Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit convenor
Jean-Philippe Deranty
Contact via jp.deranty@mq.edu.au
W6A 738
By appointment
Lecturer
Paul Formosa
Contact via paul.formosa@mq.edu.au
W6A 728
By appointment
Lecturer
Colin Klein
W6A 725
By appointment
Lecturer
Jennifer Duke-Yonge
W6A 722
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
(39cp or admission to GDipArts in Philosophy) and (12cp in PHIL or PHL units)
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
6cp in PHL units at 300 level
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit provides students with the opportunity to integrate knowledge acquired in their study of philosophy, to reflect on the development of their skills, and to focus on how their study of philosophy equips them for the next step in their careers. We review the philosophy graduate attributes: the knowledge, skills, methods and values developed in the course of the philosophy degree. With a focus on what these skills and values mean in practice, we examine a range of texts that both illustrate the diversity of philosophical approaches and represent the 'state of the art' in the field. By applying critical thinking, problem-solving, and creative skills to these texts, as well as philosophical values of intellectual humility and openness to the force of the better argument, students will learn what it is like to engage in live philosophical debate. We also look at the values cultivated through the study of philosophy and we consider how the skills and values acquired through the degree can be taken forward into further study, work, and applied in other areas of life.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Due |
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Participation | 10% | Ongoing |
Reflective Portfolio Blog | 20% | Ongoing, due 10/11/14 |
3 Text Analyses | 30% | 01/9/14, 10/10/14, 4/11/14 |
Essay | 40% | 10/11/14 |
Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 10%
Participation for internal students will be assessed on the basis of attendance at and contributions to seminar discussions each week. Your participation mark will be based on both your attendance and the quality of your contributions.
Participation for external students will be assessed on the basis of timely contributions to iLearn discussion forums each week. Your participation mark will be based on both the quality of your contributions and whether your contributions are timely (within about a week of the relevant lecture).
Due: Ongoing, due 10/11/14
Weighting: 20%
The reflective portfolio blog is designed to encourage you to reflect each week on
1. the knowledge acquired through the study of philosophy,
2. skills developed through the program of study,
3. philosophical values, and
4. different philosophical approaches and methodologies.
You are expected to make at least one entry in your reflective portfolio blog for each week of content in a timely fashion (within about a week of the relevant lecture). Your entry or entries should include, but are not limited to, creative and critical personal reflections on the unit content of that week, as well as broader reflections on philosophy and philosophical methodologies. All blog entries up to the due date (10/11/14) will together constitute the reflective portfolio and will receive an overall grade out of 20. Your blog posts can only be seen by you, the unit convenor and lecturers.
Submission: blog through iLearn. For information on how to blog in iLearn see: http://mq.edu.au/iLearn/student_info/activities.htm#blog
Due: 01/9/14, 10/10/14, 4/11/14
Weighting: 30%
The text analyses are a series of short (500 word) writing exercises. There are three text analyses due throughout the semester (01/9/14, 10/10/14, 4/11/14). Each text analysis covers one of the three sections of the unit and is worth 10 marks each. Together, the text analyses are worth 30 marks.
Your text analysis should focus on one reading only and should do 3 main things:
1. Start with a brief introduction that provides a context for your analysis, eg. By providing an overview of the aims or central claims of the article under discussion.
2. Explain and analyse the main arguments for these claims.
3. Briefly identify some possible objections to, or problems for, these arguments or claims.
2 & 3 need not be done sequentially. For example, you identify possible problems in the context of outlining a specific argument.
Submission: on-line via a Turnitin link in iLearn.
The text analysis questions will be made available two weeks prior to the relevant due date.
Due: 10/11/14
Weighting: 40%
The essay (2500 words) is designed to extend your understanding of a specific topic or issue and to test your ability to engage with that topic in depth. Essay writing tests your ability to synthesise material from a range of readings and to express, analyse and structure key ideas and arguments clearly, logically and systematically. It also tests your ability to develop your own view, and to argue for that view in a cogent and sustained way. You will be expected to undertake research beyond the required readings and to incorporate that further research into your essay.
Submission: on-line via a Turnitin link in iLearn.
The essay questions will be made available by September 12.
Day Time Location
All the weekly readings for the unit will be made available through iLearn.
A list of the required readings for each week is attached at the end of this study guide. A list of additional readings, which may be used in class presentations, text analyses or in your essay, is also attached.
Online units can be accessed at: http://ilearn.mq.edu.au
The unit uses the following technology: iLearn
The previous version of this unit focused on the nature of the self. This version focuses on philosophical methods.
Week 1 6 August |
Introduction: What is a Capstone Unit? · What is a capstone unit? · An overview of the 3 streams in the Department of Philosophy at Macquarie University – Mind, Metaphysics and Meaning; Social Philosophy and Continental Philosophy; Ethics and Applied Ethics. · Our focus in this unit is on the methodologies and philosophical self-understandings across these three streams. How is philosophy done? What is the culture of philosophy? · Unit outline.
