Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Lecturer, Tutor
Kelly Hamilton
By appointment
Kelly Hamilton
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
(39cp at 100 level or above) or admission to GDipArts
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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 explores some of the central issues in contemporary philosophical moral psychology. The first section focuses on freedom of the will, the nature of autonomy and debates about whether autonomy is compatible with socialisation. In the second section we discuss a range of issues concerning moral responsibility, including the implications of luck and causal determination for responsibility, whether moral responsibility requires an ability to do otherwise, and the conditions under which persons should be exempted from responsibility for their actions. The third section focuses on contemporary theories of personal identity over time by exploring the differences between metaphysical, practical and narrative theories of identity.
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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:
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.
Please see the section on Policies and Procedures for information on how to apply for Special Consideration.
Active participation is assessed by a student's engagement in activities such as: discussions facilitated by the lecturer/tutor, contributions to online discussion forums, or general questions asked during lectures or tutorials and involvement in set activities. Participation is expected to be well considered and relevant to the unit of study.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Tutorial Participation | 10% | No | Ongoing |
Tutorial presentation | 5% | No | Assigned in class |
Online quizzes | 15% | No | Ongoing |
Short answer test | 30% | No | 01/10/2018 |
Essay | 40% | No | 09/11/2018 |
Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 10%
An important part of philosophy is engaging in active dialogue with others. This mark is allocated on the basis of your participation in both LECTURES and TUTORIALS throughout the semester.
Internal students must attend at least 6 out of the 10 tutorials to be eligible for the participation mark. If you do not attend at least 6 tutorials, you will receive 0 marks for participation. You may participate in online forums but this will not count towards your participation mark.
External students must participate in at least 6 different weekly online discussion forums within a week of the relevant lecture to be eligible for the participation mark. This means that the deadline for forum participation will be Tuesdays 11:59pm. If you do not participate in at least 6 different weekly online discussion forums in time, you will receive 0 marks for participation.
If you meet this minimum requirement, your mark will be awarded on the basis of overall quality of your participation throughout the semester in lectures and tutorials/forums.
Due: Assigned in class
Weighting: 5%
Students will undertake a short presentation in tutorials (5 minutes). This will consist of:
Note: External students will undertake the presentation via a forum post (either in writing or by uploading audio or video) and subsequent discussion.
Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 15%
Online quizzes test comprehension and understanding of the required readings. There will be 10 online quizzes worth a total of 15% (or a maximum of 1.5% for each of the 10 quizzes). There will be 5 questions each week. You can attempt each quiz only once and there is a time limit. Quizzes start in Week 2 and run until Week 11 (for the content of Weeks 3 to Week 12).
Note: the quizzes will be open for one week BEFORE the relevant lecture, and the deadline for each quiz will be at Tuesday 11:59pm. For example, the quiz for Week 3 (Frankfurt on freedom of the will, Watson on motives and values) will open on Wednesday Week 2, and close on Tuesday Week 3. The lecture and tutorials will be on Wednesday. This is to ensure that you have read the required readings before your tutorials, and come to the lecture and tutorial prepared.
As this is a timed assessment, no late submissions will be accepted.
Due: 01/10/2018
Weighting: 30%
The short answer test is designed to test your comprehension of the essential readings and arguments in the unit, and your ability to present your understanding of the readings clearly and succinctly. You are not expected to undertake research beyond the essential readings. You will write 4 answers of 450 words each. The questions will be released on 3 September 2018.
Due: 09/11/2018
Weighting: 40%
The essay (2200 words) is designed to extend your understanding of a specific topic 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 read and incorporate into your paper a minimum of four secondary sources for this assessment as well as material presented in the unit reader. The questions will be released on 8 October 2018.
This unit has an online presence in iLearn. Students will need to be able to access this site.
All required readings are in the unit reader. You are responsible for obtaining access to these readings.
A list of further readings is available on the unit's iLearn site.
Week 1 (1 August)
Lecture 1: Unit outline & brief introduction
No reading for this week (other than the unit guide!).
No tutorials this week.
Week 2 (8 August)
Lecture 2: Background on Agency and Identity: Locke, Hume, and Kant
Required reading:
No tutorials this week.
Quiz 1 (for Week 3) opens.
Week 3 (15 August)
Lecture 3 & Tutorial 1: Frankfurt on freedom of the will, Watson on motives and values
Required reading:
Quiz 2 (for Week 4) opens.
Week 4 (22 August)
Lecture 4 & Tutorial 2: 'Deep self' and integration theories
Required reading:
Quiz 3 (for Week 5) opens.
Week 5 (29 August)
Lecture 5 & Tutorial 3: Competence and relational theories of autonomy
Required reading:
Quiz 4 (for Week 6) opens.
Week 6 (5 September)
Lecture 6 & Tutorial 4: Moral Luck
Required reading:
Quiz 5 (for Week 7) opens.
3 September: Short answer test questions released.
Week 7 (12 September)
Lecture 7 & Tutorial 5: Moral responsibility and 'reactive attitudes'
Required reading:
Quiz 6 (for Week 8) opens (and will remain open until Tuesday 2 October).
1 October: Short answer test due
Week 8 (3 October)
Lecture 8 & Tutorial 6: 'Could have done otherwise,' moral responsibility, and incompatibilism
Required reading:
Quiz 7 (for Week 9) opens.
Week 9 (10 October)
Lecture 9 & Tutorial 7: Parfit: Persons, Bodies, and Survival
Required reading:
Quiz 8 (for Week 10) opens.
8 October: Essay questions released.
Week 10 (17 October)
Lecture 10 & Tutorial 8: Practical Identity: Responses to Parfit
Required reading:
Quiz 9 (for Week 11) opens.
Week 11 (24 October)
Lecture 11 & Tutorial 9: Narrative Self-Constitution
Required reading:
Quiz 10 (for Week 12) opens. This is your final quiz.
Week 12 (31 October)
Lecture 12 & Tutorial 10: The Self and Meaningfulness
Required reading:
No quiz this week.
Week 13 (7 November)
No lecture or tutorial this week.
No quiz this week.
9 November: Essay due.
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/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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