PHIL4001: Knowledge and Reality in a Complex World

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas term
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module aims to provide students with a grounding in some of the central skills and concepts that are common to philosophy as a whole, and to introduce students to reading and critically analysing philosophical texts. In particular, it will focus on three areas: (i) critical thinking, i.e. the analysis and construction of arguments, and the basic logical terminology involved in that; (ii) epistemology, i.e., theories of what knowledge is and how it is acquired and evaluated; (iii) metaphysics, i.e. theories about the fundamental nature of reality and what (if anything) has to be presupposed for science and common-sense knowledge to be possible. As part of core L4 content for the Philosophy, Philosophy and Politics, PPE and Maths with Philosophy degrees, this module ensures that all students on degrees with a significant philosophical component receive training in foundational aspects of critical thinking in philosophy, gain a good understanding of the nature of philosophical questions and debates (common to topics within philosophy), and have solid content-based knowledge for further study in epistemology and metaphysics specifically (drawn on in several modules at L5 and L6).

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Analyse and critically evaluate arguments.
2. Use and understand basic logical terminology.
3. Read philosophical texts to extract arguments and claims.
4. Appreciate the pros and cons of different answers to philosophical questions.
5. Understand and articulate philosophical views on metaphysical and epistemological questions.

Outline Syllabus

What is real, how can we know, and how can we check our reasoning? In this module you will study philosophical tools for reasoning and arguing (critical thinking) and discover fundamental philosophical questions about knowledge (epistemology) and the nature of reality (metaphysics). In studying critical thinking, you will learn methods of constructing and analysing arguments and acquire basic logical terminology. In exploring epistemology, you’ll discuss questions such as: how do we define ‘knowledge’? What are its foundations? Can we answer the challenge of scepticism? Are there alternative knowledges? In metaphysics, you will consider questions such as: what is the fundamental nature of reality? How are we to understand cause and effect, necessity and contingency, time and space, personal identity? You will gain the means to think about some of the deepest and broadest philosophical questions we can ask. And you will be equipped with critical thinking tools to face the contemporary challenges of a globally connected world.

Assessment Proportions

Assessment will be by means of:

• a critical thinking in-person exam paper, including exercises covering the first part of the course. The critical thinking paper will provide questions of a similar nature to those practiced in seminars and lectures.
• An assessed portfolio of short critical responses to texts on the course. Students will be required to submit three out of four of these through the module.

PHIL4002: History of Philosophy: Ideas that Shaped the West

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module aims to provide students with an historical contextualisation of contemporary philosophical problems and debates. As students embark upon philosophical study and begin to develop philosophical skills, it is important for them to appreciate that such activities do not take place in a vacuum, but build upon and respond to the philosophical work of many predecessors whose thought has helped to form and shape western philosophy as we currently know it. The primary aims of the module are twofold: first, for students to acquire sound knowledge and understanding of some of the most important philosophical debates as they have developed historically in the West. Second, for students to begin laying the foundations for regarding these formative philosophers as conversation partners through whom they can begin their own processes of doing philosophy.

The module will develop skills in reading and interpreting texts, critically evaluating arguments, and engaging in discussion and argument.

This module forms core content for the single honours Philosophy programme. Alongside L4 History of Philosophy: Resistance and Inclusion, L4 Ethics: How Should I Live? and L4 Political Philosophy: How Should we Live Together? It is one of four modules explicitly engaging students in dialogue with one or more traditions of thinking in philosophy at this level of study.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Understand and articulate the key ideas and arguments of some of the most important philosophers in western history;
2. Read and engage with the original texts as well as recent interpretations, and articulate the central arguments found in these writings;
3. Evaluate these arguments in a nuanced and effective way;
4. Formulate and defend their own arguments in response.

Outline Syllabus

From questions about truth, justice, and knowledge to debates over freedom, power, and human purpose – how has philosophical inquiry shaped cultural, political, and scientific life across centuries?

In this module you will explore the major ideas and traditions that have guided the development of Western thought. Specific thinkers examined will vary from year to year, but they will include philosophers whose ideas have helped shape philosophical viewpoints, categories and boundaries in the western philosophical tradition. You will be encouraged to think about the problems and limitations of different thinkers’ approaches, and their impact on the way we practice and understand the boundaries and scope of philosophy today, asking questions such as:

• How did these thinkers conceive of philosophy and its task?
• How did they conceive of being and reality?
• How did they understand truth and how did they think it could be discovered?
• How did they set the agenda for philosophical debates in the West from the past to the present?

By the end of this module you will have learnt to think with, rather than about, some of these influential thinkers, while reflecting on how the concepts that forged the past continue to frame the challenges of our present and the possibilities of our future.

Assessment Proportions

The module will be assessed by a combination of a 1000-word essay (50%) and a final in-person closed-book exam (50%) requiring critical analysis of short extracts from set texts. The essay will be submitted at the end of week 7 and will be based on topics covered in weeks 1-6 of the module. The exam will be based on the seminar set texts throughout the module and will take place during the exam period.

PHIL4003: Ethics: How Should I Live?

• Terms Taught: Lent/Summer
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module aims to…

• Introduce and model the practice of philosophical ethics.
• Introduce and develop philosophical skills in reading and interpreting texts, critically evaluating arguments, clearly expressing ideas and reasons, and engaging in open-minded and mutually respectful discussion.
• Develop students’ active understanding of important traditions, questions, texts, figures, topics, methods, tools, viewpoints, and arguments in philosophical ethics.
• Support students’ development and expression of their curiosity, creativity, and intellectual independence.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Skilfully undertake philosophy at the appropriate level by reading and interpreting texts, critically evaluating arguments, clearly expressing their ideas and reasons, and engaging in open-minded and mutually respectful discussion.
2. Deploy active understanding of important traditions, questions, texts, figures, topics, methods, tools, viewpoints, and arguments in philosophical ethics.
3. Begin to undertake their own creative, well-reasoned, independent thinking about fundamental issues in ethics.

Outline Syllabus

How should you live? Who should you be? What should you value? What is value? And on what basis can anyone make such claims? This module introduces you to philosophical ethics, the systematic theoretical study of these questions. You will develop both your philosophical skills, and a map of the landscape of philosophical ethics, by practicing critical reading and discussion and writing about questions relating to a range of topics.

Topics studied will vary each year but may include:

• Major ethical theories such as utilitarianism, deontology, contractarianism, or virtue ethics.
• Global moral dilemmas relating to areas such as the environment, medicine, poverty, or technology.
• Goodness and rightness.
• Personhood and selfhood.
• Practical reasoning and moral psychology.
• The best kind of life to live.
• The objectivity or subjectivity of morality.

By studying philosophical ethics you will gain an invaluable set of philosophical skills and ideas while reflecting on how ethical choices – both small and large – affect our relationships, our societies, and our shared futures.

Assessment Proportions

Assessment will be via:

1. an essay reflection activity, and
2. a submitted essay.

The short week 7 essay reflection activity is to be written and submitted and then (optionally) presented verbally in class or pre-recorded and submitted. This will allow students to (a) experience planning their work and have the opportunity for feedback before submitting longer written work; (b) optionally, experience verbal presentation of their ideas, preparing them for more in-depth oral assessment in subsequent years.

The end of module essay (assessment 2), will enable students to demonstrate their ability to present a prepared and researched philosophical argument, show subject knowledge, and demonstrate their ability to engage with feedback.

