Diploma Second Year Requirements

Introduction Modern Philosophy
Applied Ethics
Philosophy of Education

Entry requirements:

A pass in the First year of Diploma of Philosophy or its equivalent in the case of exchange and visiting students.

Dates of Semesters (Teaching)

Syllabus - Year II:

Individual Course Units:

Introduction to Modern Philosophy

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Course Aim: The primary aim of the course is to discuss the crisis of Modernity, radical changes in theories of knowledge, and how technical reason has replaced the rational goal of human values. In a world structured and now threatened by rapid technological advancement, social thought has been reduced to a feeling of loss of values and distrust in Modernity. In examining the modernist philosophical thought from Descartes to Nietzsche, it is hoped to provide a critique of the changing face of culture in modern society and its influence on our own lives. By studying the theories of the philosophers selected for this course and the arguments that they present, students will enhance their analytical and critical skills, be able to debate and evaluate philosophical arguments, and have the ability to write in a critical and philosophical manner.

Course description: This course is primarily designed to introduce students to the most important issues that have developed throughout the history of Modern Philosophy and their relevance for 21st Century society - culturally, politically and socially. In order to approach these issues, the students will concentrate on the key figures whose philosophies have helped establish Modern philosophical thought to the present day.

The main focus of the Modern period will be on the foundations of scientific knowledge from the Copernican Revolution to the psychological origins of philosophy in the thought of René Descartes; British Empiricism through the works of Locke, Berkeley and Hume and the problem of the foundation of Knowledge; Kant on the problem of Morality and Aesthetic values; Nietzsche and the transition from Modern to Postmodern thought.


Prerequisites: None

Methods of assessment and examination: One essay (1200 words); a two-hour written exam.

Core Texts:

Primary:

Cahn, Stephen, Classics of Western Philosophy; Kearney & Rainwater (Eds.), The Continental Philosophy Reader.

Secondary: to be announced.
Note: The course will also be supplemented with handouts.

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Applied Ethics

Course Description: This course on Ethics has two parts: the first part, Applied Ethics, will be concerned to introduce students to some important philosophical arguments regarding common ethical problems, such as capital punishment, euthanasia and abortion. The second part of the course, an Introduction to Ethical Theory, will be concerned to introduce student to some of the standard philosophical approaches to ethics and ethical questions. More generally, the course will serve to advance students' skills in critical reasoning and critical writing.

Teaching and learning methods: The course is lecture-based. The lectures will be based on readings from the core texts.

Methods of assessment and examination: Overall assessment is made on the basis of one essay submitted at the end of first semester and a written exam at the end of semester two.

Core texts:

P. Singer
(ed.) Applied Ethics (Oxford University Press, 1986) [170 APP] *
(ed.) A Companion to Ethics (Blackwell, 1991) [170 COM]

Secondary texts:

Carson, Thomas L. & Paul K. Moser
(eds.) Morality and the Good Life (Oxford University Press, 1997)

Glover, Jonathan
Causing Death and Saving Lives (Penguin, 1977)[179.7 GLO]
Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century (Cape, 1999)

Harris, John
(ed.) Bioethics (Oxford University Press, 2001) [179.7 BIO]

Kamm, F. M.
Creation and Abortion: A Study in Moral and Legal Philosophy (Oxford University Press, 1992) [363.46 KAM]

H. Lafollette
(ed.) Ethics in Practice (Blackwell, 1977) [170 ETH]

J. Rachels
(ed.) Moral Problems (3rd Ed.; Harper & Row, 1979) [170]
The Elements of Moral Philosophy (3rd Ed.; McGraw-Hill, 1999) [170 RAC]

D. D. Raphael
Moral Philosophy (2nd Ed.; Oxford University Press, 1994) [170 RAP]

T. Regan
(ed.) Matters of Life and Death (Random House, 1980) [179.7 MAT]

Shaw, William
(ed.) Social and Personal Ethics (Wadsworth, 1993) [170 SHA]

Singer, Peter
Practical Ethics (2nd Ed.; Cambridge University Press, 1993) [170 SIN]
(ed.) Ethics (Oxford University Press, 1994) [170 ETH]

J. E. White
(ed.) Contemporary Moral Problems (5th Ed.; West, 1997) [170 CON]

* The code appearing at the end of these titles in square brackets is their university library call number.

