules, legal reasons and the relationship between law and morality. Major positions in legal theory will be covered, from legal positivism to critical legal studies.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof. What is human nature? The course covers competing conceptions of human nature, found in religious, philosophical and political thought, alongside theories that deny the existence of a human nature. Philosophers discussed may include: Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Sartre and Christian thinkers. There are many philosophical problems concerning mental lives (in particular, human mental lives), how they are constituted, and what makes them possible - problems which have generated a vast literature and diverse important philosophical theories. Theories introduced and critically examined will include dualisms, but will mainly comprise forms of physicalism such as philosophical behaviourism, the identity theory and especially functionalist theories. The components of language and its use (expressions, utterances, speech acts etc); theories of language and its nature (including structuralism, Chomskyan psychologism and platonism); linguistic meaning and its connection with other sorts of meaning (Grice on meaning, sense and reference, truth-conditional theories of meaning etc); the connection between language, thought and reality. An introduction to some of the important figures in ancient philosophy and the issues with which they were concerned. The work of the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle will be explored, with a detailed discussion of the philosophical system of either Plato or Aristotle and its importance in the history of philosophy. Addresses a variety of topics in political philosophy such as: the political theories of Locke and Hobbes; the nature of rights and rights-holders; sovereignty; strategies for securing stable and just societies between people with significantly different moral, political and cultural views; and the relationship between individuals and communities. Topics will be related to contemporary political issues in New Zealand and, in particular, to the Treaty of Waitangi. A study of the relationship between reason and faith; is belief in the Judaeo-Christian God reasonable? Topics include: the problem of evil, the meaningfulness of religious language, alternative concepts of God, Hume on miracles, and Kierkegaard and William James on faith and reason. A study of the philosophies of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), focusing on their respective attitudes towards the value of life and the meaning of suffering. Schopenhauer's emphasis upon transcendent modes of awareness will be compared with Nietzsche's more down-to-earth existentialism, in light of their views on the redeeming value of artistic and aesthetic experience. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and our treatment of animals. Philosophical study of moral theory, in both normative ethics and meta-ethics. Topics covered include: theories of value, theories of right action, and the status and justification of such theories. Considers a range of issues debated by contemporary philosophers concerning the origins, function, definition, ontology, presentation, interpretation, appreciation, expressiveness, representational character, and value of art. Related and applied topics, such as the status of colourised movies, the status of artistic fakes, and the paradox of our enjoying tragedies are also discussed. A selection of philosophical issues which arise within feminist thinking, such as: the nature of sexual equality; the relation between gender and embodiment; feminist rejections of the traditional oppositions of mind to body, nature to culture, emotion to reason; concepts of patriarchy, oppression and exploitation and their use in feminist analyses of women's social position. Texts will include works by de Beauvoir, Irigaray, Butler, as well as Foucault and Freud. An introduction to the philosophical thought of pre-imperial China, which forms the intellectual foundation for almost all subsequent developments in Chinese philosophy and much of Chinese culture in general. Texts studied, in translation, will include the Analects of Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, the Daodejing of Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, and Hanfeizi. An examination of the development of contemporary French philosophy through the intellectual movements of Existentialism, Phenomenology, Structuralism and Post-Structuralism. An introduction to modal logic, which is a variation of the system of predicate logic studied in PHIL 101. Modal logic is well-suited for studying philosophically important concepts such as necessity, time, knowledge, vagueness, action and obligation. It is also used in computer science for studying the behaviour of programs and is recommended as preparation for studying logic at Stage III. Themes in contemporary Western philosophy of law, relating to debates between liberal and non-liberal conceptions of law, including questions about the nature of legal rules, legal reasons and the relationship between law and morality. Major positions in legal theory will be covered, from legal positivism to critical legal studies. Epistemology is the study of knowledge, rationality, belief and related topics. This course will give an overview of epistemology but will focus on three main issues: foundationalism versus coherentism, internalism versus externalism and replies to scepticism.