Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Ruth Cox
Contact via ruth.cox@mq.edu.au
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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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 provides an introduction to major topics in ethics, moral theory and contemporary political philosophy. The first section, Ethics and the Good Life, focuses on the nature of happiness. Is pleasure essential to happiness? Or does the pursuit of pleasure harm our chances of lasting fulfilment? Must we be virtuous in order to be happy? What is the relationship between happiness and duty? The second section, Foundations of Morality, explores the sources of morality and the objectivity of moral judgment. Is morality based ultimately in self-interest? What is the relationship between morality and religion? Are there moral principles that everyone is bound by reason to recognise? Or is the validity of moral standards relative to specific societies and cultures? In the third section, Contemporary Problems of Justice, we turn to questions of applied political philosophy, focusing on questions such as: What principles should govern the distribution of economic and social resources within a society? What are the obligations of wealthy nations to those less fortunate? What obligations do we have towards immigrants and refugees?
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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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Task 1 | 20% | Week 2 - Friday 20th December |
Task 2 | 25% | Week 4 - Friday 17 January |
Task 3 | 35% | Wednesday 29 January |
Task 4 | 20% | Throughout semester |
Due: Week 2 - Friday 20th December
Weighting: 20%
750 to 1000 word summary and analysis of a philosophical text
Due: Week 4 - Friday 17 January
Weighting: 25%
Journal entries or case studies on parts 1 and 2 of the unit
Due: Wednesday 29 January
Weighting: 35%
1500 word essay on a topic from parts 2 and 3 of the unit
Due: Throughout semester
Weighting: 20%
Completion of self-test quizzes and participation in class discussions and online Discussion Forums. Attendance at a minimum of 11 of the 14 seminars is, under normal circumstances, a requirement of passing the unit.
Required and Recommended Texts and/or Materials
The PHL132 Unit Reader, which contains all the essential reading material for the lectures, must be purchased from the Co-op Bookshop.
Supplementary readings for the Essay assessment will be available electronically via e-Reserve. Material that cannot be placed in e-Reserve due to Copyright infringements can be found in the Reserve section of the library where individual copies may be made.
Technologies used:
This unit has an online presence in iLearn. Students will require access to reliable broadband and a computer.
Unit materials, announcements and other relevant information are found on iLearn for the unit at: http://ilearn.mq.edu.au. It is necessary to visit the unit iLearn site regularly.
Your log-in details for iLearn are the same as your E-Student username and password. Should you have any technical difficulties logging in, including password resets, you will need to contact the IT Helpdesk on 9850 4357 or log onto OneHelp via the website http://mq.edu.au/onehelp/index.html to log a support request.
What has changed since last delivery:
Online Discussion Forums for each seminar have been introduced.
Seminar 1 9 December |
Introduction |
Seminar 2 11 December |
Epicurean Ethics |
Seminar 3 13 December |
Stoic Ethics |
Seminar 4 16 December |
Aristotle’s Ethics |
Seminar 5 18 December |
Morality, religion and atheism |
Seminar 6 20 December |
Cultural diversity and moral relativism |
23 December - 3 January |
Mid-session Break |
Seminar 7 6 January |
Egoism and self-interest theories |
Seminar 8 8 January |
Kant and the universality of reason |
Seminar 9 10 January |
Utilitarianism |
Seminar 10 13 January |
Utilitarianism and animal welfare |
Seminar 11 15 January |
Justice and inequality |
Seminar 12 17 January |
Justice, immigration and refugees |
Seminar 13 20 January |
Climate justice |
Seminar 14 22 January |
Review and Essay Writing Skills |
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://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html
Grading Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html
Special Consideration Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/special_consideration/policy.html
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University provides a range of Academic Student Support Services. Details of these services can be accessed at: http://students.mq.edu.au/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.
Details of these services can be accessed at http://www.student.mq.edu.au/ses/.
If you wish to receive IT help, we would be glad to assist you at http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/.
When using the university's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students and it outlines what can be done.
We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.
This graduate capability is supported by:
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This graduate capability is supported by:
As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.
This graduate capability is supported by: