Students

PHIX1031 – The Philosophy of Human Nature

2020 – Session 2, Fully online/virtual

Notice

As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group learning activities on campus for the second half-year, while keeping an online version available for those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.

To check the availability of face to face activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff OUA Convenor
Jennifer Duke-Yonge
jennifer.duke-yonge@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email, or via "Dialogues" in iLearn
25WWB719
By arrangement
Tutor
Hoda Mostafavi
hoda.mostafavi@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email, or via "Dialogues" in iLearn
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

The unit introduces the big philosophical questions about human nature, personal identity and the meaning of life. Are human beings somehow unique in nature? Do we have distinct selves that endure through time? Do we have free will? What is the relation between our identity and the things that matter to us? The main theme is whether there is such a thing as human nature at all. We begin by asking whether mind is entirely physical or could in principle survive bodily death. We also explore the links between the self, time, and memory. The remainder of the unit introduces some key thinkers of the twentieth century; and we explore their views on freedom, lived experience, and our relations to others. The unit as a whole offers a detailed introduction to controversial questions about the nature of the mind, showing how historical understanding animates current debates, and demonstrating the relevance of philosophy to live modern issues about science, human nature, and culture. All enrolment queries should be directed to Open Universities Australia (OUA): see www.open.edu.au

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: identify key philosophical problems about human nature at an introductory level
  • ULO2: explain important philosophical responses to problems about human nature at an introductory level
  • ULO3: critically and reflectively respond to the problems and theories introduced in the unit.
  • ULO4: express and defend your own views with increased clarity
  • ULO5: contribute to the learning of the group by engaging constructively in philosophical discussion and activities

General Assessment Information

Assessments are to be submitted through Turnitin, and will be marked and returned via Grademark. For information about these tools, see:

https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/tools-and-resources/ilearn/ilearn-quick-guides-for-students/assignments-and-grades

Special Consideration

Requests for extensions should be submitted via a Special Consideration request, which is available in the http://ask.mq.edu.au portal. Your request should be accompanied by appropriate documentation, such as a medical certificate. Please see the Special Consideration policy in the list of policies at the end of this document for further details.

Read the policy closely as your request may be turned down if you have not followed procedure, or if you have not submitted a request in a timely manner.

Late Assessment Penalty

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.

Academic Integrity

In Philosophy, academic honesty is taken very seriously. Misrepresenting someone else's work as your own may be grounds for referral to the Faculty Disciplinary Committee. If you have questions about how to properly cite work or how to credit sources, please talk to one of the teaching staff and see also Academic Integrity Policy (see the Policies and Procedures section below).

Please note that the policy also prohibits resubmitting work you have already submitted in another unit or unit offering. This counts as self-plagiarism. To avoid self-plagiarism, if you have done this unit previously, you should write on another topic this time. If this presents you with any problems, please contact the unit convenor as soon as possible.

 

All due times/dates are based on Sydney time. If you are in a different timezone, check here to confirm times.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Online Quizzes 30% No Week 5; Week 9; Week 13
First Essay 20% No Sunday 20/9 (Mid-semester break)
Essay Plan 10% No Sunday 18/10 (Week 10)
Final Essay 30% No Sunday 8/11 (Week 13)
Online Participation 10% No Ongoing (see iLearn)

Online Quizzes

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Week 5; Week 9; Week 13
Weighting: 30%

Multiple choice questions will cover material discussed in the weekly readings.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • identify key philosophical problems about human nature at an introductory level
  • explain important philosophical responses to problems about human nature at an introductory level
  • critically and reflectively respond to the problems and theories introduced in the unit.
  • express and defend your own views with increased clarity

First Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Sunday 20/9 (Mid-semester break)
Weighting: 20%

A short essay on themes from the unit.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • identify key philosophical problems about human nature at an introductory level
  • explain important philosophical responses to problems about human nature at an introductory level
  • critically and reflectively respond to the problems and theories introduced in the unit.
  • express and defend your own views with increased clarity

Essay Plan

Assessment Type 1: Plan
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Sunday 18/10 (Week 10)
Weighting: 10%

Prior to the final essay, students will submit an essay plan of their intended chosen question for the final essay.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • identify key philosophical problems about human nature at an introductory level
  • explain important philosophical responses to problems about human nature at an introductory level
  • express and defend your own views with increased clarity

Final Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Sunday 8/11 (Week 13)
Weighting: 30%

An argumentative Essay about themes from the unit.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • identify key philosophical problems about human nature at an introductory level
  • explain important philosophical responses to problems about human nature at an introductory level
  • critically and reflectively respond to the problems and theories introduced in the unit.
  • express and defend your own views with increased clarity

Online Participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Ongoing (see iLearn)
Weighting: 10%

