HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
Philosophy 1A
Enrolment code: HPA101
Offered: Hobart: summer school OR semester 1
Introduces philosophy by examining some of the most intriguing and exciting
philosophical writings of the modern period. Issues raised include: what is the mind? how
do we know anything? do we have free will? what makes things right and wrong? what
kind of society do we want? who am I and where do I fit in? and what is truth anyway?
Staff Dr P Dowe
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern sem 1: 2 hrs lectures weekly, 1-hr tutorial fortnightly (13 wks)sem 3: 8 hrs
weekly (4 wks)
Mutual exclusions HPA100, HPA181 HPS101, HPS181
Assessment mode 1,500-word essay (30%), continuous assessment (30%), 2-hr test (40%)
Required texts etc
Dowe, Highlights in Modern Philosophy, ISBN 0859017699
Courses [R3A] [S3T] [OC]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Philosophy 1B
Enrolment code: HPA102
Offered: Hobart: summer school OR semester 2
Examines four issues that contemporary philosophers find challenging, including
existentialism, feminist ethics, practical ethics, time.
Staff Dr P Dowe (Coordinator)
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern sem 3: 8 hrs weekly (4 wks); sem 2: 2 hrs lectures weekly, 1-hr tutorial
fortnightly (13 wks)
Mutual exclusions HPA100, HPA182, HPS102, HPS182
Assessment mode 2,000-word essay (40%), exam (60%)
Required texts etc
Book of readings to be available from School
Courses [R3A] [S3T] [OC]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Introduction to Philosophy 1A
Enrolment code: HPA181
Offered: Launceston: semester 1, Distance education: semester 1
Introduces students to a range of philosophical ideas about the ‘good life’. The unit
explores a number of approaches to the question of what makes a life worth living: is it
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pleasure, happiness, freedom, being with other people, or the natural environment? In
considering these issues students also address questions about the sources of our moral
values: merely personal feelings or psychological states? Are they by society? Are moral
values all relative? And how does the natural environment fit into the picture?
Staff Dr K Atkins
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern int: 2 hrs lectures weekly, 1-hr tutorial fortnightly; dist.ed: instructional
package and weekend study schools (13 wks)
Mutual exclusions HPA100, HPA101, HPS181, HPS101
Assessment mode int:1,500-word essay (30%), tutorial participation (20%), 2,000-word
take-home exam (50%); dist.ed: 1,500-word essay (30%), short answer quiz (20%),
2,000-word take-home exam (50%)
Required texts etc
Course Reader
Courses [R3A] [S3T] [OC]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Introduction to Philosophy 1B
Enrolment code: HPA182
Offered: Launceston: semester 2, Distance education: semester 2
Introduces students to the basics of philosophy, with methods of conceptual analysis
covering the following important areas: mind and body, critical thinking, perception,
issues in religion and science.
Staff Dr J Watkin
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 2 hrs lectures weekly, 1-hr tutorial fortnightly (13 wks)
Mutual exclusions HPA100, HPA102 HPS182, HPS102
Assessment mode 2,000-word essay (40%), 3-hr exam (60%)
Required texts etc
Course Reader, and
Either Morton, Philosophy in Practice, ISBN 0631188657
or Hospers, Introduction to Philosophical Analysis, ISBN 0415157935
Courses [R3A] [S3T] [OC]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Contemporary Bioethics
Enrolment code: HPA200 or HPA300
Offered: Hobart: semester 1
A philosophical survey of some of the major ethical issues confronting modern medicine.
The unit focuses on three main areas: assisted reproductive technologies and genetics,
including cloning; decisions regarding the end of life; and matters of social justice, such as
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HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
the rationing of health care. Much of the debate on these issues has been in terms of
individual liberty, control, choice, rights and contracts. The unit explores the possibility
that moral questions related to bioethical issues, and their possible answers, can be framed
with respect to both individual and community considerations. These altemative
understandings of the beginning and the end of human life are developed through the
examination of the values that families serve, such as loyalty, affection, trust, care and
nurturing.
Staff Dr L Shotton
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 philosophy or, where appropriate, completion of 1st-year in any
discipline
Mutual exclusions HPA269/369
Assessment mode 3,000-word essay (40%), tutorial participation (10%), 2-hr exam (50%)
Required texts etc
Arras JD, Steinbock B, Ethical Issues in Mordern Medicine, 5th edn, Mayfield Publ, Mountain
View, Ca, 1999
Majors HPA
Courses [H3D] [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Philosophy and Literature
Enrolment code: HPA201 or HPA301
Offered: not offered in 2002
Examines classical and contemporary views concerning the relation between philosophy
and literature. A study is made of the writings of a number of philosophers, paying
particular attention to issues concerning the nature of moral knowledge, its forms and the
manner in which literature supplements and extends moral inquiry. The scope of moral
principles and reasoning is examined in relation to questions concerned with the nature of
the self and the place of subjective knowledge.