· Required Reading: o No reading
· Further Reading: o Janice Moulton, 'A Paradigm of Philosophy: The Adversary Method', in S. Harding and M. Hintikka (eds) Discovering Reality (Dordrecht: Reidel, 1983), pp. 149-164. o Sally Haslanger, ‘Changing the Ideology and Culture of Philosophy: Not by Reason (Alone), Hypatia, 23(2), 2008: 210-223. |
Week 2 13 August |
The Analytical vs. Continental divide. · Much of contemporary philosophy is determined by the analytical vs. continental divide. What is this divide? What is the history of the divide? · What are the ‘essentialist’ and ‘deflationary’ responses to the divide? · What is the on-going relevance of the divide today and into the future?
· Required Reading and Listening: o Jack Reynolds, James Chase, James Williams and Edwin Mares, “Introduction: Postanalytic and Metacontinental Philosophy”, Postanalytic and Metacontinental Philosophy: Crossing Philosophical Divides, ed. James William et. al., Continumm: London, 2010, pp. 1-4. o ‘In our time’ with Melvyn Bragg, ‘Podcast, Analytic-Continental Philosophy Split’, 10 Nov 11, with Stephen Mulhall of New College, Beatrice Han-Pile, Hans Johann-Glock. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/iot/all
· Further Reading o Peter Simons (2001): Whose Fault? The Origins and Inevitability of the Analytic–Continental Rift, International Journal of Philosophical Studies, 9:3, 295-311. o Postanalytic and Metacontinental Philosophy: Crossing Philosophical Divides, ed. James William et. al., Continumm: London, 2010, pp. 1-4. o James Chase and Jack Reynolds, Analytic versus Continental, Acumen: Durham, 2011. |
Week 3 20 August |
Ethics And Applied Ethics Stream Methods in Moral Philosophy: The Case of Evil · What methods are used in contemporary moral philosophy? · This question will be explored through the prism of a particular topic: moral evil. How do we develop and test a moral theory, such as a thoery of evil?
· Required Reading: o Paul Formosa, ‘Evils, Wrongs and Dignity: How to Test a Theory of Evil’, Journal of Value Inquiry, 2013, DOI: 10.1007/s10790-013-9380-2. · Further Reading: o Dews, Peter. The Idea of Evil. Oxford: Blackwell, 2008. o Formosa, Paul. "A Conception of Evil." Journal of Value Inquiry 42, no. 2 (2008): 217-239. o Morton, Adam. On Evil. New York: Routledge, 2004. o Russell, Luke. "Evil Revivalism Versus Evil-Skepticism." Journal of Value Inquiry 40 (2006): 89-105. o Scanlon, T.M., 2002, ‘Rawls on Justification’, in The Cambridge Companion to Rawls, S. Freeman (ed.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 139–167. |
Week 4 27 August |
Ethics and Cognitive Science. · What is the relationship between ethics and science? In particular, how do findings in cognitive science and social psychology impact on our ethical theorising? What are some of the problems that can arise when we try to draw ethical conclusions from scientific findings?
· Required Reading: o Joshua D. Greene, The Secret Joke of Kant’s Soul, pp. 35 – 80, in Moral Psychology, Volume 3: The Neuroscience of Morality, ed. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2008).
· Further Reading o John Mikhail, Moral Cognition and Computational Theory; Mark Timmons, Toward a Sentimentalist Deontology; Joshua D. Greene, Reply to Mikhail and Timmons; and the other papers in Moral Psychology Volume 3: The Neuroscience of Morality: Emotion, Brain Disorders, and Development, edited by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, 35-80. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2008. o L. May, Michael Friedman & A. Clark (eds.) (1996). Mind and Morals: Essays on Ethics and Cognitive Science. MIT Press. o The Emotional Dog and Its Rational Tail: A Social Intuitionist Approach to Moral Judgment, Jonathan Haidt Psychological Review, 2001. Vol. 108. No. 4, 814-83.4 o Jeanette Kennett, Do psychopaths really threaten moral rationalism? Philosophical Explorations (2006) Vol. 9, 69-82. |
Week 5 3 September |
Methods in Political Philosophy: Ideal Theory · What methods are used in contemporary political philosophy? · How does the method of transcendental institutionalism compare with realization focused comparison?
· Required Reading: o Amartya Sen, ‘Introduction’ in The Idea of Justice, Harvard University Press: Cambridge, 2009.
· Further Reading o Rawls, John. Political Liberalism. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993. o Rawls, John. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1971. o G.A. Cohen, On the Currency of Egalitarian Justice, and Other Essays in Political Philosophy, Michael Otsuka (ed.), Princeton University Press, 2011. |
Week 6 10 September |
Social Philosophy and Continental Philosophy Stream
Classical German Philosophy and Its Contemporary Significance
· What is the contemporary relevance of classical German philosophy and of Hegel in particular? How does philosophy’s history impact on its present form?
