iTeach and Unit Guides will be undergoing maintenance tonight (Tue 10th Feb) from 8:30-11:30pm AEDT. Service may be temporarily unavailable during this time. Apologies for any inconvenience. Updates via https://itstatus.mq.edu.au
Students

PHIL1031 – The Philosophy of Human Nature

2026 – Session 1, Online-flexible

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor, Lecturer, Tutor
Robert Sinnerbrink
robert.sinnerbrink@mq.edu.au
17WW232
By appointment
Lecturer
Jennifer Duke-Yonge
jennifer.duke-yonge@mq.edu.au
17WW230
By appointment
Lecturer, Tutor
Jean-Philippe Deranty
jp.deranty@mq.edu.au
17WW231
By appointment
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.

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

Detailed assessment information and rubrics

Detailed information about each of the assessments, including rubrics, will be available in iLearn. Please make sure you read the assessment information carefully, and contact the convenor if you have any questions.

Submission and return of assessments

Written assessments in this unit are to be submitted through the appropriate 'Turnitin' links in the unit website. They will be marked through 'Grademark', which will allow you to access your marked assignments directly through the website. For information about Turnitin and Grademark, 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 submitted no later than five days after the due date and should be accompanied by appropriate documentation. Please see https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/special-consideration for further details and instructions. Read this information 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. The Macquarie University Special Consideration Policy can be found at the end of this document.

Late Submission Penalty

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. This late penalty will apply to written reports and recordings only. Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs will be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application.

Academic Integrity

In Philosophy, academic honesty is taken very seriously, and a range of methods, including but not restricted to the use of Turnitin, are used to detect plagiarism. 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 ask the convenor for help and see also the  Academic Integrity Policy https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/academic-integrity

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 assessment tasks in this unit are individual tasks. Using other students' work or making your work available to other students counts as collusion, which also puts you in breach of the Academic Integrity policy.

A helpful resource if you would like to know more about referencing and avoiding plagiarism is  Macquarie's Academic Integrity Module, available here: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/skills-development. You will need to complete this Module before accessing the unit content, if you have not already done so. More information is available in iLearn. 

Policy on the use of Generative AI/Chapt GPT in Philosophy:

In this unit, unless notified otherwise in writing by the Unit Convenor, it is expected that the work you submit demonstrates your own understanding, analysis, research, reflection, critical thinking, and writing, and you will be marked on the basis of your demonstrated understanding of and engagement with the unit content and activities. This applies to all assessments, including online forums. If your teachers have concerns about whether a submission is your own work in a meaningful sense, you may be required to attend an interview with the Unit Convenor or other academic staff to discuss your work and demonstrate your attainment of unit and task learning outcomes.  Further information and advice about policies and expectations around the use of Generative AI will be given in iLearn. 

Academic Writing and Study Support

Macquarie University offers a number of services to help with academic writing, referencing and study skills. For details, see: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/skills/assignments

For information about policies related to Assessment, see Policies and Procedures section below.

 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension
Media presentation 25% No 29/03/2026   No
Reflective Task 45% No 31/05/2026   No
Reflective Porfolio 30% No 07/06/2026   No

Media presentation

Assessment Type 1: Media presentation

Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours

Due: 29/03/2025

Weighting: 25%

Groupwork/Individual:

Short extension: No

 

Short recorded reflection

 

On successful completion you will be able to:

  • critically and reflectively respond to the problems and theories introduced in the unit.
  • express and defend your own views with increased clarity

Reflective Task

Assessment Type 1: Reflective Writing

Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours

Due: 31/05/2025 

Weighting: 45%

Groupwork/Individual:

Short extension: No

 

Reflection and research task

 

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

Reflective Porfolio

Assessment Type 1: Portfolio

Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours

Due: 07/06/2025

Weighting: 30%

Groupwork/Individual:

Short extension: No

 

A set of reflections on learning in 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
  • 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

 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI assisted?
Media presentation 25% No 29/03/0026 Individual No Open AI
Reflective Task 45% No 31/05/2026 Individual No Open AI
Reflective Porfolio 30% No 07/06/2026 Individual No Open AI

Media presentation

Assessment Type 1: Presentation task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 29/03/0026
Weighting: 25%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI assisted?: Open AI

Short recorded reflection
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • critically and reflectively respond to the problems and theories introduced in the unit.
  • express and defend your own views with increased clarity

Reflective Task

Assessment Type 1: Reflection task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours
Due: 31/05/2026
Weighting: 45%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI assisted?: Open AI

Reflection and research task
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

Reflective Porfolio

Assessment Type 1: Portfolio
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 07/06/2026
Weighting: 30%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI assisted?: Open AI

A set of reflections on learning in 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
  • 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.

3 An automatic short extension is available for some assessments. Apply through the Service Connect Portal.

Delivery and Resources

Lectures

Lectures will be delivered live on campus from 9am-11am on Tuesday of each week in 29WW T1. Internal students are strongly encouraged to attend, but the lectures will also be streamed and recorded for online students, and those unable to attend. All students need to have attended or watched the lectures before attending tutorials or engaging in weekly discussions, since each week's tutorials and discussions will focus on content from the same week's lecture. Internal and zoom students should take this into consideration when choosing a tutorial time.

Tutorials

All students will engage in the discussion and related activities with their classmates and member of teaching staff, but the mode of participation will depend on how you've enrolled:

  • Students enrolled in the 'in-person scheduled'  offering will attend one tutorial each week (Weeks 1-12) on campus. Check the timetable for details (http://timetables.mq.edu.au). Your participation in tutorial is a crucial element of learning in this unit and is based on pre-tutorial preparation activities as well as discussion. Tutorial participation is required in order to complete the Reflective Portfolio assessment task.
  • Students enrolled in the 'online flexible' offering (either in PHIL1031 or via OUA in PHIX1031) will engage in discussion activities flexibly, through the aynchronous discussion forums in iLearn (Weeks 1-12). Tutorial participation is required in order to complete the Reflective Portfolio assessment task. More information will be available in iLearn.