Staff Dr JA Norris
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Philosophy or English Literature
Assessment mode 2,000-word essay (40%), 3-hr exam (60%)
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
The Philosophy of Kierkegaard
Enrolment code: HPA202 or HPA302
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HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
Offered: Launceston: semester 1
Introduces students to the thought of one of the most exciting and important figures in
modern philosophy. The unit explores important themes in Kierkegaard’s work such as
the nature of truth, the self and its goals, the nature and scope of human freedom, and the
nature and significance of religious belief and commitment.
Staff Dr J Watkin
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Philosophy (exemptions with the permission of the HoS)
Mutual exclusions HHP221/321, HPA231/331
Assessment mode 2,000- to 2,500-word essay (40%), 3-hr exam (60%)
Required texts etc
contact the School of details
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A] [OC]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Philosophical Psychology
Enrolment code: HPA203 or HPA303
Offered: Hobart: semester 1
Introduces students to philosophical analysis of psychological concepts and problems
relevant to human self-understanding. The curriculum includes examination of
philosophical theories of the emotions, analysis of specific emotions, an understanding of
self-deception and akrasia, and philosophical reflection on psychological theories, such as
psychoanalysis and existentialism.
Staff Dr M La Caze
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Arts or Science
Assessment mode tutorial participation and seminar (20%), 2,000-word essay (40%), 3-hr
exam (40%)
Required texts etc
Course Reader
Recommended texts etc
McLaughton B, Oksenberg Rorty A, Perspectives on Self-Deception, 1988
Oksenberg Rorty A, Explaining Emotions, 1980
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Place and Environment
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HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
Enrolment code: HPA204 or HPA304
Offered: Hobart: semester 2
Problems of place and space have become increasingly important in many areas of
contemporary thought. Very little attention has been given, however, to the philosophical
analysis of these concepts or to any detailed examination of their role and significance. The
unit examines the nature and significance of the concept of place and the role of
topographic notions in relation to concepts of spatiality and environment. The approach is
essentially philosophical, but will not presuppose any prior philosophical expertise. A
variety of sources will be drawn upon ranging from literature (including writers such as
Proust and Wordsworth) through to philosophy (including thinkers from both
Anglo-American and European traditions) and psychology.
Staff Professor J Malpas
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 from any faculty
Mutual exclusions HAC212/312, FST297/397
Assessment mode 2,000-word assignments (40%), 3-hr exam (60%)
Required texts etc
Course Reader
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Postmodernism and its Critics
Enrolment code: HPA206 or HPA306
Offered: not offered in 2002
Introduces students to contemporary debates surrounding postmodernism, in a
philosophical context. The curriculum includes study of the crisis of reason, knowledge,
representation, truth, the issue of relativism, and an exploration of postmodern ethics and
politics. Theorists are drawn from both the continental and analytic traditions.
Staff Dr M La Caze
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Arts or Science
Mutual exclusions HAC211/311, FST290/390
Assessment mode tutorial participation (20%), 2,000-word essay (40%), 3-hr exam (40%)
Majors HPA FST
Courses [R3A] [F3E] [OC]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Philosophy of Mind
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HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
Enrolment code: HPA207 or HPA307
Offered: not offered in 2002
Examines a number of issues in the contemporary philosophy of mind and action: the
identity of actions and events; the explanation of intentional behaviour; weakness of the
will, self-deception and wish fulfilment; and a number of related topics in the philosophy
of psychoanalysis and foundations of cognitive science.
Staff Professor J Malpas
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Arts or Science
Assessment mode 2,000-word essay (40%), 3-hr exam (60%)
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A] [OC]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Time Travel
Enrolment code: HPA208 or HPA308
Offered: Hobart: semester 1, Launceston: semester 1, Distance education: semester 1 [by
internet]
A study of the philosophical problems of time travel. Questions addressed include: What
is time travel? Is time travel possible? Can you change the past? Topics include: time travel
in physics; the grandfather paradox; the bilking argument; causal loops; and the
implications for broader philosophical issues such as time, causation, agency and freewill.
The unit makes use of various contemporary videos to illustrate the different
philosophical positions.