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof. What is human nature? The course covers competing conceptions of human nature, found in religious, philosophical and political thought, alongside theories that deny the existence of a human nature. Philosophers discussed may include: Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Sartre and Christian thinkers. There are many philosophical problems concerning mental lives (in particular, human mental lives), how they are constituted, and what makes them possible - problems which have generated a vast literature and diverse important philosophical theories. Theories introduced and critically examined will include dualisms, but will mainly comprise forms of physicalism such as philosophical behaviourism, the identity theory and especially functionalist theories. The components of language and its use (expressions, utterances, speech acts etc); theories of language and its nature (including structuralism, Chomskyan psychologism and platonism); linguistic meaning and its connection with other sorts of meaning (Grice on meaning, sense and reference, truth-conditional theories of meaning etc); the connection between language, thought and reality. An introduction to some of the important figures in ancient philosophy and the issues with which they were concerned. The work of the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle will be explored, with a detailed discussion of the philosophical system of either Plato or Aristotle and its importance in the history of philosophy. Addresses a variety of topics in political philosophy such as: the political theories of Locke and Hobbes; the nature of rights and rights-holders; sovereignty; strategies for securing stable and just societies between people with significantly different moral, political and cultural views; and the relationship between individuals and communities. Topics will be related to contemporary political issues in New Zealand and, in particular, to the Treaty of Waitangi. A study of the relationship between reason and faith; is belief in the Judaeo-Christian God reasonable? Topics include: the problem of evil, the meaningfulness of religious language, alternative concepts of God, Hume on miracles, and Kierkegaard and William James on faith and reason. A study of the philosophies of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), focusing on their respective attitudes towards the value of life and the meaning of suffering. Schopenhauer's emphasis upon transcendent modes of awareness will be compared with Nietzsche's more down-to-earth existentialism, in light of their views on the redeeming value of artistic and aesthetic experience. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and our treatment of animals. Philosophical study of moral theory, in both normative ethics and meta-ethics. Topics covered include: theories of value, theories of right action, and the status and justification of such theories. Considers a range of issues debated by contemporary philosophers concerning the origins, function, definition, ontology, presentation, interpretation, appreciation, expressiveness, representational character, and value of art. Related and applied topics, such as the status of colourised movies, the status of artistic fakes, and the paradox of our enjoying tragedies are also discussed. A selection of philosophical issues which arise within feminist thinking, such as: the nature of sexual equality; the relation between gender and embodiment; feminist rejections of the traditional oppositions of mind to body, nature to culture, emotion to reason; concepts of patriarchy, oppression and exploitation and their use in feminist analyses of women's social position. Texts will include works by de Beauvoir, Irigaray, Butler, as well as Foucault and Freud. An introduction to the philosophical thought of pre-imperial China, which forms the intellectual foundation for almost all subsequent developments in Chinese philosophy and much of Chinese culture in general. Texts studied, in translation, will include the Analects of Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, the Daodejing of Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, and Hanfeizi. An examination of the development of contemporary French philosophy through the intellectual movements of Existentialism, Phenomenology, Structuralism and Post-Structuralism. An introduction to modal logic, which is a variation of the system of predicate logic studied in PHIL 101. Modal logic is well-suited for studying philosophically important concepts such as necessity, time, knowledge, vagueness, action and obligation. It is also used in computer science for studying the behaviour of programs and is recommended as preparation for studying logic at Stage III. Themes in contemporary Western philosophy of law, relating to debates between liberal and non-liberal conceptions of law, including questions about the nature of legal rules, legal reasons and the relationship between law and morality. Major positions in legal theory will be covered, from legal positivism to critical legal studies. Epistemology is the study of knowledge, rationality, belief and related topics. This course will give an overview of epistemology but will focus on three main issues: foundationalism versus coherentism, internalism versus externalism and replies to scepticism. An examination of the development of German idealism from Kant to Hegel, focusing on Kant's Critique of Pure Reason (1781 - 1787) and Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (1807).