PHIL4004: History of Philosophy: Resistance and Inclusion

• Terms Taught: Lent/Summer
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module aims to…

• Develop skills that enable students to critically engage with diverse philosophical traditions that have been excluded from dominant narratives of the history of philosophy (e.g., Chinese, African, feminist, Victoria, continental philosophy) by introducing them to some of their key texts, thinkers, concepts, ideas, and schools.
• Develop students’ cultural sensitivity by engaging with a diverse range of philosophical perspectives.
• Introduce students to the main methods for studying the philosophical traditions introduced.
• Develop students’ skills in close reading, interpreting, and commenting primary texts as well as situating them in their social, cultural, and historical contexts.
• Encourage students to reflect critically on the contemporary relevance of the philosophical traditions introduced.
• Encourage students to be self-reflexive about their own positionality and subjectivity.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Reconstruct and explain key ideas, arguments, and themes from two traditions that have been marginalised in standard Western histories of philosophy, such as feminist, continental, Chinese, African, or Victorian traditions.
2. Situate the traditions in their respective historical and intellectual contexts in such a way as to help students reflect on the particularities of their own historical and intellectual contexts.
3. Evaluate texts from non-canonical or historically excluded traditions with the same rigour that is applied to canonical texts.
4. Evaluate competing accounts of the history of philosophy and reflect on how canons are constructed, maintained, and challenged.

Outline Syllabus

In this module you will explore philosophical traditions not usually studied in standard histories of philosophy, and understand what we gain by including them in our interpretation of the history of philosophy.

By engaging with understudied texts and contexts in this module, you will learn to question familiar narratives about philosophical history and to reconstruct alternative lineages and conceptual resources. And by comparing various traditions, you will develop tools to think across boundaries and to put diverse voices into conversation, comparison, and contrast.

You will study at least two philosophical traditions in depth, in dialogue, and in their historical, cultural, and intellectual contexts. The specific traditions covered in the module will vary each year, but may include:

• Chinese philosophy
• African philosophy
• Feminist thought
• Women philosophers from specific time periods and locales, such as the Victorian era
• Continental European philosophy
• Any other tradition that has been historically marginalised in traditional histories of philosophy.

You will look at how these different traditions approach a variety of topics, which may include personhood, knowledge and truth, value, morality, and politics, and you will consider how these traditions resist exclusion and broaden our understanding of philosophy and its possibilities past, present, and future.

By the end of this module you will have knowledge of a broader philosophical landscape, and be able to think critically about practices of inclusion and exclusion within philosophical thinking – both as it has been practised in the past, and how it might be practised in the future.

Assessment Proportions

The module will be assessed by a portfolio of four short critical responses to the weekly readings, debates, and discussion topics, each of 500 words. You will have the option to choose the texts and topics from the course on which to write your short critical responses within predefined constraints (e.g., you should write two short responses per tradition covered).

PHIL4005: Political Philosophy: How Should we Live Together?

• Terms Taught: Lent/Summer
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module aims to…

• Develop the capacity to analyse complex issues and debates and construct responses to and evaluations of those arguments.
• Develop written and verbal communication skills through course readings, lecture participation, seminar discussions, and module assessments.
• Develop confidence in approaching philosophical materials, including the ability to analyse key claims and arguments, and to offer critical interpretation and evaluation of them.
• Develop the ability to undertake self-directed reading around a topic.
• Encourage students to reflect critically on the value of ideal and non-ideal theorising in and about contemporary political structures and policies.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Explain and analyse contemporary debates in political philosophy using the key ideas, concepts, and principles covered in the course, and with an understanding of the positions taken by different ideological perspectives.
2. Construct and deconstruct arguments, drawing on relevant literature and using carefully selected examples.
3. Articulate their own position in relation to the main philosophical ideas and debates introduced in the module.

Outline Syllabus

Political philosophy explores how best to arrange our collective life - through our political institutions, social practices and shared values, and the economic, private and public structures that support them. In this module you will consider critical debates that both historical and contemporary communities across the globe have faced about the boundaries, rights and duties of the state, community, and individual citizens, through consideration of core concepts and values such as justice, freedom, and equality. You will examine central questions about the justification of power and the rights and duties of people within political communities. And you will apply these foundational positions to critical contemporary debates, looking at topics which may include:

• Global and local inequality and poverty.
• Migration and control of state borders.
• Political protest and resistance.
• Gender and racial justice.