Staff Dr P Dowe
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly; web-based delivery
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Philosophy or 25% 1st-year Science
Mutual exclusions HPS204/304
Assessment mode 2x1,500-word assignments (30% ea), 2-hr end-of-unit exam (40%)
Required texts etc
Course Reader
Majors HPA HPS
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
The Meaning of Life
Enrolment code: HPA209 or HPA309
Offered: Hobart: semester 2
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Has life a meaning? What is that meaning? What is the relevance of the fact that each of us
will die? This unit is an examination of the meaning of these questions and of attempts –
both religious and philosophical – to answer them.
Staff Dr J Colman
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Arts
Assessment mode 3,000-word essay (60%), 2-hr exam (40%)
Required texts etc
Reader produced by School of Philosphy
The Bhagavad Gita, ISBN 0140441212
The Myth of Sisyphus, ISBN 0140180168
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A] [OC]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Moral Philosophy
Enrolment code: HPA210 or HPA310
Offered: Distance education: semester 2
We are all constantly faced with moral questions, but what are the foundations of
morality? On what grounds do we, should we, base our moral decisions? What is it that
makes some actions right and others wrong? What is moral goodness? This unit studies a
number of issues in moral philosophy such as the validity of deontological ethics,
consequentialism and moral relativism.
Staff Dr J Watkin
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Philosophy
Assessment mode 2,000-word essay (40%), 3-hr exam (60%)
Required texts etc
contact the School of details
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A] [OC]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Professional Ethics
Enrolment code: HPA212 or HPA312
Offered: not offered in 2002
Ethical conduct within professionals – whether it be police work, the law, commerce or
some other area of professional activity – has increasingly been a focus for community
concern. Ethical questions have also come to preoccupy many individuals working in a
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HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
professional capacity. The unit explores some of the issues at stake here including: the
relation between private beliefs and commitments and professional duties and obligations;
the limits of professional obligation; the relation between professional persons and others
(whether they be clients, criminals or simply members of the public); the nature and role
of professional codes or ethics. Emphasis is placed on the discussion of issues in relation to
specific professional contexts and cases.
Staff Dr K Atkins
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Philosophy or, where appropriate, 1st year of course in any
discipline
Mutual exclusions HSP207/307
Assessment mode 2x1,000-word assignments (40%), 3-hr end-of-sem exam (60%)
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A] [R3K] [OC]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Topics in the History of Philosophy
Autonomy and Identity: Kant and Beyond
Enrolment code: HPA214 or HPA314
Offered: not offered in 2002
To most people, Berkeley’s denial of material substance and his view that everything
exists in either a mind or the content of a mind seems quite mad. He, however, saw
himself as defending commonsense against the ‘mad’ philosophical theories of reality.
This unit is a detailed examination of Berkeley’s arguments for immaterialism. They will
be considered both in relation to the 18th-century intellectual background (especially
Locke’s epistemology and Newton’s physics) and modern theories of existence. Berkeley’s
influence on subsequent philosophy will also be outlined.
Staff Dr K Atkins
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Philosophy
Assessment mode 2,000-word assignment (40%), 3-hr exam (60%)
Required texts etc
contact the School for details
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Philosophy of Art
Enrolment code: HPA215 or HPA315
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HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
Offered: not offered in 2002
Focuses on major theories about the arts. There is a special emphasis on the issue of
whether the arts have any unique values to contribute to life, and if they do how this is
possible. In addition, a range of issues from the nature of aesthetic experience to
objectivity of aesthetic values is considered.
Staff Dr E Sleinis
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Philosophy or, where appropriate, 25% level 100 Arts
Assessment mode 2,000-word essay (40%), 3-hr exam (60%)
Required texts etc
Carroll, Philosophy of Art: A Contemporary Introduction, ISBN 0415159644
Majors HPA FST
Courses [R3A] [F3E]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Epistemology
Enrolment code: HPA216 or HPA316
Offered: not offered in 2002
Contact the School for details.
Majors HPS
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Philosophy of Biology
Enrolment code: HPA218 or HPA318
Offered: not offered in 2002
Contact the School for details.
Majors HPS
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Introduction to Buddhist Philosophy
Enrolment code: HPA219 or HPA319
Offered: Hobart: semester 1
Special note: a Tasmania Buddhist Studies in India Exchange Programme course
Introduces students to the principal traditions of Buddhist philosophy. The unit begins
with an examination of the discourses of the Buddha in the Pali tradition and an
examination of the common core of all Buddhist philosophical schools. It then studies the
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HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
Mahayana tradition, with attention both to Buddhist analyses of the nature of phenomena
and to Buddhist moral theory.
