Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Convenor
Jennifer Duke-Yonge
W6A 722
By arrangement
Tutor
Wilson Cooper
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit introduces the big philosophical questions about human nature, personal identity and the meaning of life. What is the fundamental nature of reality? Are human beings somehow unique in nature? Do we have distinct selves that endure through time? What is the relation between our identity and the things that matter to us? We take a broadly historical approach, reading the classic philosophical texts as well as contemporary work. Three themes recur across the unit: the relation of mind and body, the quest for knowledge and the nature of the self. We begin with the philosophers of Ancient Greece. We look at how they understood the relationship between the self and the cosmos and the relation between body and soul. We then turn to conceptions of the mind at the dawn of the modern period, asking whether mind is entirely physical or could in principle survive bodily death. In the final section of the unit we focus on contemporary debates over the nature of personal identity. Is psychological continuity or bodily continuity the key to personal survival? We will then introduce the notion of narrative identity and examine more closely the role played by memory and our embodied experience in the construction of the self.
All enrolment queries should be directed to Open Universities Australia (OUA): see www.open.edu.au
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.open.edu.au/student-admin-and-support/key-dates/
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Written assignments are to be submitted through Turnitin, and will be marked and returned via Grademark. For information about these tools, see:
http://www.mq.edu.au/iLearn/student_info/assignments.htm
There is no need for a coversheet - the iLearn assignment submission (Turnitin) involves declaring your details and honesty in submitting your work. Please note, we do not accept submission by email attachment.
Extensions and Special Consideration
Requests for extensions must, normally, be made in writing before the due date. Extensions of up to three days should be directed to the unit convenor (jennifer.duke-yonge@mq.edu.au). Requests for extensions of more than 3 days should be submitted via a Disruption to Studies Request, which is available in the ask.mq.edu.au portal. Your request should be accompanied by appropriate documentation, as detailed in the instructions in the portal. Please see the Disruption to Studies policy in the list of policies at the end of this document for further details.
Penalties for Late Submission
Late submissions of assignments will attract a penalty of 10% per week or part-week late. All work must be submitted within 3 weeks of the assessment due date. Outside of this time, special circumstances must be proven to have interrupted your study.
Name | Weighting | Due |
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Online quiz | 10% | Midnight, Sunday week 4 |
Philosophical analysis | 30% | Midnight Sunday Week 6 |
Essay or Case Study | 40% | Midnight Sunday Week 13 |
Participation | 20% | On-going |
Due: Midnight, Sunday week 4
Weighting: 10%
The online quiz is a 30 minute multiple choice quiz run through the unit website. It tests your understanding of important concepts introduced in the lectures and essential readings for weeks 1 to 3. It provides early feedback on your progress, and helps you to prepare for the first written exercise in week 6. It will be available from 9am Monday of week 4 to Midnight Sunday of week 4
Due: Midnight Sunday Week 6
Weighting: 30%
This assignment introduces the basics of philosophical analysis: critical reading, analysis of arguments, and defending your own opinion. You will analyse a text by, or concerning, René Descartes (1596-1650) on the nature of mind, knowledge, or the body. Your analysis will be assisted by structured questions. This assignment requires no additional reading.
Due: Midnight Sunday Week 13
Weighting: 40%
In this assignment you will pull together all of the skills and knowledge that you have developed through the unit, to write a final paper on one of the later course topics. You will need to not only show that you know the topic well, but also show that you can think and write independently about the kinds of objects and experiences that the topic involves.
Due: On-going
Weighting: 20%
20% of the assessment for this unit is based on your participation. Your participation mark will be based on two components:
Online discussion (10%)
Online forum participation represents a commitment to the academic environment necessary to any good philosophy course. Your mark will be based on the quality of your participation. This is not just measured by the philosophical content of your posts, but by your willingness to engage in discussion with your peers. Much of what you learn in philosophy you will learn by involving yourself in discussion and argument. So while we would like to see some well thought out responses to the topics for each week, we would also really encourage you to respond to the messages of other students, ask questions, post your thoughts and engage fully in the philosophical community. You'll find that if you make the most of the discussion facilities available, not only will you maximise your participation marks, but you will also get more out of the course in general.
Engagement with online resources (10%)
The website for this unit contains a lot of resources designed to help you get the most out of the course material. Each week, there are audio lectures with written notes to accompany them, reading questions to guide you through the readings, and self-test quizzes to allow you to test your own understanding of the topics that are introduced. To get the most out of the unit, you are expected to engage with these resources on a regular basis.
The marks for this component will be based on your engagement with the online self-test quizzes each week, which contain a review of the basic material for each week, and should be done after you have listened to the lectures and attempted the readings. To get the marks for this component of the assessment, you will need to complete each week’s online quiz to at least a Pass standard. You may attempt each quiz multiple times until you get to a Pass. You will receive 10 marks for completing all of the quizzes to a satisfactory standard, with a one mark deduction for each quiz that is not completed satisfactorily. The self-test quiz for each week will only be available until two weeks after the end of the relevant week (eg the week 3 quiz must be completed by the end of week 5). You will still be able to access your completed quizzes after this time for revision purposes.
Required Reading
There is no text book for this unit. All essential readings are available electronically through Macquarie University Library’, with links from iLearn.
Suggestions for additional reading are given each week in the website.
Technology Used and Required
We use an iLearn website, and the Echo360 lecture recordings. Lecture notes and any other material you need will be available through the iLearn website. You will need reliable internet connection throughout semester.
PHIX131 Schedule
Week 1: General introduction
2: Descartes on what can be known
3: Descartes on the nature of the mind
4: Locke and Personal Identity
5: Personal Identity - Do I survive?
6 Identity and Bodies
7: Identity: Multiple Personality
8: Free Will and Determinism
9: Free Will and Making Choices
10: Responsibility and Memory
11: Responsibility and Narrating our own lives
12: Case studies in Responsibility
13: No lectures: revision and review
Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.
The University recognises that students may experience events or conditions that adversely affect their academic performance. If you experience serious and unavoidable difficulties at exam time or when assessment tasks are due, you can consider applying for Special Consideration.
You need to show that the circumstances:
If you feel that your studies have been impacted submit an application as follows:
Outcome
Once your submission is assessed, an appropriate outcome will be organised.
You can withdraw from your subjects prior to the census date (last day to withdraw). If you successfully withdraw before the census date, you won’t need to apply for Special Circumstances. If you find yourself unable to withdraw from your subjects before the census date - you might be able to apply for Special Circumstances. If you’re eligible, we can refund your fees and overturn your fail grade.
If you’re studying Single Subjects using FEE-HELP or paying up front, you can apply online.
If you’re studying a degree using HECS-HELP, you’ll need to apply directly to Macquarie University.
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
New Assessment Policy in effect from Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html. For more information visit http://students.mq.edu.au/events/2016/07/19/new_assessment_policy_in_place_from_session_2/
Assessment Policy prior to Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy prior to Session 2 2016 http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html
Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
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