You will leave this module with a deeper understanding of some of the important normative questions raised by our collective life, and with tools and ideas to help you reason and act as a global and local citizen, in shaping the outcomes and outlook of our social world.

Assessment Proportions

Assessment will assume knowledge of both set texts and lecture content, including skills content delivered in lecture periods, and will enable students to further embed these skills through sustained philosophical writing in response to set questions.

PHIL5001: Philosophy Guided Project

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module aims to…

• Model the practice of philosophy.
• Develop philosophical skills in reading and interpreting texts, critically evaluating arguments, clearly expressing ideas and reasons, and engaging in open-minded and mutually respectful discussion.
• Develop students’ active understanding of important traditions, questions, texts, figures, topics, methods, tools, viewpoints, and arguments in philosophy.
• Support students’ development and expression of their curiosity, creativity, and intellectual independence.
• Help students to develop the skills needed for independent study at L6.

Programmatically, this module forms core content on the single honours Philosophy programme and the joint honours Philosophy and Politics programme, and is an option on several pathways within the PPE programme. It is designed to particularly support students in developing the practice of longer form writing at L5, and introduces further new research to the student, to enable wider choice and develop their skills ahead of the L6 Independent Project.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Skilfully practice philosophy at the appropriate level by reading and interpreting texts, critically evaluating arguments, clearly expressing their ideas and reasons, and engaging in open-minded and mutually respectful discussion.
2. Deploy active understanding of some important traditions, questions, texts, figures, topics, methods, tools, viewpoints, and arguments in philosophy.
3. Develop their own creative, well-reasoned, independent thinking about some fundamental issues in philosophy.

Outline Syllabus

Create a portfolio of investigative and critical writing which explores a particular philosophical topic in depth. In this module you will be guided with expert support from Lancaster philosophers to develop your philosophical and independent study skills. Through deep engagement with a specific topic you will develop your ability to assess philosophical arguments and make independent judgements, informed by reasoning and evidence. You will engage with a text, problem, figure or body of work chosen by an academic within the philosophy team at Lancaster who is a specialist on the topic and work with their expert support, in groups and independently. Project topics offered each year will be drawn from one or more of Lancaster’s many areas of expertise, such as:

• Global philosophy
• Comparative philosophy
• Ethics
• Metaphysics
• Political philosophy
• Applied philosophy
• Social ontology and epistemology
• Philosophy of science
• Philosophy of mind
• The history of philosophy
• Feminist philosophy
• Continental philosophy
• Aesthetics

Completion of this module will equip you with the skills and confidence you need for further independent writing in your final year of study.

Assessment Proportions

The end of module essay will assess and, through feedback, develop students’ ability to independently research and think about a topic beyond what is given to them in their classes, to articulate their understanding of different philosophical positions (including and especially ones that they do not agree with), and to coherently argue for a position or claim. The planning portfolio will enable students to build towards this final piece of work, through scaffolded development of the stages of essay writing. This module additionally provides the foundational training for longer-form writing in other modules at L5 and L6, and begins the independent training needed for students’ Independent Projects at L6.

• 40% Planning portfolio, ~1000 words
• 60% Essay, ~1500 words

PHIL5002: Applied Philosophy: Decisions that Change the World

• Terms Taught: Lent/Summer
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