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof. What is human nature? The course covers competing conceptions of human nature, found in religious, philosophical and political thought, alongside theories that deny the existence of a human nature. Philosophers discussed may include: Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Sartre and Christian thinkers. There are many philosophical problems concerning mental lives (in particular, human mental lives), how they are constituted, and what makes them possible - problems which have generated a vast literature and diverse important philosophical theories. Theories introduced and critically examined will include dualisms, but will mainly comprise forms of physicalism such as philosophical behaviourism, the identity theory and especially functionalist theories. The components of language and its use (expressions, utterances, speech acts etc); theories of language and its nature (including structuralism, Chomskyan psychologism and platonism); linguistic meaning and its connection with other sorts of meaning (Grice on meaning, sense and reference, truth-conditional theories of meaning etc); the connection between language, thought and reality. An introduction to some of the important figures in ancient philosophy and the issues with which they were concerned. The work of the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle will be explored, with a detailed discussion of the philosophical system of either Plato or Aristotle and its importance in the history of philosophy. Addresses a variety of topics in political philosophy such as: the political theories of Locke and Hobbes; the nature of rights and rights-holders; sovereignty; strategies for securing stable and just societies between people with significantly different moral, political and cultural views; and the relationship between individuals and communities. Topics will be related to contemporary political issues in New Zealand and, in particular, to the Treaty of Waitangi. A study of the relationship between reason and faith; is belief in the Judaeo-Christian God reasonable? Topics include: the problem of evil, the meaningfulness of religious language, alternative concepts of God, Hume on miracles, and Kierkegaard and William James on faith and reason. A study of the philosophies of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), focusing on their respective attitudes towards the value of life and the meaning of suffering. Schopenhauer's emphasis upon transcendent modes of awareness will be compared with Nietzsche's more down-to-earth existentialism, in light of their views on the redeeming value of artistic and aesthetic experience. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and our treatment of animals. Philosophical study of moral theory, in both normative ethics and meta-ethics. Topics covered include: theories of value, theories of right action, and the status and justification of such theories. Considers a range of issues debated by contemporary philosophers concerning the origins, function, definition, ontology, presentation, interpretation, appreciation, expressiveness, representational character, and value of art. Related and applied topics, such as the status of colourised movies, the status of artistic fakes, and the paradox of our enjoying tragedies are also discussed. A selection of philosophical issues which arise within feminist thinking, such as: the nature of sexual equality; the relation between gender and embodiment; feminist rejections of the traditional oppositions of mind to body, nature to culture, emotion to reason; concepts of patriarchy, oppression and exploitation and their use in feminist analyses of women's social position. Texts will include works by de Beauvoir, Irigaray, Butler, as well as Foucault and Freud. An introduction to the philosophical thought of pre-imperial China, which forms the intellectual foundation for almost all subsequent developments in Chinese philosophy and much of Chinese culture in general. Texts studied, in translation, will include the Analects of Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, the Daodejing of Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, and Hanfeizi. An examination of the development of contemporary French philosophy through the intellectual movements of Existentialism, Phenomenology, Structuralism and Post-Structuralism. An introduction to modal logic, which is a variation of the system of predicate logic studied in PHIL 101. Modal logic is well-suited for studying philosophically important concepts such as necessity, time, knowledge, vagueness, action and obligation. It is also used in computer science for studying the behaviour of programs and is recommended as preparation for studying logic at Stage III. Themes in contemporary Western philosophy of law, relating to debates between liberal and non-liberal conceptions of law, including questions about the nature of legal rules, legal reasons and the relationship between law and morality. Major positions in legal theory will be covered, from legal positivism to critical legal studies. Epistemology is the study of knowledge, rationality, belief and related topics. This course will give an overview of epistemology but will focus on three main issues: foundationalism versus coherentism, internalism versus externalism and replies to scepticism. An examination of the development of German idealism from Kant to Hegel, focusing on Kant's Critique of Pure Reason (1781 - 1787) and Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (1807). An examination of the development of contemporary German philosophy through the intellectual movements of Phenomenology, Hermeneutics and Critical Theory and focussing on the work of Husserl, Heidegger, Gadamer and Habermas.