Staff Visiting scholar from the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Arts
Mutual exclusions HPA265/365, HMA240/340
Assessment mode 2,000-word essay (40%), take-home exam (60%)
Required texts etc
Santina, The Tree of Enlightenment, supplied by School at no charge
Walpado, What the Buddha Taught, ISBN 0802130313
Geshe Rabten, Echoes of Voidness
Recommended texts etc
Dalai Lama, Ethics for the New Millennium, ISBN 1573220256
Dalai Lama and Cutler, The Art of Happiness, ISBN 0733608582
Majors HPA HMA
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Chinese Philosophy
Enrolment code: HPA220 or HPA320
Offered: not offered in 2002
Examines the major currents in Chinese Philosophy such as Confucianism, Taoism,
Mohism, Legalism, the Logicians, the Yin-Yang School, and Buddhism. The focus is on
understanding the key doctrines, how they differ from and relate to each other, and also,
on how the issues and approaches that typify Chinese Philosophy relate to central trends
in Western Philosophy.
Staff Dr E Sleinis
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 2x1-hr lecture weekly (13 wks), 1-hr tutorial weekly (12 wks)
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Arts
Mutual exclusions HMA251/351
Assessment mode 3,000-word essay (40%), 2-hr exam (60%)
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A] [OC]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Existentialism and Beyond
Enrolment code: HPA225 or HPA325
Offered: not offered in 2002
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HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
Existentialism is a label used to refer to a group of 20th-century philosophers, mostly
French and German, who take philosophy to be essentially concerned with the problems
of individual human existence – with questions of life and death, meaning and value, hope
and despair. Martin Heidegger, Albert Camus, and Simone de Beauvoir are representative
of such ‘existentialist’ thinkers. This unit explores 20th-century existentialist thought in
philosophy and literature, while also looking at the development of philosophers such as
Heidegger beyond the original existentialist frame.
Staff Dr J Malpas (Coordinator), Dr M LaCaze
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly, lectures/tutorials
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Philosophy for major or, where appropriate, 25% 1st-year Arts
Assessment mode 2,000-word assignment (40%), 3-hr end-of-sem exam (60%)
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A] [OC]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
The Philosophy of Nietzsche
Enrolment code: HPA230 or HPA330
Offered: Hobart: semester 2
Provides an introduction to one of the most important German philosophers of the last
two hundred years whose work is fundamental to contemporary thinking across a wide
range of disciplines. Themes covered include perspectivism, the attack on morality, slave
morality, master morality, herd morality, the nature of value, the ‘death of God’, eternal
recurrence, the ‘superman’, the affirmation of life and others.
Staff Dr E Sleinis
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Philosophy (exemptions with the permission of the Head of
Philosophy)
Mutual exclusions HPA231/331
Assessment mode 2,000-word assignment (40%), 3-hr end-of-sem exam (60%)
Required texts etc
Nietzsche F, The Will to Power, Random House
Schacht R (ed), Nietzsche: Selections, Macmillan
Sleinis EE, Nietzsche’s Revaluation of Values, Uni of Illinois Press.
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A] [OC]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Self and Subjectivity
Enrolment code: HPA233 or HPA333
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HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
Offered: Launceston: semester 2
Introduces students to the work of a number of contemporary thinkers such as Michel
Foucault, Paul Ricoeur and others as it relates to issues concerning the nature of
subjectivity and the self. The unit examines issues surrounding the so-called ‘death of the
subject’ from a philosophical perspective drawing on the work of both European and
Anglo-American philosophers, as well as questions concerning the relation between
subjectivity and freedom, subjectivity and ethics, subjectivity and narrative.
Staff Dr J Norris
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Arts
Assessment mode 2,000-word essay (40%), take-home exam (50%), tutorial participation
(10%)
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A] [OC]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Law, Society and Morality
Enrolment code: HPA242 or HPA342
Offered: Distance education: semester 2 [by internet]
Examines issues concerned with the relationship between law and morality. The unit looks
into some conceptions of justice and their critics, such as Rousseau’s social contract, Rawls’
account of justice as fairness, and Habermas’ notion of consensus. Students examine
specific contemporary problems of morality and law, such as abortion, freedom of speech,
and sexuality.
Staff Dr K Atkins
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern int: 5 hrs fortnightly; dist.ed: instructional package and weekend
study-schools
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Philosophy or, where appropriate, 12.5% level 100 Philosophy
and 12.5% level 100 Arts
Mutual exclusions HHP271/371, HSP212/312
Assessment mode 2,000-word assignment (40%), take-home exam (60%)
Required texts etc
Course Reader
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A] [R3K] [OC]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Meaning and Understanding
Enrolment code: HPA245 or HPA345
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HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
Offered: Launceston: semester 2
Questions of meaning and understanding have been central to philosophical thinking in
the European as well as Anglo-American traditions for much of the past hundred years.