The study of philosophy can feel highly abstract and remote from the real-world at times, but much of the work that those who have studied philosophy do consists in applying philosophical methods, ideas, concepts, and arguments to real-world problems in order to create practical solutions. A particular strength of Philosophy at Lancaster is the large number of academic staff whose work bears on practical issues. These include moral and organisational questions (“applied ethics,” including topics such as decent work, public health, education, the media, disability, and medical issues), aesthetic questions (such as the value of popular music, visual arts, and narrative), and scientific issues (whereby philosophical enquiry considers the concepts and methods used in specific sciences or professions, such as psychiatry or biology). This module aims to introduce students to a range of such issues, in order to develop their appreciation of how philosophy can be relevant to practical life, and of how philosophical reflection can, in turn, be enriched by this engagement. Studying this module will provide students with the opportunity to learn about topics in applied philosophy and to practice the transferable skills that Philosophy graduates can bring to work outside of academic philosophy such as critical problem solving, political and ethical reasoning, the clear identification of problems, and communicating ideas and solutions to diverse audiences.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Understand how philosophical methods can be applied to practical issues and be able to apply philosophical thinking in this way.
2. Appreciate how knowledge gained in other domains of life and academic disciplines can enrich philosophical thinking and stimulate new philosophical enquiry.
3. Develop analytical abilities regarding the interfaces between specific domains of life and more abstract thought.
4. Formulate their own opinions on specific issues in applied philosophy, while appreciating the reasons that may be offered for different or opposing points of view.
5. Develop the skills needed to communicate philosophical ideas and their relevance to a non-philosophical audience.

Outline Syllabus

Explore how philosophical thinking can tackle real-world problems, from personal dilemmas to global challenges, by linking abstract ideas to concrete decisions. In this module you will engage with an applied philosophical challenge, using your philosophical skills to provide compelling reasons in favour of your solution. Through production of a short podcast or in-person presentation, you will also develop your ability to engage in philosophical argumentation beyond the written word. And along the way, you’ll gain the tools to think clearly, act responsibly, and engage thoughtfully with the complex world around you. Specific topics studied each year draw on Lancaster’s wide range of applied expertise and may include:

• Ethics and regulation in traditional and social media, in the era of mass global communication and impact.
• Bioethical topics such as euthanasia, rationing, ageism, research ethics and public health ethics.
• Health and illness, the concept of mental health, and the role of lay or patient knowledge versus medical expertise.
• Ethics in professional and organisational life, including divisions of roles, decent work, unpaid and care work, the rights and duties of corporations and employers and codes of ethics.
• Study of different scientific methods and their limitations

Throughout this module you will learn about topics in applied philosophy, while developing and practicing some of the many transferable skills that Philosophy graduates bring to a wide range of professional roles, such as critical problem solving, political and ethical reasoning, the clear identification of problems, and the art of communicating potential solutions to diverse audiences.

Assessment Proportions

Substantive assessment will be via two key elements: a practical problem-solving exercise and an orally-presented end of module podcast or presentation. For 26/27, students may opt to take a written report instead of a presentation. The practical problem-solving exercise will give students the opportunity to apply their philosophical skills to the real world, engaging with an applied philosophical challenge, and providing reasons in favour of their solution. The exercise provides an opportunity for experiential applied work to help inform student choices at L6, where they can choose to undertake further outward-facing philosophical work via their independent project, and / or via modules in Philosophy of Popular Culture and Philosophy in Times of Global Crisis. Students will also build on their experience of extensive formative development at L4 and L5 of orally presenting ideas through in-class discussions and seminars, presenting their ideas on the application of philosophy for the wider world in either pre-recorded podcast or in-person presentation format.

• 70% Problem solving exercise
• 30% Podcast or presentation (or written report in 26/27)

PHIL5003: Philosophical Perspectives on Politics and Economics

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module aims to develop students’ abilities to synthesise and integrate the methods and approaches involved in the disciplines of Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE). It is especially aimed at students studying the PPE degree, but will also be suitable for students who have a strong interest in more than one of these three disciplines and a corresponding background at L4. This module is being offered at L5. It presupposes an introductory (L4) understanding of at least one (usually more) of the disciplines involved. It aims to develop the flexibility and sophistication needed to move between and draw connections between distinct disciplines. These are important qualities which we aim to develop in our interdisciplinary students, so that they can fully engage in independent and interdisciplinary study at L6.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Appreciate philosophical questions raised by the political and economic sciences, and their implications for studying specific issues in these sciences
2. Appreciate underlying assumptions at work in the methods of these sciences
3. Develop analytical abilities regarding argumentative and methodological nuances
4. Formulate their own opinions on these questions and assumptions, while appreciating the reasons that may be offered for different or opposing points of view