Students should be well prepared for online tutorials, having done the required reading and devised questions and discussion points. Students should make a constructive contribution to online discussion.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • explain important philosophical responses to problems about human nature at an introductory level
  • critically and reflectively respond to the problems and theories introduced in the unit.
  • express and defend your own views with increased clarity
  • contribute to the learning of the group by engaging constructively in philosophical discussion and activities

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Required Reading:

There will be a core texts to read for each week of the course. It is mandatory that these be read as tutorial discussions and lectures are based on these. And quiz questions will focus on the weekly readings as well. The weekly readings will be available via the Leganto service, which is accessible through the ilearn. Additional optional readings will be made available electronically on the ilearn in each week.

 

Technology Used and Required:

We use an iLearn website, and the Echo360 lecture recordings. Any other material you need will be available through the iLearn website. We recommend you have access to a reliable internet connection throughout the semester.

 

Assignment Submission:

Assignments in this course will be submitted electronically, as word documents. 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.

Unit Schedule

Week and lecture topic 

Description

Part one

CLASSICAL DEBATES

Lecturer: Dr Jennifer Duke-Yonge

1. Introduction

  (week beginning 27/7)

A general introduction: What is Philosophy? What is an argument? What is a thought experiment? And an introduction into the general themes and concerns surrounding the notion of human nature that we will explore throughout the rest of the course.

2. The Mind-Body Problem

(w/b 3/8)

This week we discuss the mind-body problem: is the self or mind only material? Or is there an immaterial aspect of human nature, a soul? If so, how does this dualistic composition of mind and matter interact?

3. Personal Identity

  (w/b 10/8)

Does the self persist over time? We will examine John Locke's and Derek Parfitt’s thought experiments exploring the questions of whether and how a self persists over time.

4. Free Will and Determinism 

(w/b 17/8)

Is human nature determined? Or do we have free will? This week we will discuss this debate that has enraptured Western Philosophy since its inception.

5. Essay writing workshop

(w/b 24/8)

There is no compulsory assessed discussion this week. Instead the lecture discusses the first essay assignment and provides students with preparation and skills for how to go about researching and writing philosophical essays. (Lecture to be delivered by Dr Alexander James Gillett)

Part Two

 

EXISTENTIAL TOPICS

Lecturer: Associate Professor Robert Sinnerbrink

 

6. Human Freedom and Consciousness

(w/b 31/8)

What is human freedom? How does it relate to consciousness? Are human relationships inevitably conflictual? This week introduces existentialism and focuses on Jean Paul Sartre’s existentialist account of freedom, consciousness, and our relations with others.

7. Being-in-the-world and Mortality 

(w/b 7/9)

An introduction to phenomenology focusing on practical everyday existence. Martin Heidegger’s anti-dualistic account of human existence as ‘being-in-the-world’. How we deal with our environment but also with our mortality.

Mid Semester Break  (Take a well-earned break) - 14/9 - 27/9

8. Literature and Art as Philosophical Tools

(w/b 28/9)

The importance of art and literature as alternative ways of exploring philosophical questions. Sartre on literature and why it helps us understand human freedom. Merleau-Ponty on visual art as a way of exploring the ‘phenomenology of perception’.

Part Three

BIOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY

Lecturer: Dr Alexander James Gillett

9. Human Nature after Darwin

(w/b 5/10)

Having considered a range of classical and existential questions, we now turn to how questions about human nature have been radically altered by scientific findings related to evolution. Is human nature innately determined and fixed by our genetics? Or is human nature malleable and shaped by our cultural environment?

10. Essay Plan Week

(w/b 12/10)

Students are to submit an essay plan this week. As such, there are no lectures or tutorials scheduled.

11. Humans and Animals 

(w/b 19/10)

A perennial feature of the debates about human nature involve contrasting ourselves to the other parts of the animal kingdom. This week we discuss whether other animals have minds and “higher” mental faculties. Relatedly, one can ask whether humans are a unique species different from all other animals? Or whether we are just another kind of animal? What are the implications of these questions and how we answer them? 

12. Human Nature and Technology 

(w/b 26/10)

This week we examine the question of human nature in the light of technology. Is human nature being radically altered by modern technology? Or are we pre-adapted in some sense to be intimately interconnected with an artificial environment filled with tools, what Andy Clark calls “Natural Born Cyborgs”? What is the future of human nature? 

13. Tying it All Together

(w/b 2/11)

In the final session of the course we bring together all the various debates and topics surrounding human nature to examine the differences and similarities between positions. And to prepare for the final assessment. There is no compulsory assessed discussion scheduled in this week.

Policies and Procedures

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:

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).

Student Code of Conduct

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

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

IT Help

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.