Course Catalogue

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This course introduces students to the epistemological and metaphysical theories of some key philosophers of the Western philosophical tradition. It will consider theories of human understanding in the context of accounts of human nature, as well as the competing conceptions of human rationality in play in the tradition.

16x1hr lectures, 4x1 hr seminars over 10 weeks as scheduled in MyCampus. This is one of the senior honours options in Philosophy. It may not run every year. Options running this year are available on MyCampus

Available to all students fulfilling requirements for Honours entry into Philosophy, and by arrangement to visiting students or students of other Honours programmes.

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The standard assessments for this course are: 

■ 65% 2000-word written piece 

■ 35% 1000-word written piece 

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available: 

■ There are no alternatives to the assessments, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions). 

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.  

The course aims to:  

■ introduce students to some key philosophical texts in the Western tradition;

■ allow students to engage with important thinkers from the period on topics such as: the nature of the mind; the possibility of - and means of acquiring - knowledge; scepticism; the nature of reality; free will, and the study of human nature;

■ allow students to contextualise these texts in terms of the understanding of human nature and differing conceptions of human rationality and understanding.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

■ Explain and critically evaluate the views of philosophers discussed in this course on topics such as: substance; freedom; causation; appearance and reality; the self; the nature and limits of knowledge; the nature of reality and the relation of the mind to the external world.

■ Understand and explain the main theses from historical texts from the Western tradition;

■ Reconstruct charitably and evaluate critically arguments from historical texts;

■ Contextualise the philosophical theories of the tradition.