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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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. An examination of 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: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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. An examination of 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth.
Score: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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. An examination of 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. What makes science a distinctive way of discovering knowledge about our world whether natural, biological or social? Ever since science started in Ancient Greece, a number of different theories about the worldview, methods and rationality of science have been proposed that distinguish it from religion, pseudo-science and myth. The course examines some of these accounts of the nature of science.
Score: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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. An examination of 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. What makes science a distinctive way of discovering knowledge about our world whether natural, biological or social? Ever since science started in Ancient Greece, a number of different theories about the worldview, methods and rationality of science have been proposed that distinguish it from religion, pseudo-science and myth. The course examines some of these accounts of the nature of science. Metaphysics attempts to give a quite general picture of the nature and structure of the world, and investigates philosophical problems which thereby arise. Science, commonsense, religions and cultures all presuppose metaphysical worldviews. Traditional metaphysical problems concern laws, causation, time, space, substance, identity, attributes and universals, free will, reality, existence etc. Course topics will be selected from such traditional problems.
Score: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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. An examination of 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. What makes science a distinctive way of discovering knowledge about our world whether natural, biological or social? Ever since science started in Ancient Greece, a number of different theories about the worldview, methods and rationality of science have been proposed that distinguish it from religion, pseudo-science and myth. The course examines some of these accounts of the nature of science. Metaphysics attempts to give a quite general picture of the nature and structure of the world, and investigates philosophical problems which thereby arise. Science, commonsense, religions and cultures all presuppose metaphysical worldviews. Traditional metaphysical problems concern laws, causation, time, space, substance, identity, attributes and universals, free will, reality, existence etc. Course topics will be selected from such traditional problems. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences.
Score: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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. An examination of 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. What makes science a distinctive way of discovering knowledge about our world whether natural, biological or social? Ever since science started in Ancient Greece, a number of different theories about the worldview, methods and rationality of science have been proposed that distinguish it from religion, pseudo-science and myth. The course examines some of these accounts of the nature of science. Metaphysics attempts to give a quite general picture of the nature and structure of the world, and investigates philosophical problems which thereby arise. Science, commonsense, religions and cultures all presuppose metaphysical worldviews. Traditional metaphysical problems concern laws, causation, time, space, substance, identity, attributes and universals, free will, reality, existence etc. Course topics will be selected from such traditional problems. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Topics in business ethics, such as: ethics of management, moral status of business firms, hiring and firing practices, sexual harassment, privacy and loyalty in employment, investment policy, advertising, labour negotiations, moral controversies in international business, worker safety. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions.
Score: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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. An examination of 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. What makes science a distinctive way of discovering knowledge about our world whether natural, biological or social? Ever since science started in Ancient Greece, a number of different theories about the worldview, methods and rationality of science have been proposed that distinguish it from religion, pseudo-science and myth. The course examines some of these accounts of the nature of science. Metaphysics attempts to give a quite general picture of the nature and structure of the world, and investigates philosophical problems which thereby arise. Science, commonsense, religions and cultures all presuppose metaphysical worldviews. Traditional metaphysical problems concern laws, causation, time, space, substance, identity, attributes and universals, free will, reality, existence etc. Course topics will be selected from such traditional problems. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Topics in business ethics, such as: ethics of management, moral status of business firms, hiring and firing practices, sexual harassment, privacy and loyalty in employment, investment policy, advertising, labour negotiations, moral controversies in international business, worker safety. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Theoretical perspectives and topics in environmental ethics, such as: âdeep ecology' positions and value pluralism, sentience-based positions, anthropocentric versus non-anthropocentric perspectives, rationales for the preservation of species and ecologies and our treatment of animals. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions.
Score: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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. An examination of 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. What makes science a distinctive way of discovering knowledge about our world whether natural, biological or social? Ever since science started in Ancient Greece, a number of different theories about the worldview, methods and rationality of science have been proposed that distinguish it from religion, pseudo-science and myth. The course examines some of these accounts of the nature of science. Metaphysics attempts to give a quite general picture of the nature and structure of the world, and investigates philosophical problems which thereby arise. Science, commonsense, religions and cultures all presuppose metaphysical worldviews. Traditional metaphysical problems concern laws, causation, time, space, substance, identity, attributes and universals, free will, reality, existence etc. Course topics will be selected from such traditional problems. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Topics in business ethics, such as: ethics of management, moral status of business firms, hiring and firing practices, sexual harassment, privacy and loyalty in employment, investment policy, advertising, labour negotiations, moral controversies in international business, worker safety. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Theoretical perspectives and topics in environmental ethics, such as: âdeep ecology' positions and value pluralism, sentience-based positions, anthropocentric versus non-anthropocentric perspectives, rationales for the preservation of species and ecologies and our treatment of animals. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Seminars covering core topics concerning the nature of professional ethics and practice relevant to a wide range of professions. Topics will be chosen to indicate the grounding of theoretical ethical issues in concrete problems, and teaching is intended to enable students from different professional backgrounds to learn from each other's experience and understanding.