This unit provides an introduction to some of the range of problems at issue here as well
as highlighting the work of some of the most important philosophers of recent times from
Heidegger and Gadamer through to Frege, Wittgenstein, Davidson and Quine. Central
topics addressed include the nature of meaning, the nature and role of truth, the role of
conventions in linguistic understanding, the relation between language and thought, and
problems of understanding both within and across cultures.
Staff tba
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Arts (exemptions with the permission of the HoS)
Mutual exclusions HHP221/321, HPA231/331
Assessment mode 2,000-word essay (40%), 3-hr exam (60%)
Required texts etc
contact the School for details
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A] [OC]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Philosophy of Mathematics
Enrolment code: HPA246 or HPA346
Offered: not offered in 2002
Looks at some of the fascinating philosophical issues arising out of the study of
mathematics. These include the nature of mathematical knowledge, the ontological status
of mathematical entities and the implications such philosophical issues have for the
methodology of mathematics.
Staff Dr M Colyvan
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Philosophy or Mathematics
Mutual exclusions HPS246/346
Assessment mode 2,000-word essay (60%), take-home exam (40%)
Required texts etc
Book of readings available from the School
Majors HPA HPS
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Contemporary Philosophy
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HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
Enrolment code: HPA253 or HPA353
Offered: not offered in 2002
Provides a detailed introduction to a particular topic in contemporary philosophy; the
focus of the unit varies from year to year depending on staff availability and interest.
Staff Dr K Atkins
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Philosophy or, where appropriate, 25% level 100 of any
discipline
Assessment mode 2,500-word assignment (40%) take-home exam (60%)
Required texts etc
Book of readings available from the School
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Chance, Coincidence and Chaos
Enrolment code: HPA256 or HPA356
Offered: Hobart: summer school OR semester 1, Launceston: semester 1, Distance
education: semester 1 [by internet]
Is a study of the ‘chance’ world view and its implications for the way we think of
ourselves and the universe in which we live. The unit examines the ideas of chance,
coincidence and chaos; and the related ideas of reason, probability and purpose. Students
study the relevance to these of some startling results of modern science, including Bell’s
Theorem, The Anthropic Principle and Chaos Theory; and the implications for the
following: our place in the universe, human free will, everyday decision-making and
metaphysical reasoning.
Staff Dr P Dowe
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly; web-based delivery for Hobart, Launceston and distance
education students in sem 1; the summer school in Hobart is offered internally
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Philosophy or, where appropriate, 25% 1st-year Science
Mutual exclusions HPS256/356
Assessment mode 2,000-word essay (40%), tutorial contribution (20%), 2-hr exam (40%)
Required texts etc
Book of readings available from the School
Majors HPA HPS
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
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HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
History of Philosophy 1: from Early Greece to the
Renaissance
Enrolment code: HPA266 or HPA366
Offered: Hobart: semester 1, Distance education: semester 1 [by internet]
Special note: Strongly recommended for all students majoring in Philosophy, especially those
intending to undertake Honours in Philosophy
Studies the development of philosophy from the period of the early Greeks to the period
of the Renaissance. Students are able to examine the ideas of philosophers like Plato and
Aristotle; see how those ideas took a grip on the minds of theologians and other thinkers
throughout the middle ages; see how the same ideas came together in the doctrines of St
Thomas Aquinas and see how they laid the foundation for many philosophical beliefs of
our own day. The unit will be useful not only to students of philosophy but also to
students of history, literature, ancient civilisations, art, and religion.
Staff Dr E Sleinis
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern internal: 5 hrs fortnightly; distance education: web-based delivery
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Arts
Assessment mode 2,000-word essay (40%), 3-hr exam in June (60%)
Required texts etc
Stumpf, Socrates to Sartre, ISBN 0072347600
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
History of Philosophy 2: Modern Philosophy
Enrolment code: HPA268 or HPA368
Offered: Hobart: semester 2, Distance education: semester 2 [by internet]
Special note: Strongly recommended for all students majoring in Philosophy, especially those
intending to undertake Honours in Philosophy
Studies the development of philosophical ideas in the modern period, starting from the
Renaissance and going through to the present day. Students see where those ideas came
from and how they gave rise to traditions: how the ideas of Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza
and others formed one tradition; how the ideas of Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and
others formed a second; and how these two traditions gave rise to a third, the tradition of
Kant and his followers. They will then be able to follow those traditions into the 20th
century, where they are vigorously alive in the thought and writings of English-speaking
philosophers and Continental philosophers alike. The unit will be useful not only to
students of philosophy but also to students of history, literature, ancient civilisations, art,
and religion.