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Philosophy of Education

Aim: The principal aim of this course is to enable students to engage in a critical evaluation of the concepts education and schooling as we understand them. The fact that our practice of education and the character of our society perpetually inform one another underlines the importance of this endeavour. A key question will be what justifies our contemporary, or any, practice of education? All systems or theories of education reflect a particular anthropology and, related to that anthropology, a particular societal model, that is, a particular view of what constitutes a human being and a corresponding view of what form society should take. Related to this point is the fact that our (or any) practice of education and the character of our society perpetually inform one another and, indeed, mutually reinforce one another. In a more general sense there always is, and has been, a dialectic between the individual and the wider society within which he finds himself, or more specifically, between the interests of the individual and those of the wider society. Presently, for example, there is an increasing emphasis on adult education and, we might ask, what prompted this development and what are its implications for the practice of education in general?
Our understanding of education is informed by historical developments and the tenor of our age. Our age is one of rapid development in education's purpose, its mode of delivery and the character of the institutions charged with this delivery. Through a study of a selection of philosophers and theorists of education and schooling students should gain a critical perspective on these concepts. As well as developing their analytical and critical skills, it is intended that on completion of the course students will be able to express themselves clearly and evaluate, and contribute to, philosophical discussions and arguments on education and schooling. It is further envisaged that the ability to reflect on the process of education in which students are engaged will, in turn, enrich that very process.

Course description: The course will look at schools in terms of their role as mediator between the developing individual and society. To what extent do schools respond to society's requirements and are such requirements always in the best interest of individuals. Furthermore, if schools are the effective moulders of our future citizens and consequently of the society constituted by these citizens, the questions arise as to what type of society we desire in the future and consequently what form should our schools take. In the earlier part of the course the philosophies of Plato and Jean Jacques Rousseau, will be examined and compared in the light of the above questions.
Plato's theory of education, as outlined in The Republic will be studied as an extreme example of education as social engineering. For Plato education should not be child centred. The young must be trained over many years so that knowledge of the virtues is inculcated in them.
Jean Jacques Rousseau, who outlined his theory of education in Emile, will be studied as a counterpoint to Plato. Rousseau's theory reflected his renunciation of the political and social order of his day. It was a child centred theory which laid more emphasis on doing and discovery than on reading and being taught. Rousseau's work also led to greatly increased interest in child development in educational thought.
In the second part of the course, the views of Ivan Illich will be studied and compared to the two earlier theorists. Through a close reading of Illich's Deschooling Society students will be introduced to Illich's understanding of the 'hidden curriculum' of schooling as the initiation of an ethos of consumerism. As contemporary western society is acknowledged as a consumer society, a study of Illich's critique of schooling should enable students to have a more informed and critical perspective on the relationship between society and schools. Should schools simply enable us to cope with existing society or should they have a developmental purpose, and if so, what should that purpose be? Should the structure of schools reflect a particular societal vision, such as for example Plato's republic, or should their purpose be to foster critical awareness? Is the hidden curriculum of schooling the production of a society of consumers? These questions are paralleled by the larger question: to what extent should our democracies be developmental or equilibrium?
The three theories studied are all based on a particular anthropological view (i.e. a particular understanding of human nature) and a consequent model of society to suit this anthropology. For Plato the individual needs to be strictly moulded if his ideal society is to be realised. Rousseau considered that the society of his day was artificial, autocratic and responsible for the corruption and enslavement of man. He believed that children should be allowed to follow their natural impulses if they are to reach their potential and that this was a necessary prerequisite for a healthy society. Illich's anthropology encompasses both the human need for personal freedom and for social relatedness. He believes that the consumer society, which currently predominates, militates against the possibilities for autonomous action and personal relatedness, both prerequisites for his ideal society. Plato's theory of education would dramatically restrict, if not totally prohibit, autonomy while Rousseau's appeal for total childhood freedom can seem unduly idealistic. For Illich children grow up and develop in human society so it is the form of that society which is in question.
By the end of the course students should be capable of evaluating, and engaging in critical discussion on, the justification for our contemporary practice of education from the point of view of the interests of both the individual and society. Also, it is expected that the study of philosophers and philosophies of education will stimulate reflection on wider philosophical issues and concerns.

Teaching and learning methods: Lectures and seminars.

Mehods of Assessment: One written assignment and one written examination.

Core Texts:

Primary:

Plato. The Republic

Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics, Politics

Boyd, William. Emile for Today; the Emile of Jean Jacques Rousseau

Rousseau, Jean Jacques. Emile or Treatise on Education

Illich, Ivan. Deschooling Society, Shadow Work and In the Mirror of the Past.

Secondary:

Bowen and Hobson. A Brief History of Educational Ideas

Rorty, Amelie. Philosophers on Education

Chambliss, Joseph James. Philosophy of Education: an Encyclopaedia

Russell, Bertrand. A History of Western Philosophy

Flew, Anthony. A Dictionary of Philosophy.

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