Score: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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. An examination of 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. What makes science a distinctive way of discovering knowledge about our world whether natural, biological or social? Ever since science started in Ancient Greece, a number of different theories about the worldview, methods and rationality of science have been proposed that distinguish it from religion, pseudo-science and myth. The course examines some of these accounts of the nature of science. Metaphysics attempts to give a quite general picture of the nature and structure of the world, and investigates philosophical problems which thereby arise. Science, commonsense, religions and cultures all presuppose metaphysical worldviews. Traditional metaphysical problems concern laws, causation, time, space, substance, identity, attributes and universals, free will, reality, existence etc. Course topics will be selected from such traditional problems. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Topics in business ethics, such as: ethics of management, moral status of business firms, hiring and firing practices, sexual harassment, privacy and loyalty in employment, investment policy, advertising, labour negotiations, moral controversies in international business, worker safety. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Theoretical perspectives and topics in environmental ethics, such as: âdeep ecology' positions and value pluralism, sentience-based positions, anthropocentric versus non-anthropocentric perspectives, rationales for the preservation of species and ecologies and our treatment of animals. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Seminars covering core topics concerning the nature of professional ethics and practice relevant to a wide range of professions. Topics will be chosen to indicate the grounding of theoretical ethical issues in concrete problems, and teaching is intended to enable students from different professional backgrounds to learn from each other's experience and understanding. A project approved by the Coordinator of the Diploma in Professional Ethics on a topic concerning a particular ethical problem (or set of problems) as related to some professional context.
Score: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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. An examination of 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. What makes science a distinctive way of discovering knowledge about our world whether natural, biological or social? Ever since science started in Ancient Greece, a number of different theories about the worldview, methods and rationality of science have been proposed that distinguish it from religion, pseudo-science and myth. The course examines some of these accounts of the nature of science. Metaphysics attempts to give a quite general picture of the nature and structure of the world, and investigates philosophical problems which thereby arise. Science, commonsense, religions and cultures all presuppose metaphysical worldviews. Traditional metaphysical problems concern laws, causation, time, space, substance, identity, attributes and universals, free will, reality, existence etc. Course topics will be selected from such traditional problems. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Topics in business ethics, such as: ethics of management, moral status of business firms, hiring and firing practices, sexual harassment, privacy and loyalty in employment, investment policy, advertising, labour negotiations, moral controversies in international business, worker safety. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Theoretical perspectives and topics in environmental ethics, such as: âdeep ecology' positions and value pluralism, sentience-based positions, anthropocentric versus non-anthropocentric perspectives, rationales for the preservation of species and ecologies and our treatment of animals. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Seminars covering core topics concerning the nature of professional ethics and practice relevant to a wide range of professions. Topics will be chosen to indicate the grounding of theoretical ethical issues in concrete problems, and teaching is intended to enable students from different professional backgrounds to learn from each other's experience and understanding. A project approved by the Coordinator of the Diploma in Professional Ethics on a topic concerning a particular ethical problem (or set of problems) as related to some professional context. Directed study on a topic or topics approved by the Head of Department.
Score: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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. An examination of 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. What makes science a distinctive way of discovering knowledge about our world whether natural, biological or social? Ever since science started in Ancient Greece, a number of different theories about the worldview, methods and rationality of science have been proposed that distinguish it from religion, pseudo-science and myth. The course examines some of these accounts of the nature of science. Metaphysics attempts to give a quite general picture of the nature and structure of the world, and investigates philosophical problems which thereby arise. Science, commonsense, religions and cultures all presuppose metaphysical worldviews. Traditional metaphysical problems concern laws, causation, time, space, substance, identity, attributes and universals, free will, reality, existence etc. Course topics will be selected from such traditional problems. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Topics in business ethics, such as: ethics of management, moral status of business firms, hiring and firing practices, sexual harassment, privacy and loyalty in employment, investment policy, advertising, labour negotiations, moral controversies in international business, worker safety. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Theoretical perspectives and topics in environmental ethics, such as: âdeep ecology' positions and value pluralism, sentience-based positions, anthropocentric versus non-anthropocentric perspectives, rationales for the preservation of species and ecologies and our treatment of animals. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Seminars covering core topics concerning the nature of professional ethics and practice relevant to a wide range of professions. Topics will be chosen to indicate the grounding of theoretical ethical issues in concrete problems, and teaching is intended to enable students from different professional backgrounds to learn from each other's experience and understanding. A project approved by the Coordinator of the Diploma in Professional Ethics on a topic concerning a particular ethical problem (or set of problems) as related to some professional context. Directed study on a topic or topics approved by the Head of Department. Discussion of selected topics in Ethics.