Reading

All the essential readings and some supplementary readings for the course will be available electronically through the library, with links from iLearn. A list of weekly readings will be available through iLearn in week 1. You should do the essential weekly reading before your tutorial/discussion.

Website

The unit website is available through iLearn (http://ilearn.mq.edu.au). It contains essential resources for the unit, and you are expected to log in on a regular basis.

Student Email

Communications about the unit may be sent to your MQ student email address. Please make sure you check it regularly. For more information about accessing your MQ email, and how to redirect it to a personal email account if you wish to do so, can be found here: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/technology/service-desk/student-email

Unit Schedule

SECTION 1 -  HUMAN NATURE: TRADITIONAL DEBATES

Lecturer:  Dr Jenny Duke-Yonge

Week 1 (week beginning February 23)

Tutorials commence this week

Introduction

A general introduction: What is Philosophy? What is Human Nature? This week we will have a general introduction to the methods of Philosophy, and to the concerns about human nature that we will be examining over the unit.

Week 2

(w/b March 2)

The Mind/Body Problem

This week we discuss the mind-body problem: Are we purely physical beings, or do we have a mind that cannot be explained in physical terms? If we have an immaterial mind, how does it fit into the material world? But if we don’t, how can we make sense of our experience?

Week 3

 (w/b March 9)

Personal Identity

What makes you a person? And what makes you the same person over time? This week we’ll look at some classic and contemporary arguments and thought experiments to help us understand what it is for you to be you.

Week 4

(w/b March 16)

Free will and Determinism

Do we have free will? Or are our actions determined by causes outside our control? What implications does this question have for our sense of agency and responsibility?

 

SECTION 2 – EXISTENTIAL QUESTIONS

Lecturer:   Professor Robert Sinnerbrink

Week 5

(w/b March 23)

What is Existentialism?

Introduction to existentialist philosophy. The problem of existence and the meaning of life. Two senses of existence (personal and metaphysical). Ongoing influence of existentialism in literature, art, philosophy, and culture.

Media Presentation due Sunday 29/03

Week 6

(w/b March 30)

The Problem of Existence; Absurdity and Authenticity

Albert Camus claimed that ‘the only serious philosophical problem’ is that of the value of existence. This week explores the problem of existence and the experience of existential ‘absurdity’. What is absurdity and why does it matter? How might we live an authentic existence in an absurd world?

[Mid-Semester break 06/04-19/04]

Week 7

(w/b April 20)

 

Human Freedom and Consciousness

What is human freedom and how does it relate to consciousness? Are human relationships inevitably conflictual? Do we accept our freedom, or do we exist in ‘bad faith’ (self-deception)? This week we examine Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialist account of freedom, consciousness, and our difficult relations with others.

Week 8

(w/b April 27) 

Being-in-the-world and Mortality

An introduction to phenomenology as a philosophical method focusing on practical everyday existence. Martin Heidegger’s anti-dualistic account of human existence as ‘being-in-the-world’. Why we are ‘skilled copers’ rather than disengaged knowers. How we deal with our environment but also with time and our mortality.

Week 9

(w/b May 4)

Literature and Art as Philosophical Tools

The importance of art and literature as alternative ways of exploring philosophical questions. Sartre on literature and why it helps us understand human freedom and social relations. Maurice Merleau-Ponty on visual art as a way of exploring the ‘phenomenology of perception’. What painting can show us about embodied perception and experiencing nature.

SECTION 3 – HUMANS, ANIMALS, and MACHINES

Lecturer: Prof. Jean-Philippe Deranty

Week 10

(w/b May 11)

Are Human Beings Different from Other Animals?

A dominant view of human beings has long been that we are unique in the natural world because we have abilities no other animals possess. an immortal soul, free will, language, reason, the capacity to love, and more. But 19thC science, particularly evolutionary science, challenged this idea, and showed instead that human beings are not separate from nature but part of it. Our abilities to think, feel, and create technology did not appear out of nowhere. They developed gradually from earlier forms, and many of their basic elements can be found in other species. So are humans still unique - and if so, in what sense?

Week 11

(w/b May 18)

The Working Species

Tradtionally, work has been viewed as one of the characteristic traits of humanity, making us distinct from other animal species. Yemany aspects of human work seem to be shared with other species, like the learning of skills, the use of tools and instruments, co-operation, the division of work processes into different tasks and specialisations. Is human work unique , then, and if so, in what ways? We look at an influential account of human evolution which explains how human work is different from animal work and shows why these characteristics of human work reveal a lot about the unique evolutionary trajectory of our species.

Week 12

(w/b May 25)

How will Automation impact Humanity?

This week we will explore how automation is changing what it means to be human. As machines take over more tasks once done by people, our roles, skillls, and sense of purpose are being reshaped. We will ask whether automation threatens something essential about human nature - or whether it might free u to develop new ways of living and working.  

Reflective Task due Sunday 31/05

Week 13 (w/b June 1)

No tutorials this week

Philosophy and the Meaning of Life

An overview and summing up of our journey in Philosophies of Human Nature guided by the question of the 'meaning of life'. Is there an answer (or perhaps many answers) to this question? What does it tell us about human nature? The idea of philosophy as a 'way of life'. How can philosophy help us understand ourselves and live our lives better? 

We hope you have enjoyed PHIL/PHIX1031!

Reflective Portfolio due Sunday 07/06

 

 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/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 connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

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

Academic Success

Academic Success provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

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

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

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.

Unit information based on version 2026.03 of the Handbook