Staff Dr E Sleinis
Unit weight 12.5%
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University of Tasmania unit details
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HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
Teaching pattern int: 5 hrs fortnightly; distance.ed: web-based delivery
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Arts
Assessment mode 2,000-word essay (40%), 3-hr exam (60%)
Required texts etc
Stumpf, Socrates to Sartre, ISBN 0072347600
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Philosophy of Feminism
Enrolment code: HPA270 or HPA370
Offered: Hobart: semester 1, Distance education: semester 1 [by internet]
Feminists have investigated deep and controversial questions about the status of women
and relations between the sexes The unit examines the important new questions feminist
philosophers have raised and the new perspectives they provide on traditional
philosophical issues. Is there only one ideal reason? Do men and women think about
ethics differently? Is freedom for women more important than happiness? Should women
have special rights? What’s wrong with prostitution? The unit, which is of special interest
to students of philosophy and women’s studies, focuses on contemporary feminist
thinkers such as Carole Pateman and Iris Marion Young and on the work of earlier
feminists such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Simone de Beauvoir.
Staff Dr M La Caze
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly; web-based delivery for distance education students
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Arts
Mutual exclusions HAF204/304
Assessment mode 2,000-word essay (40%), tutorial participation (10%), 3-hr exam (50%)
Required texts etc
A collection of important articles will be available for purchase
Majors HPA HAF
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Philosophy and the Body
Enrolment code: HPA271 or HPA371
Offered: Hobart: semester 2
Feminist philosophy, psychoanalysis, existential phenomenology and queer theory have
raised stimulating questions about gender categories such as: Can I change my gender? Do
men and women experience the world differently? How important are our bodies to our
identity? Can there be an ethics of sexual difference? The unit examines how gender is
theorised, how it interacts with questions of culture and class, and explores the
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HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
implications of our understanding of the body and gender for epistemology, ethics and
politics. Students of philosophy, women’s studies, fine arts and psychology will find this
an exciting unit.
Staff Dr M La Caze
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Arts
Mutual exclusions HAF264/364
Assessment mode 2,000-word essay (40%), tutorial participation and presentation (10%),
3-day take-home exam (50%)
Required texts etc
Course Reader
Recommended texts etc
Donn Welton (ed), Body and Flesh: A Philosophical Reader.
Majors HPA HAF
Courses [R3A] [OC]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Science and Religion
Enrolment code: HPA274 or HPA374
Offered: not offered in 2002
Introduces students to important philosophical issues in the history of the encounter
between religion and science through study of the major sources of conflict between them.
Important themes to be explored include the arguments surrounding opposed models of
the universe and the methods and theories underlying scientific and religious debate.
Staff Dr J Watkin
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Arts or Science
Mutual exclusions HPA283/383
Assessment mode 2,500-word assignment (40%), 3-hr exam (60%)
Required texts etc
Book of readings available from the School
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Reasoning Skills
Enrolment code: HPA275 or HPA375
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University of Tasmania unit details
March 6, 2016, 16:17 PM, page –17
HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
Offered: Hobart: semester 1, Launceston: semester 1 [by internet], Distance education:
semester 1 [by internet]
A study of reasoning and argumentation, giving students a practical introduction to
reasoning skills useful beyond philosophy, as well as a philosophical appreciation of
argumentation and an introduction to the art of the philosopher. The unit focuses not only
on traditional logic but on a range of approaches applicable to different situations. It
covers styles of philosophical reasoning, everyday reasoning, scientific reasoning,
economic reasoning, moral reasoning, and others. It also covers fallacies, the concept of
validity and the appropriate way to think about it.
Staff Dr P Dowe
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern offered internally at Hobart; web-based delivery for Launceston and
distance education students
Prerequisites 25% level 100 in any discipline
Mutual exclusions HPS275/375
Assessment mode 2 assignments (50%), final 2-hr exam (50%)
Required texts etc
contact the School for details
Majors HPA HPS
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Indo–Tibetan Philosophy, History and Culture
Enrolment code: HPA276 or HPA376
Offered: not offered in 2002
Special note: taught in India by exchange arrangement; may be taken by students who are not
enrolled at University of Tasmania; enrolment by letter of offer from School.