Score: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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. An examination of 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. What makes science a distinctive way of discovering knowledge about our world whether natural, biological or social? Ever since science started in Ancient Greece, a number of different theories about the worldview, methods and rationality of science have been proposed that distinguish it from religion, pseudo-science and myth. The course examines some of these accounts of the nature of science. Metaphysics attempts to give a quite general picture of the nature and structure of the world, and investigates philosophical problems which thereby arise. Science, commonsense, religions and cultures all presuppose metaphysical worldviews. Traditional metaphysical problems concern laws, causation, time, space, substance, identity, attributes and universals, free will, reality, existence etc. Course topics will be selected from such traditional problems. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Topics in business ethics, such as: ethics of management, moral status of business firms, hiring and firing practices, sexual harassment, privacy and loyalty in employment, investment policy, advertising, labour negotiations, moral controversies in international business, worker safety. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Theoretical perspectives and topics in environmental ethics, such as: âdeep ecology' positions and value pluralism, sentience-based positions, anthropocentric versus non-anthropocentric perspectives, rationales for the preservation of species and ecologies and our treatment of animals. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Seminars covering core topics concerning the nature of professional ethics and practice relevant to a wide range of professions. Topics will be chosen to indicate the grounding of theoretical ethical issues in concrete problems, and teaching is intended to enable students from different professional backgrounds to learn from each other's experience and understanding. A project approved by the Coordinator of the Diploma in Professional Ethics on a topic concerning a particular ethical problem (or set of problems) as related to some professional context. Directed study on a topic or topics approved by the Head of Department. Discussion of selected topics in Ethics. Discussion of selected topics in Ethics.
Score: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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. An examination of 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. What makes science a distinctive way of discovering knowledge about our world whether natural, biological or social? Ever since science started in Ancient Greece, a number of different theories about the worldview, methods and rationality of science have been proposed that distinguish it from religion, pseudo-science and myth. The course examines some of these accounts of the nature of science. Metaphysics attempts to give a quite general picture of the nature and structure of the world, and investigates philosophical problems which thereby arise. Science, commonsense, religions and cultures all presuppose metaphysical worldviews. Traditional metaphysical problems concern laws, causation, time, space, substance, identity, attributes and universals, free will, reality, existence etc. Course topics will be selected from such traditional problems. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Topics in business ethics, such as: ethics of management, moral status of business firms, hiring and firing practices, sexual harassment, privacy and loyalty in employment, investment policy, advertising, labour negotiations, moral controversies in international business, worker safety. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Theoretical perspectives and topics in environmental ethics, such as: âdeep ecology' positions and value pluralism, sentience-based positions, anthropocentric versus non-anthropocentric perspectives, rationales for the preservation of species and ecologies and our treatment of animals. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Seminars covering core topics concerning the nature of professional ethics and practice relevant to a wide range of professions. Topics will be chosen to indicate the grounding of theoretical ethical issues in concrete problems, and teaching is intended to enable students from different professional backgrounds to learn from each other's experience and understanding. A project approved by the Coordinator of the Diploma in Professional Ethics on a topic concerning a particular ethical problem (or set of problems) as related to some professional context. Directed study on a topic or topics approved by the Head of Department. Discussion of selected topics in Ethics. Discussion of selected topics in Ethics. Discussion of selected topics in political philosophy.
Score: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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. An examination of 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. What makes science a distinctive way of discovering knowledge about our world whether natural, biological or social? Ever since science started in Ancient Greece, a number of different theories about the worldview, methods and rationality of science have been proposed that distinguish it from religion, pseudo-science and myth. The course examines some of these accounts of the nature of science. Metaphysics attempts to give a quite general picture of the nature and structure of the world, and investigates philosophical problems which thereby arise. Science, commonsense, religions and cultures all presuppose metaphysical worldviews. Traditional metaphysical problems concern laws, causation, time, space, substance, identity, attributes and universals, free will, reality, existence etc. Course topics will be selected from such traditional problems. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Topics in business ethics, such as: ethics of management, moral status of business firms, hiring and firing practices, sexual harassment, privacy and loyalty in employment, investment policy, advertising, labour negotiations, moral controversies in international business, worker safety. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Theoretical perspectives and topics in environmental ethics, such as: âdeep ecology' positions and value pluralism, sentience-based positions, anthropocentric versus non-anthropocentric perspectives, rationales for the preservation of species and ecologies and our treatment of animals. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Seminars covering core topics concerning the nature of professional ethics and practice relevant to a wide range of professions. Topics will be chosen to indicate the grounding of theoretical ethical issues in concrete problems, and teaching is intended to enable students from different professional backgrounds to learn from each other's experience and understanding. A project approved by the Coordinator of the Diploma in Professional Ethics on a topic concerning a particular ethical problem (or set of problems) as related to some professional context. Directed study on a topic or topics approved by the Head of Department. Discussion of selected topics in Ethics. Discussion of selected topics in Ethics. Discussion of selected topics in political philosophy. Discussion of selected topics in political philosophy.
Score: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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. An examination of 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. What makes science a distinctive way of discovering knowledge about our world whether natural, biological or social? Ever since science started in Ancient Greece, a number of different theories about the worldview, methods and rationality of science have been proposed that distinguish it from religion, pseudo-science and myth. The course examines some of these accounts of the nature of science. Metaphysics attempts to give a quite general picture of the nature and structure of the world, and investigates philosophical problems which thereby arise. Science, commonsense, religions and cultures all presuppose metaphysical worldviews. Traditional metaphysical problems concern laws, causation, time, space, substance, identity, attributes and universals, free will, reality, existence etc. Course topics will be selected from such traditional problems. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Topics in business ethics, such as: ethics of management, moral status of business firms, hiring and firing practices, sexual harassment, privacy and loyalty in employment, investment policy, advertising, labour negotiations, moral controversies in international business, worker safety. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Theoretical perspectives and topics in environmental ethics, such as: âdeep ecology' positions and value pluralism, sentience-based positions, anthropocentric versus non-anthropocentric perspectives, rationales for the preservation of species and ecologies and our treatment of animals. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Seminars covering core topics concerning the nature of professional ethics and practice relevant to a wide range of professions. Topics will be chosen to indicate the grounding of theoretical ethical issues in concrete problems, and teaching is intended to enable students from different professional backgrounds to learn from each other's experience and understanding. A project approved by the Coordinator of the Diploma in Professional Ethics on a topic concerning a particular ethical problem (or set of problems) as related to some professional context. Directed study on a topic or topics approved by the Head of Department. Discussion of selected topics in Ethics. Discussion of selected topics in Ethics. Discussion of selected topics in political philosophy. Discussion of selected topics in political philosophy. Discussion of selected topics in philosophy of law.
Score: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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. An examination of 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. What makes science a distinctive way of discovering knowledge about our world whether natural, biological or social? Ever since science started in Ancient Greece, a number of different theories about the worldview, methods and rationality of science have been proposed that distinguish it from religion, pseudo-science and myth. The course examines some of these accounts of the nature of science. Metaphysics attempts to give a quite general picture of the nature and structure of the world, and investigates philosophical problems which thereby arise. Science, commonsense, religions and cultures all presuppose metaphysical worldviews. Traditional metaphysical problems concern laws, causation, time, space, substance, identity, attributes and universals, free will, reality, existence etc. Course topics will be selected from such traditional problems. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Topics in business ethics, such as: ethics of management, moral status of business firms, hiring and firing practices, sexual harassment, privacy and loyalty in employment, investment policy, advertising, labour negotiations, moral controversies in international business, worker safety. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Theoretical perspectives and topics in environmental ethics, such as: âdeep ecology' positions and value pluralism, sentience-based positions, anthropocentric versus non-anthropocentric perspectives, rationales for the preservation of species and ecologies and our treatment of animals. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Seminars covering core topics concerning the nature of professional ethics and practice relevant to a wide range of professions. Topics will be chosen to indicate the grounding of theoretical ethical issues in concrete problems, and teaching is intended to enable students from different professional backgrounds to learn from each other's experience and understanding. A project approved by the Coordinator of the Diploma in Professional Ethics on a topic concerning a particular ethical problem (or set of problems) as related to some professional context. Directed study on a topic or topics approved by the Head of Department. Discussion of selected topics in Ethics. Discussion of selected topics in Ethics. Discussion of selected topics in political philosophy. Discussion of selected topics in political philosophy. Discussion of selected topics in philosophy of law. Discussion of selected topics in philosophy of the arts.
