Philosophy MA

The aim of the module is to provide PGT students with a diverse range of methodological perspectives to employ as they embark on their own research journey and to develop textual analysis and interpretation skills. The module provides bespoke  research preparation to the study of different methodological traditions, past or present. Indicative topics to be covered in any given year might be one or more of: i) Analytic philosophy and empirical science; ii) Phenomenology and critique; iii) Ancient philosophy and the present; iv) Western and World Philosophies. 

In this module, students will also acquire bespoke skills relevant to employability. The aim of this element is to develop confident and transferable communication skills by applying one or more philosophical concepts studied in the module to some topic in current affairs, or to some organisation, institution or profession, in the form of a policy document, poster or digital media artefact.  This element will be assessed and will count for 25% of the module mark.  Students will utilise MySkills to reflect on the completion of this task as a development experience. 

Teaching will be by way of weekly lectures and seminars, with tutorial support for assigned course work and the Employability component.

The aim of this module is to introduce PGT students to current and emerging trends in philosophy as they embark on their own research journey.

This module provides a bespoke research preparation to different topics at the cutting edge of contemporary philosophy. Students will specialize in their preferred topic for the purposes of assessment. Indicative topics to be covered in any given year might be one or more of: i) Cognition and Emotion; ii) Philosophy of Technology; iii) Social Philosophy and Criticism.

In this module, students will also acquire bespoke research skills relevant to employability, including a brief presentation on a topic from the module syllabus and oral feedback on the presentations of other students. The aim of this element is to develop confident and transferable collaboration and oral communication skills. 

As part of this module, students are also expected to develop a first outline of their MA Dissertation in order to be matched up with a suitable supervisor at the end of the Semester. 

This module covers political theory broadly conceived.  It encompasses theoretical questions about justice and governance, along with more practical and topical questions.  If you are new to political philosophy then this will be a hands-on introduction.  Or you can build on an established foundation of knowledge by exploring these questions in depth.  Indicative topics to be covered in any given year include: i) Democracy; ii) Prisons and Punishment; iii) Colonialism, Racism and Fascism; iv) Commemorative Justice;  v) Animals' Political Rights.You will be able to tackle these questions using tools and frameworks gained in the Approaches to Philosophy module.  The module will be team taught, and each component topic will be taught by a specialist who has worked on or is working on that topic.Teaching will be by way of weekly lectures and seminars, with individual supervision for coursework essays.

The module will offer students the opportunity to make an in-depth study of two or more selected topics within ethics, metaethics, moral psychology, social philosophy, or aesthetics. Students taking this module will have the opportunity to study a range of substantial questions about value and normativity as well as meta-level questions about the epistemology and metaphysics of practical thought and language. 

Indicative topics covered in any given year include one or more from: Ethics and Belief; Moral Theory and Moral Psychology; Ethical Skepticism; Social Philosophy; Bioethics.

This module covers  topics in theoretical philosophy broadly conceived.  Within this wide field lie questions about the ultimate nature of reality and about our own nature as beings who inhabit this reality and are capable of thinking, knowing and communicating about it: questions in  epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, logic, and the philosophy of language.  The module will be team-taught, and each component topic will be taught by a specialist who has worked on that topic. Indicative topics covered in any given year include: i) Consciousness, ii) Truth and the Liar Paradox, iii) Personal Identity, iv) Mystical and Psychedelic Experience, v) Analytical/Social Epistemology.Teaching will be by way of weekly lectures and seminars, with individual supervision for coursework essays.  If you are new to theoretical philosophy this will be a hands-on introduction.  If you already have a strong foundation in this field of enquiry that you want to build on, then this module allows you to do that through an in depth exploration of some of its most fascinating questions.