UCL Philosophy Department: MA Modules 2015/16 Academic Year
PHILGA08
Early Wittgenstein
This module aims to introduce the student to Ludwig Wittgenstein’s early philosophy, focusing in particular on the interpretation of his
Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. It will also present relevant aspects of the philosophies of Gottlob Frege and Bertrand Russell.
Staff
JZ
Shared
BA \ Mphil
Term
1
Assessment
Essay 4500
Thursday
11:00
PHILGA09
General Philosophy 1: Ethics & Political Philosophy
This is a graduate level introduction to central questions of moral and political philosophy. In moral philosophy, topics may include
consquentialism and anti-consequentialism, the rationality and objectivity of morality, partiality and impartiality. In political philosophy,
topics may include liberty, equality, democracy, rights, authority, and property. Readings are drawn from contemporary sources.
Staff
DL
Shared
n
Term
1
Assessment
Essay 4500
Thursday
16:00
30 July 2015
Page 1 of 16
PHILGA10
General Philosophy 2: Knowledge & Reality
This course will introduce some basic problems and concepts in epistemology and metaphysics to MA students who have not formally
studied philosophy before. Topics to discuss may include: the nature of knowledge; scepticism, perception; introspection, other minds,
time, freedom, causation, and personal identity.
Staff
RM
Shared
n
Term
1
Assessment
Essay 4500
Tuesday
16:00
PHILGA11
Research Preparation in Philosophy 1
This course will introduce UCL Philosophy Masters students to graduate study in philosophy and to philosophical discussion. Each week
all students will have read in advance a classic piece of analytic philosophy, and one student will give an oral presentation to initiate a
discussion of the reading, which is moderated by the convenor.
Staff
SG
Shared
n
Term
1
Assessment
Essay 4500
Wednesday
15:00
30 July 2015
Page 2 of 16
PHILGA12
Research Preparation in Philosophy 2
This course will build on PHILGA11 in continuing to train UCL Philosophy Masters students in reading difficult philosophical texts and
training them in the skills involved in philosophical discussion. Each week all students will have read in advance a classic piece of analytic
philosophy, and one student will give an oral presentation to initiate a discussion of the reading, which is moderated by the convenor.
Staff
LOB
Shared
n
Term
2
Assessment
Exam 2hr
Wednesday
15:00
PHILGA14
Topics in Greek Philosophy: Aristotle
The course provides a survey of Aristotle's thought with a particular focus on his philosophy of mind and moral psychology. After an
introduction to the central tenets of his logic and metaphysics, the course will cover topics including Aristotle's views on the relation of
the mind (soul) to the body, the kinds of cognitive capacities attributable to humans and non-human animals, the emotions, flourishing
(eudaimonia), virtue ethics, the doctrine of the mean and habituation, and the role of contemplation in the good life. The main texts will
be de Anima and the Nicomachean Ethics, although other texts will be consulted.
Staff
FL
Shared
BA \ Mphil
Term
2
Assessment
Essay 4500
Tuesday
14:00
30 July 2015
Page 3 of 16
PHILGA16
Advanced Class in the Philosophy of Mind
This module is designed to introduce advanced undergraduate students to detailed study of a central topic, or topics, in the Philosophy
of Mind. The topic(s) covered will vary from year to year. Topics covered this year will include self-knowledge and irrational behavior.
Staff
LOB
Shared
BA \ Mphil
Term
1
Assessment
Essay 4500
Monday
11:00
PHILGA18
Perception and its modalities
The topic of this module is the metaphysics of experience. It will explore the nature of experience by comparing different sensory
modalities, specifically, vision, audition, and touch. Our starting point will be Broad's comparative phenomenology of these senses in
"Elementary Reflections on Sense perception", and we will discuss contemporary papers on these senses in following up Broad's claims.
All members of the class are required to prepare the reading each week. Students will be responsible for one short presentation which
will be the basis for discussion.
Staff
MK
Shared
BA \ Mphil
Term
2
Assessment
Essay 4500
Friday
15:00
30 July 2015
Page 4 of 16
PHILGA33
Graduate Studies in Moral Philosophy
This is a graduate level research seminar in moral philosophy. Topics may differ year to year. In 2015-16 the seminar is about
intersubjectivity (interpersonal self-consciousness) in ethics. We will begin with Rousseau’s discussion of amour-propre proceeding to
more recent materials. I am especially interested to investigate connections between the capacity to understand other subjects, the
capacity to stand in relations of mutual recognition, and the capacity for non-instrumental concern for others.