An intensive introduction to Buddhist philosophy, Tibetan Buddhist hermeneutics and
Tibetan history and culture. Students study at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan
Studies (CIHTS) and are taught by staff of that institute. Lectures on Tibetan politics, art,
music and medicine are also given; and students participate in various ancillary activities,
including Indian cultural programs, tours of Varanasi and travel to important Buddhist
sites in India, including Bodh Gaya, Raj Ghir and the ruins of Nalanda University. Each
student is assigned a student colleague drawn from the student body of the CIHTS who
will help in acculturation and give a ‘student’s eye view’ of Tibetan culture.
Staff Professor J Malpas (Coordinator) and staff of the CIHTS
Unit weight 25%
Teaching pattern orientation 2 wks of 2-hr meetings; in India 3 wks of 5 days, 5 hrs per day,
plus additional study programs
Prerequisites 25% level 100 any faculty
Mutual exclusions HMA228/328
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University of Tasmania unit details
March 6, 2016, 16:17 PM, page –18
HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
Assessment mode continuous assessment including weekly 1,000-word essay, half-hour oral
exam (3 wks) (50%), final 4,000-word exam essay (50%)
Majors HPA HMA
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Environmental Ethics
Enrolment code: HPA277 or HPA377
Offered: not offered in 2002
For students who want to study a specialised area of applied ethics, and is a unit in the
interdisciplinary environmental studies course open to both humanities and science
undergraduates. The unit introduces students to the consideration of some philosophical
problems in environmental ethics. The following questions are posed in relation to the
environment: what are our duties to the environment, to other species, to future
generations? how can these duties be determined? are there intrinsic and/or inherent
values in nature? These questions are used as a basis for a critique of traditional moral
theories. Contemporary moral theories, which have been suggested as plausible
alternatives, are explored: is a universal ethic possible or desirable? does postmodernist
relativism offer more plausible solutions to the environmental crisis? is the feminist ethic
of care an alternative to a traditional ethic based on justice and rational principles?
Staff Dr L Shotton
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 any faculty (S3T: 25% from Schedule B)
Assessment mode 3,000-word essay (40%), tutorial participation (10%), 2-hr exam (50%)
Required texts etc
Elliot R (ed), Environmental Ethics, ISBN 0198751443
Majors HPA KGN
Courses [R3A] [R3J] [C3C] [S3Gc3] [S3T]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Political Philosophy
Enrolment code: HPA289 or HPA389
Offered: not offered in 2002
Introduces Political Philosophy, including the political thought of Locke and examines
some contemporary views, such as Rawls and Nozick, concerning justice, liberty, equality
and democracy.
Staff Dr J Norris
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern by distance, plus a weekend study school
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Philosophy
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March 6, 2016, 16:17 PM, page –19
HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
Assessment mode written assignment (50%), 3-hr exam (50%)
Required texts etc
Book of readings available from School. For details of textbooks required, please contact
the School
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Introduction to Logic
Enrolment code: HPA291 or HPA391
Offered: Hobart: semester 1, Launceston: semester 1, North-West Centre: semester 1 [by
video-link]
Introduces students to symbolic logic, including proof theory, semantics and elementary
metatheory of the propositional calculus and the first order predicate calculus, as well as
the application of elementary logical techniques to the formalisation of natural language
reasoning. The unit is suitable for students wishing to pursue logic further, as well as
those wishing to acquire some familiarity with logic for other purposes.
Staff Dr M Colyvan
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Philosophy or Science
Mutual exclusions HPS291/391
Assessment mode 2 assignments (25% ea), 3-hr exam (50%)
Required texts etc
Colyvan & Beall, An Introduction to Logic, ISBN 0859018679
Majors HPA HPS
Courses [R3A] [C3L] [C3S] [F3R]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Logic and Possibility
Enrolment code: HPA292 or HPA392
Offered: Hobart: semester 2
Continues the study of logic begun in Introduction to Logic. Topics include more advanced
metatheory of first-order predicate calculus (including completeness and incompleteness
results) and an introduction to modal logics. The latter are logics enriched with the
operators ‘possibly’ and ‘necessarily’. Both the metatheory and modal logics covered in
this unit have many interesting applications and raise many philosophical issues, some of
which will be addressed.