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof. What is human nature? The course covers competing conceptions of human nature, found in religious, philosophical and political thought, alongside theories that deny the existence of a human nature. Philosophers discussed may include: Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Sartre and Christian thinkers. There are many philosophical problems concerning mental lives (in particular, human mental lives), how they are constituted, and what makes them possible - problems which have generated a vast literature and diverse important philosophical theories. Theories introduced and critically examined will include dualisms, but will mainly comprise forms of physicalism such as philosophical behaviourism, the identity theory and especially functionalist theories. The components of language and its use (expressions, utterances, speech acts etc); theories of language and its nature (including structuralism, Chomskyan psychologism and platonism); linguistic meaning and its connection with other sorts of meaning (Grice on meaning, sense and reference, truth-conditional theories of meaning etc); the connection between language, thought and reality. An introduction to some of the important figures in ancient philosophy and the issues with which they were concerned. The work of the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle will be explored, with a detailed discussion of the philosophical system of either Plato or Aristotle and its importance in the history of philosophy. Addresses a variety of topics in political philosophy such as: the political theories of Locke and Hobbes; the nature of rights and rights-holders; sovereignty; strategies for securing stable and just societies between people with significantly different moral, political and cultural views; and the relationship between individuals and communities. Topics will be related to contemporary political issues in New Zealand and, in particular, to the Treaty of Waitangi. A study of the relationship between reason and faith; is belief in the Judaeo-Christian God reasonable? Topics include: the problem of evil, the meaningfulness of religious language, alternative concepts of God, Hume on miracles, and Kierkegaard and William James on faith and reason. A study of the philosophies of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), focusing on their respective attitudes towards the value of life and the meaning of suffering. Schopenhauer's emphasis upon transcendent modes of awareness will be compared with Nietzsche's more down-to-earth existentialism, in light of their views on the redeeming value of artistic and aesthetic experience. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and our treatment of animals. Philosophical study of moral theory, in both normative ethics and meta-ethics. Topics covered include: theories of value, theories of right action, and the status and justification of such theories. Considers a range of issues debated by contemporary philosophers concerning the origins, function, definition, ontology, presentation, interpretation, appreciation, expressiveness, representational character, and value of art. Related and applied topics, such as the status of colourised movies, the status of artistic fakes, and the paradox of our enjoying tragedies are also discussed. A selection of philosophical issues which arise within feminist thinking, such as: the nature of sexual equality; the relation between gender and embodiment; feminist rejections of the traditional oppositions of mind to body, nature to culture, emotion to reason; concepts of patriarchy, oppression and exploitation and their use in feminist analyses of women's social position. Texts will include works by de Beauvoir, Irigaray, Butler, as well as Foucault and Freud. An introduction to the philosophical thought of pre-imperial China, which forms the intellectual foundation for almost all subsequent developments in Chinese philosophy and much of Chinese culture in general. Texts studied, in translation, will include the Analects of Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, the Daodejing of Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, and Hanfeizi. An examination of the development of contemporary French philosophy through the intellectual movements of Existentialism, Phenomenology, Structuralism and Post-Structuralism. An introduction to modal logic, which is a variation of the system of predicate logic studied in PHIL 101. Modal logic is well-suited for studying philosophically important concepts such as necessity, time, knowledge, vagueness, action and obligation. It is also used in computer science for studying the behaviour of programs and is recommended as preparation for studying logic at Stage III. Themes in contemporary Western philosophy of law, relating to debates between liberal and non-liberal conceptions of law, including questions about the nature of legal rules, legal reasons and the relationship between law and morality. Major positions in legal theory will be covered, from legal positivism to critical legal studies. Epistemology is the study of knowledge, rationality, belief and related topics. This course will give an overview of epistemology but will focus on three main issues: foundationalism versus coherentism, internalism versus externalism and replies to scepticism. An examination of the development of German idealism from Kant to Hegel, focusing on Kant's Critique of Pure Reason (1781 - 1787) and Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (1807). An examination of the development of contemporary German philosophy through the intellectual movements of Phenomenology, Hermeneutics and Critical Theory and focussing on the work of Husserl, Heidegger, Gadamer and Habermas. Natural deduction for propositional and predicate logic; introductory metalogic and related topics in formal logic.
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page
Metaphysics deals with fundamental problems about the nature of the world and human beings, for example, questions about the existence of God, the nature of time, the relationship between mind and body and the nature of identity and the self. The theory of knowledge studies the sources, limits and justification of human knowledge and understanding as distinct from opinion or belief. Logic is the study of argument. This course aims to provide an understanding of central logical notions, such as consistency and inconsistency, logical truth, and, most importantly, what it means for an argument to be valid or invalid, sound or unsound. The course examines two main logical systems, propositional and predicate logic, and shows how these formal systems are used to analyse and evaluate arguments. Ethics is the philosophical study of morality. This course examines several ethical theories, including Kantianism, Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, and provides an introduction to fundamental questions about the nature of morality such as whether moral values are objective, subjective or culturally relative. The course will include discussion of selected current moral controversies and/or an introduction to some non-Western approaches to ethics. Considers various questions concerning the relation between individuals and political communities such as: What principles of justice should communities adopt? What are rights? What limits can legitimately be placed on individual liberty? What is the source and nature of