Staff
DL
MPhil Stud
Term
1
Assessment
Essay 4500
The first part of the course will look at the relation between domination and “inner freedom” (roughly, free will). The second part of the
course will examine three approaches to characterizing the contrast between freedom and domination. We will look here at Sen’s
capability approach, Ripstein’s self-ownership approach, and Pettit’s “Republican” subject-to-interference approach. In the third part of
the course, we will look at whether and how domination corrodes the psychologies of dominated people. A central concern in the
course will be to try to understand freedom and domination in a way that respects two guiding thoughts: that dominated people suffer
an important and distinctive kind of loss, and that dominated people are full-fledged persons, and live lives expressive of their
personhood.
PHILGA34
Shared
Tuesday
16:00
Graduate Studies in Ancient Philosophy
The course will focus on Plato’s later dialogue, the Sophist, and Fiona Leigh’s draft manuscript of a new reading of this dialogue, from
start to finish. Issues and topics to be addressed include what is involved in giving a philosophical definition of a kind, the ontological
status of mimetic representations, modes of being, the comparative status of Forms and participants, and the nature of falsehood.
Some of the central claims to be defended will be that the method of collection and division and the more analytic method of dialectic
are compatible, Forms are treated as causes, not universals, in the dialogue, and not-being is analysed as equivalent to difference.
Staff
FL
Shared
MPhil Stud
Term
2
Assessment
Essay 4500
Wednesday
11:00
30 July 2015
Page 5 of 16
PHILGA36
Research Seminar: Philosophy, Justice & Health
This seminar will look at recent writings in the area of Justice and Global Health. This year the topic will be duties to future persons
(looking at works by Broome and others on the ethics of climate change)
Staff
JGW
Shared
MPhil Stud
Term
1
Assessment
Essay 4500
Monday
10:00
PHILGA43
Topics in German Idealism
The course focuses on central issues in the writings of the German Idealists – Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel – with special attention to the
ways in which they develop and transform Kant's philosophy. Topics covered include the theory of the self, transcendental and absolute
idealism, philosophy of nature, philosophy of art, intersubjectivity, and Hegel's dialectic.
Staff
SG
Shared
BA \ Mphil
Term
1
Assessment
Essay 4500
Thursday
14:00
30 July 2015
Page 6 of 16
PHILGA48
Sartre's Philosophy
This course will focus on Sartre’s philosophical writings of the 1930s and 1940s: mainly Being and Nothingness, and some of the
phenomenological writings that preceded it (for example, Outline for a Theory of the Emotions and The Transcendence of the Ego). To
introduce the students to the philosophical background to Sartre’s thinking, we will begin by considering Husserl’s and Heidegger’s
versions of phenomenology, both of which influenced Sartre. The course will also consider two essays published soon after Being and
Nothingness, What is Literature? And Anti-Semite and Jew, as applications of Sartre’s philosophical ideas to the cultural and sociopolitical circumstances of post-War France.
Staff
SR
Shared
BA \ Mphil
Term
2
Assessment
Essay 4500
Monday
11:00
PHILGA51
Philosophy of Religion
This module will focus each year on four or five theoretical topics in analytic philosophy of religion. Previous study of second-year
metaphysics and epistemology modules is not strictly required but is advised. The following are representative topics: theistic and nontheistic explanations of the existence of the universe, biological complexity, and the 'fine-tuning' of physical constants; fictionalist and
other non-realist construals of theistic language; the possibility of disembodied persons; necessity, existence and the ontological
argument; the compatibility of divine foreknowledge and free will; scepticism about religious experience and scepticism about
perceptual experience; testimonial evidence for the occurrence of miracles; circular justifications of epistemic practices.
Staff
RM
Shared
BA \ Mphil
Term
1
Assessment
Essay 4500
Thursday
16:00
30 July 2015
Page 7 of 16
PHILGA56
Cost Benefit Analysis and Health
This course analyses the principles of microeconomics and their application to health care – in particular, examining the issues of
efficiency, equity and cost-effectiveness.
The module will explore:
The justification for using economics in health care.
How to measure and value health outcomes for economic evaluations of health care technologies.
Techniques for the economic evaluation of health care technologies.