Staff Dr M Colyvan
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
________________________________________
University of Tasmania unit details
March 6, 2016, 16:17 PM, page –20
HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
Prerequisites HPA291/391
Mutual exclusions HPS292/392
Assessment mode 2 assignments (25% ea), 3-hr exam (50%)
Required texts etc
contact the School for details
Majors HPA HPS
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Philosophy of Religion
Enrolment code: HPA293 or HPA393
Offered: not offered in 2002
Has religion any relevance for us today? This question cannot be answered apart from an
understanding of the nature and content of religion. The unit concentrates on five main
topics: religious experience –mystical and non-mystical; the idea of the Religious ultimate,
the self and religion; Divine goodness and the existence of evil; faith and religious
language.
Staff Dr J Colman
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Arts
Mutual exclusions HPA283/383
Assessment mode 2,000-word assignment (40%), 3-hr exam (60%)
Required texts etc
Thompson M, Philosophy of Religion, ISBN 0340688378
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Choice, Risk and Decision
Enrolment code: HPA294 or HPA394
Offered: Hobart: semester 2
Introduces students to the formal study of decision theory. This is the theory of rational
decision-making by individuals – taken alone, in competition or in groups. Topics covered
include decisions under ignorance, decisions under risk and game theory. Throughout the
unit, the various applications of the theory are stressed. The unit is of use to a variety of
students, including students of: philosophy, logic, psychology, computer science and
information systems, social science, environmental science, management and law.
Staff Dr M Colyvan
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
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HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
Prerequisites 25% level 100 in philosophy or, where appropriate 25% level 100 in any
discipline
Mutual exclusions HPS294/394
Assessment mode 2 assignments (25% ea), 3-hr exam (50%)
Required texts etc
Resnick, Choices: An Introduction to Decision Theory, ISBN 0816614407
Majors HPA HPS
Courses [R3A] [OC]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Buddhism, Ethics and Nonviolence
Enrolment code: HPA297 or HPA397
Offered: Hobart.o13
Special note: Tasmania Buddhist Studies in India Exchange Program course
Provides the nature and philosophical foundations of Buddhist ethical practice. Particular
emphasis is given to the theory of nonviolence as developed in the classical Buddhist
tradition as well as its development in other traditions, especially the Gandhian tradition,
as well as in the life and work of others such as Martin Luther King.
Staff Visiting scholar from the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies
Unit weight 12.5%
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 philosophy or, where appropriate, 1st-year course in any
discipline
Mutual exclusions HPA229/329 Buddhism, Satyagraha and Nonviolence
Assessment mode 3,000-word essay (40%), 2-hr exam (50%), tutorial participation (10%)
Required texts etc
contact the School of details
Majors HPA HMA
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Philosophy 2002
Enrolment code: HPA398
Offered: not offered in 2002
Is designed for students intending to do honours in philosophy. The staff of the School of
Philosophy will join in presenting to students the most important philosophical work
published in the past year in a variety of philosophical specialities. In this way, students
will gain an appreciation of the kinds of philosophical research now being undertaken
around the world, and the most important philosophical questions being asked today.
Staff tba
Unit weight 12.5%
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University of Tasmania unit details
March 6, 2016, 16:17 PM, page –22
HPA Unit Details as at 13th June, 2002
Teaching pattern 5 hrs fortnightly
Prerequisites 25% level 100 Philosophy
Assessment mode 2,000-word essay (40%), 3,000-word take-home exam (60%)
Required texts etc
contact the School for details
Majors HPA
Courses [R3A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
Philosophy 4 (Honours)
Full time/Part time
Enrolment code: HPA400 or HPA401
Offered: Hobart: semesters 1 & 2 [by video-link], Launceston: semesters 1 & 2 [by
video-link]
Special note: full-time students enrol in HEF400 (100%), part-time students in HEF401 (50%);
individual units have notional weight, but for HECS purposes must be weighted at 0%; some units
may be offered by videolink to either campus
1. Students take either four one-semester units, or two full-year units, or an equivalent
combination thereof. Each unit consists of a detailed study of a set of philosophical
problems and/or a major text or texts. In each unit students will write a substantial essay
(totalling 50% of the overall assessment). For each of the units there are weekly 2-hour
seminars. Students also attend the weekly School seminars and work-in-progress sessions
in Hobart, and Philosophy Society meetings in Launceston.
2. Students are required to submit a thesis (50% of the overall assessment) during the
course of the year.
3. Candidates for honours in philosophy must have satisfied the prerequisites of the
Faculty as set out in the Calendar.
Please contact the School for details of topics to be offered.
Staff Dr K Atkins (Coordinator)
Unit weight 100%/50%
Prerequisites Major, including satisfaction of the Faculty GPA
Required texts etc
contact the School for details
Courses [R4A]
Faculty website <http://www.arts.utas.edu.au/>
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