citizens' obligations to obey the law? What makes a decision procedure democratic and why does it matter? These questions are considered in relation to the New Zealand context. Dialogue, argument and discussion are analysed. Distinctions are drawn between persuasive, logically good and materially good arguments. The focus is on well reasoned persuasive dialogue, and mistakes in persuasive reasoning. Topics include the point of an argument, strength of arguments, fallacious reasoning, relevance of reasons, and burden of proof. What is human nature? The course covers competing conceptions of human nature, found in religious, philosophical and political thought, alongside theories that deny the existence of a human nature. Philosophers discussed may include: Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, Plato, Hobbes, Marx, Sartre and Christian thinkers. There are many philosophical problems concerning mental lives (in particular, human mental lives), how they are constituted, and what makes them possible - problems which have generated a vast literature and diverse important philosophical theories. Theories introduced and critically examined will include dualisms, but will mainly comprise forms of physicalism such as philosophical behaviourism, the identity theory and especially functionalist theories. The components of language and its use (expressions, utterances, speech acts etc); theories of language and its nature (including structuralism, Chomskyan psychologism and platonism); linguistic meaning and its connection with other sorts of meaning (Grice on meaning, sense and reference, truth-conditional theories of meaning etc); the connection between language, thought and reality. An introduction to some of the important figures in ancient philosophy and the issues with which they were concerned. The work of the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle will be explored, with a detailed discussion of the philosophical system of either Plato or Aristotle and its importance in the history of philosophy. Addresses a variety of topics in political philosophy such as: the political theories of Locke and Hobbes; the nature of rights and rights-holders; sovereignty; strategies for securing stable and just societies between people with significantly different moral, political and cultural views; and the relationship between individuals and communities. Topics will be related to contemporary political issues in New Zealand and, in particular, to the Treaty of Waitangi. A study of the relationship between reason and faith; is belief in the Judaeo-Christian God reasonable? Topics include: the problem of evil, the meaningfulness of religious language, alternative concepts of God, Hume on miracles, and Kierkegaard and William James on faith and reason. A study of the philosophies of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), focusing on their respective attitudes towards the value of life and the meaning of suffering. Schopenhauer's emphasis upon transcendent modes of awareness will be compared with Nietzsche's more down-to-earth existentialism, in light of their views on the redeeming value of artistic and aesthetic experience. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and our treatment of animals. Philosophical study of moral theory, in both normative ethics and meta-ethics. Topics covered include: theories of value, theories of right action, and the status and justification of such theories. Considers a range of issues debated by contemporary philosophers concerning the origins, function, definition, ontology, presentation, interpretation, appreciation, expressiveness, representational character, and value of art. Related and applied topics, such as the status of colourised movies, the status of artistic fakes, and the paradox of our enjoying tragedies are also discussed. A selection of philosophical issues which arise within feminist thinking, such as: the nature of sexual equality; the relation between gender and embodiment; feminist rejections of the traditional oppositions of mind to body, nature to culture, emotion to reason; concepts of patriarchy, oppression and exploitation and their use in feminist analyses of women's social position. Texts will include works by de Beauvoir, Irigaray, Butler, as well as Foucault and Freud. An introduction to the philosophical thought of pre-imperial China, which forms the intellectual foundation for almost all subsequent developments in Chinese philosophy and much of Chinese culture in general. Texts studied, in translation, will include the Analects of Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, the Daodejing of Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, and Hanfeizi. An examination of the development of contemporary French philosophy through the intellectual movements of Existentialism, Phenomenology, Structuralism and Post-Structuralism. An introduction to modal logic, which is a variation of the system of predicate logic studied in PHIL 101. Modal logic is well-suited for studying philosophically important concepts such as necessity, time, knowledge, vagueness, action and obligation. It is also used in computer science for studying the behaviour of programs and is recommended as preparation for studying logic at Stage III. Themes in contemporary Western philosophy of law, relating to debates between liberal and non-liberal conceptions of law, including questions about the nature of legal rules, legal reasons and the relationship between law and morality. Major positions in legal theory will be covered, from legal positivism to critical legal studies. Epistemology is the study of knowledge, rationality, belief and related topics. This course will give an overview of epistemology but will focus on three main issues: foundationalism versus coherentism, internalism versus externalism and replies to scepticism. An examination of the development of German idealism from Kant to Hegel, focusing on Kant's Critique of Pure Reason (1781 - 1787) and Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (1807). An examination of the development of contemporary German philosophy through the intellectual movements of Phenomenology, Hermeneutics and Critical Theory and focussing on the work of Husserl, Heidegger, Gadamer and Habermas. Natural deduction for propositional and predicate logic; introductory metalogic and related topics in formal logic. An introduction to the Buddhist tradition of philosophy, from the teachings of the Buddha himself to Abhidharma, Madhyamaka, YogÄcÄra (in India, South East Asia and Tibet) and finally to Chan (China) and Zen (Japan).
Score: 8.361709 Details | Listing | Web page