Alternative ways in which economic evaluations may be used to inform resource allocation decisions
Staff
SO
Shared
MPhil Stud
Term
2
Assessment
Essay 4500
Wednesday
13:00
PHILGA57
Philosophy Politics & Economics of Health
This module examines some central ethical ethical, economic and political problems facing health policy in the UK and abroad, especially
in relation to social justice. Topics covered include: how to allocate healthcare resources (e.g. should the NHS cover all new drug
treatments, regardless of how expensive they are? Who should decide?); the appropriate role of the state in protecting and promoting
health (e.g. should smoking be banned?); when inequalities in health and life expectancy are unfair; and special challenges posed by
infectious diseases.
Staff
JGW
Shared
BA \ Mphil
Term
1
Assessment
Essay 4500
Friday
16:00
30 July 2015
Page 8 of 16
PHILGA58
Metaphysics of Science
In this course, we will cover three central topics in the metaphysics of science: causation, chance and the laws of nature. Questions to be
addressed include: What are laws of nature? Are there laws other than those described by physics (for instance, are there laws of
biology, meteorology, or economics)? What is the nature of chance (objective probability)? If so, do only fundamental physical laws (for
example, those of quantum mechanics) generate chances, or do the laws or generalizations of biology, etc. yield chances? What is
causation? How does causation relate to chance?
Staff
LG
Shared
BA \ Mphil
Term
1
Assessment
Essay 4500
No background in science or probability theory is needed for this course.
Friday
11:00
PHILGA59
Epistemology of Disagreement
What should you do when you learn that equally informed and equally competent reasoners disagree with you? Should you give up your
beliefs, or should you stick to your views? In this course, we'll look at the recent debate in epistemology about disagreement. We will
investigate the effects of disagreement on the justification of our beliefs, and explore the implications for the justification of our
religious, moral, and philosophical views.
Staff
HVW
Shared
BA \ Mphil
Term
1
Assessment
Essay 4500
Wednesday
11:00
30 July 2015
Page 9 of 16
PHILGA60
Moral Philosophy: Profound Impairment
This course will explore a series of questions in moral and political philosophy that apply to persons characterized by profound
impairments, including people suffering from advanced dementia and people with profound and multiple learning difficulties and
disabilities. Profound impairment raises a series of questions about the content and application of a set of moral and political concepts,
including human dignity, respect for persons, personhood, capabilities, dependency, citizenship, rights, caring relationships and moral
status. This last includes questions about the status of persons whose capacities and levels of functioning are broadly equivalent to or
less extensive than those of other higher primates. Topics to be covered include some (but not necessarily all) of the following: Human
dignity; Personhood; Respect for persons; Dependency; Capability and functioning; Citizenship; Rights; Caring relationships; Moral
status; Autonomy.
Staff
SR
Shared
MPhil Stud
Term
2
Assessment
Essay 4500
Thursday
11:00
PHILGA63
Early Nineteenth-Century Philosophy: 1800-1850
The course will examine philosophers from the first half of the nineteenth century. Syllabus will vary by year. Figures studied will include
typically Hegel, Schelling, Schopenhauer, and Kierkegaard
Staff
SG
Shared
BA \ Mphil
Term
2
Assessment
Essay 4500
Monday
16:00
30 July 2015
Page 10 of 16
PHILGA74
Philosophy of Art
The course will examine major historical writings in aesthetics and the philosophy of art, with an emphasis on Kant and classical German
philosophy.
Staff
SG
Shared
BA \ Mphil
Term
2
Assessment
Essay 4500
Friday
13:00
PHILGA75
Research Seminar: Political Philosophy B
The seminar will be based on a set of key readings in political philosophy: a classic text, an important recent text, or a collection of
articles. The texts will vary from year to year. Each student taking the module for credit will be expected to make a presentation. All
students are expected to read a particular text each week and to contribute to the discussion, as well as complete a written assignment.
Staff
JW
Shared
MPhil Stud
Term
1
Assessment
Essay 4500
Monday
14:00
30 July 2015
Page 11 of 16
PHILGA82
Genealogy of Belief
Our beliefs are shaped by the contingencies of place, time and culture. What if anything should we infer from this? When if ever does a
genealogy of belief debunk a belief? What does the genealogical contingency of belief imply for the relationship between reason and
cause, mind and world? This course will focus on these questions.
Staff
AS
Shared
MPhil
Term
2
Assessment
Essay 4500
Tuesday
14:00
PHILGA83
Equality
What does it mean for a society to be a society of equals? Should we strive towards and equal society, and if so, why? Should a political
society ensure an equal distribution of income and wealth, capabilities, or opportunities? Is the ideal of social equality compatible with
segregation along racial or class lines?