Outline Syllabus

Global and local political and economic affairs raise complicated philosophical issues. While political theory and philosophy often focus on normative questions – such as the nature of justice, freedom, or legitimacy – this module centres on the epistemological and methodological challenges that underpin our understanding of political and economic life. These challenges are no less important for how we think about contemporary societies and the difficulties they face and are, as you will discover, closely connected to more normative questions. Concepts such as democracy and autocracy, money, taxation and national debt, power and economic growth – all are complex and contested:

• They raise metaphysical questions: what sorts of ‘things’ are they?
• They pose epistemological challenges: how can we know or measure them? Is it possible to study them without making assumptions about values?
• They provoke broader considerations: how do large-scale political and economic phenomena relate to individual people and their activities?

Through considering these questions on this module, you will gain an understanding of the special challenges involved in knowledge of our social, political and economic systems, and how philosophical thinking complements the important tasks of political science and economics.

Assessment Proportions

The essay on this course will assess and develop students’ ability to independently research and think about topics and their intersections across the semester, to articulate their understanding of different philosophical positions (including and especially ones that that do not agree with), and to coherently argue for their own position or claim, and will provide the grounding for module options containing longer-form writing at L6 (via the dissertation assessment option within the Philosophy Independent Project, and in Comparative Political Philosophy and Questions at the Frontiers of Philosophy). To support this substantive end of module assessment in a scaffolded way, students taking this module will have the opportunity to work on formative essay planning activities alone and with their peers at appropriate junctures in lectures or seminars (for example, through developing an essay plan for formative peer review or lecturer collective feedback).

• 100% Essay, ~2500 words

PHIL5004: Mind, World and Science

• Terms Taught: Lent/Summer
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module covers themes from philosophy of mind, philosophy of science and related topics in metaphysics. It explores the nature of consciousness and the scientific world, and the methods by which we understand them. The module aims to enable students to ask, and begin to address, foundational questions around science, reality and the nature of mind, and also to practise and develop their philosophical and professional skills. Throughout the module, students will develop their skills in the careful and critical reading of complex texts, formulating arguments carefully and scrupulously, and clearly explaining complex concepts and arguments. The module also aims to enable students to explore the ways in which philosophical work can inform, and be informed by, work in other disciplines (a key component of philosophical study, as outlined in the Subject Benchmark), and to see how philosophical work can have ‘real world’ applications. As part of a programme of study, the module builds on critical reading, analytical and argumentation skills introduced at L4, helping to prepare students for undertaking increasingly independent work at L6, such as that required for the L6 Philosophy Independent Project and for the optional modules, L6 Textual Explorations in Philosophy and L6 Questions at the Frontiers of Philosophy.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Clearly explain and be able to critically assess some of the key concepts, debates and thinkers in the philosophies of mind, metaphysics and science.
2. Formulate clear and careful arguments regarding key questions in the philosophies of mind, metaphysics and science.
3. Articulate a considered critical opinion on the relationship between the philosophies of science, mind and metaphysics.
4. Explain how philosophical work can inform, and be informed by, work in other disciplines.

Outline Syllabus

What does it take to have a mind? How does science work? Does human reason equip us to understand the external world? In this module we explore the nature of consciousness and reality, and the methods by which we understand them, focussing on key debates in the philosophy of mind and philosophy of science. In the first part of the module, you will explore what it takes to have a mind, examining and critiquing some of the wide range of answers philosophers have offered to this intractable problem. Questions you will investigate include:

• What is the relationship between the mind and the brain?
• How do animal minds or artificial intelligence fit into our understanding of thought and consciousness?
• Can science ever provide us with a full understanding of how consciousness is possible?

The second part of the module turns to the nature of science itself. Modern science is often regarded as our most reliable guide to reality, but what justifies this status? In investigating the nature of science, you will learn about some of the most influential twentieth-century accounts of scientific method and theory-testing. Questions you will address include:

• How does science differ from non-science?
• Is there a scientific method?
• Should we believe in unobservable entities posited by scientific theories, such as quarks or superstrings?
• What are limits of scientific and rational inquiry?

