MA Political Science - Philosophy and Political Theory / Course details

The exact content may differ from year to year, but central questions include: (i) what sorts of things are of ethical value, and why? (ii) How does such value relate to our reasons to act in certain ways? (iii) How do we determine what we ought to do? (iv) what is the status of ethical statements?, and (v) what is the nature of particular ethical phenomena such as promising and forgiveness?

• To familiarise students with some central philosophical concepts in ethics
• To introduce some of the main philosophical issues discussed in the contemporary literature on forgiveness, revenge and evil
• To compare, contrast, and evaluate competing accounts of whether and how morality fits into the world

On completion of this unit successful participants will have:

(a) read and understood some of the main texts from the relevant reading lists and from elsewhere;
(b) attended the seminars, and participated in discussion;
(c) acquired and developed the analytic skills which are necessary for the formation of their own considered views, for the evaluation of questions, and for putting forward good answers.

(d) improved the communication skills which are necessary for delivering a clear, concise, and informative presentation.

Teaching will be seminar based, with a two-hour seminar each week over eight weeks. A student will introduce each week’s topic by giving a presentation on it. There will also be an initial one-hour meeting in which the convenor will present an overview of the course and its topics, and a final two- hour meeting designed to provide individual assistance on assessment.

MA - Assessed Essay 4000 words 100%
 

Murphy, J.G and Hampton, J. Forgiveness and Mercy (CUP, 1988)

Timetable
 

Wednesday 11-1

Humanities Bridgeford Street 2.053