Readings from, among others, Rousseau, Elizabeth Anderson, Ronald Dworkin, Gerald Cohen.
Staff
HVW
Shared
BA \ MPhil
Term
2
Assessment
Essay 4,500
Monday
16:00
30 July 2015
Page 12 of 16
PHILGA84
Worlds, Sentences and Measures
This module gives an introduction to set theory, the use of possible worlds in philosophy, probability theory, and modal logic.
Staff
DR
Shared
Term
1
BA \ MPhil
Assessment
3 Problem Sets and
Exam
Monday
16:00
PHILGA85
Topics in Metaphysics: Causation and Modality
This course focuses on causation and modality. But what are causation and modality? Causation is easy to introduce: it's about what it
means to say that something causes something else. Modality might sound more obscure at first: yet it's about familiar notions too, the
notions of possibility and necessity. The goal of our seminar is to figure out how these notions connect to one another. In order to find
out whether something causes something else, we often tend to consider what could possibly or necessarily happen if a given event
were to happen, or not to happen. To many, this suggests that there is a close relation between notions such as possibility, necessity
and causation. But what relation exactly? In this course we will explore, formulate and assess several answers to this question.
Staff
SA
Shared
BA \ MPhil
Term
1
Assessment
Essay 4500
Friday
14:00
30 July 2015
Page 13 of 16
PHILGA86
Research seminar: Advanced Topics in the Philosophy of Mind and Language
A major topic in the philosophy of mind and language will be selected each year. The seminar-giver will both present original research on
the selected topic, and locate the research in the landscape of the existing literature on the topic. Discussion of theoretical options with
members of the seminar will form an important part of each meeting.
Staff
DR
Shared
MPhil
Term
2
Assessment
Essay 4500
Tuesday
11:00
PHILGA87
Graduate Studies on Aristotle
This course looks at how Aristotle connects his views about possibility and necessity with his theory of the four causes. Our primary
Aristotelian texts will be his Physics, Posterior Analytics and Metaphysics. We will also consider some recent work and work in progress
from the secondary literature on these topics. Along the way, we will look at how some of Aristotle’s central ideas on these issues can
be regarded as relevant to the contemporary debate.
Staff
SA
Shared
MPhil
Term
2
Assessment
Essay 4500
Tuesday
16:00
30 July 2015
Page 14 of 16
PHILGA88
Feminism and Philosophy
The course will examine the relationship between feminism and philosophy, with special attention to the question of how philosophy
(qua epistemic inquiry) can be informed by feminism (qua political practice).
Staff
AS
Shared
Triple
Term
2
Assessment
Essay 4500
Thursday
14:00
PHILGA89
Research Seminar: Content and Consciousness
This seminar will focus on recent discussion in the philosophy of psychology and mind relating to perception and consciousness. Suitable
reading will be drawn from recent and historical material and participants will be expected to critically evaluate new material being
presented in seminar.
Staff
MK
Shared
MPhil
Term
1
Assessment
Essay 4500
Wednesday
11:00
30 July 2015
Page 15 of 16
PLING228
Semantics Research Seminar
Guided, critical reading of selected literature in semantics, aimed at honing theoretical and research skills and fostering original
research. N.B. Co-taught with Linguistic Dept
Staff
DR/NK
Shared
MA
Term
2
Assessment
Coursework
Friday
16:00
30 July 2015
Page 16 of 16
Key to Philosophy Staff Initials
SA
LG
MJF
SG
AG
MK
DL
FL
RM
MM
MMc
VMD
LOB
SR
DR
ASavile
AS
TS
HVW
JGW
JW
JZ
Dr Simona Aimar
Dr Luke Fenton-Glynn
Prof María-José Frápolli
Prof Sebastian Gardner
Dr Amanda Greene
Prof Mark Kalderon
Dr Douglas Lavin
Dr Fiona Leigh
Dr Rory Madden
Prof Mike Martin
Prof M M McCabe
Prof Véronique Munoz-Dardé
Prof Lucy O'Brien
Dr Sarah Richmond
Dr Daniel Rothschild
Prof Anthony Savile
Dr Amia Srinivasan
Dr Tom Stern
Dr Han Van Weitmarschen
Dr James Wilson
Prof Jo Wolff
Prof José Zalabardo