Score: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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. An examination of 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. What makes science a distinctive way of discovering knowledge about our world whether natural, biological or social? Ever since science started in Ancient Greece, a number of different theories about the worldview, methods and rationality of science have been proposed that distinguish it from religion, pseudo-science and myth. The course examines some of these accounts of the nature of science. Metaphysics attempts to give a quite general picture of the nature and structure of the world, and investigates philosophical problems which thereby arise. Science, commonsense, religions and cultures all presuppose metaphysical worldviews. Traditional metaphysical problems concern laws, causation, time, space, substance, identity, attributes and universals, free will, reality, existence etc. Course topics will be selected from such traditional problems. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Topics in business ethics, such as: ethics of management, moral status of business firms, hiring and firing practices, sexual harassment, privacy and loyalty in employment, investment policy, advertising, labour negotiations, moral controversies in international business, worker safety. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Theoretical perspectives and topics in environmental ethics, such as: âdeep ecology' positions and value pluralism, sentience-based positions, anthropocentric versus non-anthropocentric perspectives, rationales for the preservation of species and ecologies and our treatment of animals. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Seminars covering core topics concerning the nature of professional ethics and practice relevant to a wide range of professions. Topics will be chosen to indicate the grounding of theoretical ethical issues in concrete problems, and teaching is intended to enable students from different professional backgrounds to learn from each other's experience and understanding. A project approved by the Coordinator of the Diploma in Professional Ethics on a topic concerning a particular ethical problem (or set of problems) as related to some professional context. Directed study on a topic or topics approved by the Head of Department. Discussion of selected topics in Ethics. Discussion of selected topics in Ethics. Discussion of selected topics in political philosophy. Discussion of selected topics in political philosophy. Discussion of selected topics in philosophy of law. Discussion of selected topics in philosophy of the arts. Discussion of selected topics in philosophy of the arts.
Score: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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. An examination of 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. What makes science a distinctive way of discovering knowledge about our world whether natural, biological or social? Ever since science started in Ancient Greece, a number of different theories about the worldview, methods and rationality of science have been proposed that distinguish it from religion, pseudo-science and myth. The course examines some of these accounts of the nature of science. Metaphysics attempts to give a quite general picture of the nature and structure of the world, and investigates philosophical problems which thereby arise. Science, commonsense, religions and cultures all presuppose metaphysical worldviews. Traditional metaphysical problems concern laws, causation, time, space, substance, identity, attributes and universals, free will, reality, existence etc. Course topics will be selected from such traditional problems. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Topics in business ethics, such as: ethics of management, moral status of business firms, hiring and firing practices, sexual harassment, privacy and loyalty in employment, investment policy, advertising, labour negotiations, moral controversies in international business, worker safety. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Theoretical perspectives and topics in environmental ethics, such as: âdeep ecology' positions and value pluralism, sentience-based positions, anthropocentric versus non-anthropocentric perspectives, rationales for the preservation of species and ecologies and our treatment of animals. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Seminars covering core topics concerning the nature of professional ethics and practice relevant to a wide range of professions. Topics will be chosen to indicate the grounding of theoretical ethical issues in concrete problems, and teaching is intended to enable students from different professional backgrounds to learn from each other's experience and understanding. A project approved by the Coordinator of the Diploma in Professional Ethics on a topic concerning a particular ethical problem (or set of problems) as related to some professional context. Directed study on a topic or topics approved by the Head of Department. Discussion of selected topics in Ethics. Discussion of selected topics in Ethics. Discussion of selected topics in political philosophy. Discussion of selected topics in political philosophy. Discussion of selected topics in philosophy of law. Discussion of selected topics in philosophy of the arts. Discussion of selected topics in philosophy of the arts. Discussion of selected topics in logic.