· Required Reading: o Robert Pippin, "Hegel's Ethical Rationalism", from his Idealism as Modernism, pp. 417-450, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1997.
· Further Reading o Hegel, Elements of the Philosophy of Right, ##142-157, trans. H. B. Nisbet, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1991, pp. 189-198. o Allen Wood, Hegel's Ethical Thought, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1990, pp. 195-209.
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Week 7 17 September |
Contemporary Critical Theory
· What is contemporary critical theory and what methods does it employ? The place of philosophy in the society and politics of its time. Does philosophy's place in its society and time impact on its methods?
· Required Reading: o Jürgen Habermas, "The relationship between Theory and Practice Revisited", in Truth and Justification, trans. B. Fultner, MIT Press, 2003, pp. 277-292.
· Further Reading o Max Horkeimer, "Traditional and Critical Theory", in Critical Theory. Selected Essays, NY, Continuum, 2002, pp. 188-243. o |
Week 8 8 October
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Analytical and Continental Aesthetics · How do the analytic and continental philosophical traditions approach aesthetics? What are the differences and similarities in terms of methods?
· Required Reading: o Jacques Rancière, 'The Aesthetic Dimension: Aesthetics, Politics, Knowledge', Critical Inquiry, 36(1), 2009. o Noel Carroll, 'Moderate Moralism', in Beyond Aesthetics: Philosophical Essays (Cambridge University Press, 2001), pp. 293-316.
· Further Reading o Jacques Ranciere, 'The Intolerable Image', Chapter Four of his The Emancipated Spectator, trans. Gregory Elliot (London/New York: Verso, 2009), 83-105. o Jean-Philippe Deranty, 'Regimes of the Arts' in J-P. Deranty (ed.) Jacques Ranciere: Key Concepts (Durham: Continuum, 2010), 116-130. o Susan L. Feagin, 'Film Appreciation and Moral Insensitivity', Midwestern Studies in Philosophy XXXIV (2010: 20-33). |
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Week 9 15 October |
Mind, Metaphysics and Meaning Stream
Conceptual Analysis and philosophical method · What is conceptual analysis and what roles does it play in analytic philosophical methodology? · What are some of the problems and limitations of this approach? What are some of the advantages?
· Required Reading: o Frank Jackson, ‘The Role of Conceptual Analysis’, in From Metaphysics to Ethics, Clarendon: Oxford, 1998.
· Further Reading: o Laura Schroeter (2004). The Limits of Conceptual Analysis. Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 85 (4):425-453.score: 90.0 o Chris Daly, An introduction to philosophical method, Broadview Press 2010. o Stephen Laurence & Eric Margolis (2003). Concepts and Conceptual Analysis. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 67 (2):253-282. o David Plunkett (2011). Expressivism, Representation, and the Nature of Conceptual Analysis. Philosophical Studies 156 (1):15-31. |
Week 10 22 October |
Science, Naturalism and Philosophy · What is the relationship between philosophy and science? What is naturalism? How does naturalism impact on how we understand philosophy’s methods?
· Required Reading: o David Macarthur and Mario De Caro, ‘Introduction - the Nature of Naturalism,’ in Naturalism in Question, eds. De Caro, M. and Macarthur, D, Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2004.
· Further Reading: o Robert Audi (2000). Philosophical Naturalism at the Turn of the Century. Journal of Philosophical Research 25:27-45. o Mario de Caro & David Macarthur (eds.), Naturalism and Normativity. Columbia University Press. 2010. o John R. Shook & Paul Kurtz (eds.), The Future of Naturalism. Humanity Books. 2009. o Penelope Maddy (2001). Naturalism: Friends and Foes. Noûs 35 (s15):37-67. |
Week 11 29 October |
Experimental Philosophy · What is experimental philosophy? What are the aims and methods of experimental philosophy? What is the philosophical significance of experimental philosophy?
· Required Reading: o Joshua Knobe, ‘Experimental Philosophy’, Philosophy Compass 2/1 (2007): 81–92.
· Further Reading: o Robert L. Woolfolk (2013). Experimental Philosophy: A Methodological Critique. Metaphilosophy 44 (1-2):79-87. o Joshua Knobe & Shaun Nichols (eds.) (2008). Experimental Philosophy. Oxford University Press. o Paul E. Griffiths & Karola Stotz (2008). Experimental Philosophy of Science. Philosophy Compass 3 (3):507–521. o Joshua Alexander (2010). Is Experimental Philosophy Philosophically Significant? Philosophical Psychology 23 (3):377-389.
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Week 12 5 November |
A Philosophical Education – Conclusion. · What is the value and purpose of a philosophical education? What is the value and use of different philosophical methods? What is the role of philosophy in academia, the university and society more generally? · What use can be made of a philosophical education? E.g. Masters of Resarch (MRes), PhDs, other career options, etc.
· RequiredReading: o No reading. |
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Extensions and special consideration
Extensions and Penalties
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Date | Description |
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15/07/2014 | Schedule of weeks had a mistake. |