Score: 5.4905925 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. Ethical questions relating to the environment and our use of it, including: Does nature have intrinsic value; do we have obligations to preserve species; is biodiversity desirable; what responsibilities do we have to animals; do we have obligations to future generations, especially concerning preservation of the environment; are population control policies ethically defensible. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. A detailed introduction to either the work of a leading medieval philosopher, for example Augustine, Abaelard, Scotus or Ockham, or to one or more of the topics which were of interest to medieval philosophers. The course aims to show how understanding medieval philosophy is essential for the history of Christian thought and philosophy up to modern times. Advanced philosophical study of moral theory (in both normative and meta-ethics), especially virtue ethics, Aristotelian ethics and moral dilemmas. The techniques and philosophical significance of modern logical theory, including some model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. The main objective is to provide a level of understanding of these topics sufficient for an appreciation of Godel's celebrated proof of the incompleteness of arithmetic. The relationship between language, thought and reality. Topics include: the nature of existence; theories of reference, meaning and truth; and Quine's radical views of meaning and reference. Students are strongly urged to take PHIL 101 (Introduction to Logic) before taking this course. Examines important developments in seventeenth and eighteenth-century philosophy. It will look at refinements in philosophical methodology during this period and their impact on metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. Advanced topics in Political Philosophy. Philosophical analysis and discussion of contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, reverse discrimination, the ethics of charity and human treatment of animals. A selection of topics in applied logic such as: modal logic (the logic of necessity and possibility), temporal logic (the logic of time), dynamic logic (the logic of change), and epistemic logic (the logic of knowledge and belief, including the logic of belief revision). A discussion of ethical issues arising from developments in biotechnology, such as reproductive and genetic technologies. It will focus particularly on the perceived need for social control of individual choice and action in using these technologies, and the difficulties of justifying such restrictions, or agreeing on appropriate constraints, in a morally pluralist society. The application of ethical theory to applied and professional ethics, including topics such as: the role of principles in applied and professional ethics, ethical expertise, role ethics, dialogue ethics, the ethics of care, ethical issues that arise in professional practice. 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 philosophical logic, covering at least three of the following topics: use and mention, language and logic, argumentation theory, propositions and sentences, conditionals, disjunctions, and existence and quantification. 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. 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. 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. 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. An examination of 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). An examination of some attempts to support political struggles for freedom, justice and recognition through the philosophical critique of modern society. Topics to be discussed include science and technology, bureaucratisation, social control, social alienation, mass communication, the commodification of culture, and the idea of critique. Theorists to be discussed may include Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, Benjamin, Arendt, Habermas and Honneth. What makes science a distinctive way of discovering knowledge about our world whether natural, biological or social? Ever since science started in Ancient Greece, a number of different theories about the worldview, methods and rationality of science have been proposed that distinguish it from religion, pseudo-science and myth. The course examines some of these accounts of the nature of science. Metaphysics attempts to give a quite general picture of the nature and structure of the world, and investigates philosophical problems which thereby arise. Science, commonsense, religions and cultures all presuppose metaphysical worldviews. Traditional metaphysical problems concern laws, causation, time, space, substance, identity, attributes and universals, free will, reality, existence etc. Course topics will be selected from such traditional problems. Topics may include: explanation, design and teleology, the status of evolutionary theory, creationism versus evolution, fitness and adaptation, species and the units of evolutionary selection, reduction and the DNA molecule, biological classification, altruism, sociobiology, evolution and ethics, selected topics in the history of biological sciences. Topics in business ethics, such as: ethics of management, moral status of business firms, hiring and firing practices, sexual harassment, privacy and loyalty in employment, investment policy, advertising, labour negotiations, moral controversies in international business, worker safety. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Theoretical perspectives and topics in environmental ethics, such as: âdeep ecology' positions and value pluralism, sentience-based positions, anthropocentric versus non-anthropocentric perspectives, rationales for the preservation of species and ecologies and our treatment of animals. There will be a strong practical emphasis, and professional participation in teaching and seminar sessions. Seminars covering core topics concerning the nature of professional ethics and practice relevant to a wide range of professions. Topics will be chosen to indicate the grounding of theoretical ethical issues in concrete problems, and teaching is intended to enable students from different professional backgrounds to learn from each other's experience and understanding. A project approved by the Coordinator of the Diploma in Professional Ethics on a topic concerning a particular ethical problem (or set of problems) as related to some professional context. Directed study on a topic or topics approved by the Head of Department. Discussion of selected topics in Ethics. Discussion of selected topics in Ethics. Discussion of selected topics in political philosophy. Discussion of selected topics in political philosophy. Discussion of selected topics in philosophy of law. Discussion of selected topics in philosophy of the arts. Discussion of selected topics in philosophy of the arts. Discussion of selected topics in logic. Discussion of selected topics in logic.
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