Through wrestling with debates about the nature of consciousness, science, and the extent to which we can understand reality you will leave this module equipped with a greater understanding of some of the most difficult and enduring challenges in philosophy: what it is to be human, to have sentience, and how should we understand the vast body of scientific knowledge that shapes our collective world?

Assessment Proportions

To support this activity in a scaffolded way, formative in-class multiple choice and short-answer assessment activities will be employed throughout the module to enable students to track their own progress, and identify gaps in their knowledge, ahead of the substantive assessment exam.

• 100% exam, 2 hours

PHIL5005: Language, Communication and Knowledge

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: None

Course Description

This module aims to develop students’ abilities to consider individual and integrated critical questions and debates in the fields of philosophy of language, epistemology and social epistemology, drawing on additional insights from ethics, political philosophy and social ontology where applicable. It will be suitable for all students who have a strong interest in individual and collectives practices of language, communication, and knowledge creation and participation.

Studying this module will give students the opportunity to learn about topics in communicative practices at the individual and collective level, and to practice considering and applying philosophical ideas to globally and locally relevant ethical and political issues.

This module additionally aims to support students in the development of longer form philosophical writing at L5, and to introduce greater depth of topic knowledge, ahead of further independent work at L6.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Clearly explain and be able to critically assess some of the key concepts, debates and thinkers across a range of philosophical sub-fields, including epistemology and philosophy of language and communication.
2. Formulate clear and careful arguments regarding key contemporary theoretical and applied debates in epistemology and philosophy of language and communication.
3. Articulate a considered critical opinion on the relationship between the individual and collective social aspects of language, communication and knowledge.
4. Explain how philosophical work in language, communication and knowledge can be applied to a range of globally and socially relevant issues and be able to make these applications.

Outline Syllabus

Critically engage with questions and debates about our socially connected lives and the ways in which we interact and act on the world through language and communication, individually and as a society, to shape knowledge and reality. In this module you will gain the skills and insight to ask questions which change each year but may include:

• How does communication work in our individual and collective lives?
• How might certain kinds of communication bring about ethical and political change (for example, by making something permissible or changing the boundaries of acceptable political discourse)?
• Are lying and other kinds of deception permissible, and if so, when and for whom?
• What does freedom of speech really mean, and how might duties and rights differ in this space for citizens, for the press, for politicians, for academics, and on social media?
• How can collective knowledge practices exclude or harm, do we have duties to address these problems, and what might work to do so?
• What is the nature and appropriate regulation of propaganda and hate speech?
• What are the ways in which patterns of attention and exclusion or inclusion in who we listen to and develop knowledge with may have ethical and political implications?
• What communicative protest and speech acts are legitimate in a democratic state?

You will leave this module with a better understanding of how practices of knowledge creation and participation, and of language and communication, may actively shape and determine the boundaries of our world, and with the skills to critically examine these forces in action across the media, social media, politics and society.

Assessment Proportions

The essay on this course will assess and develop students’ ability to independently research and think about topics and their intersections across the semester, to articulate their understanding of different philosophical positions (including and especially ones that they do not agree with), and to coherently argue for their own position or claim, and will provide the grounding for module options containing longer-form writing at L6 (via the dissertation assessment option within the Philosophy Independent Project, and in Comparative Political Philosophy and Questions at the Frontiers of Philosophy). To support this substantive end of module assessment in a scaffolded way, students taking this module will have the opportunity to work on formative essay planning activities alone and with their peers at appropriate junctures in lectures or seminars (for example, through developing an essay plan for formative peer review or lecturer collective feedback).

• 100% essay, ~2500 words

PHIL5006: Continental Philosophy

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: Must have prior study in the history of Western philosophy

Course Description

This module aims to

• Introduce students to continental or post-Kantian philosophy and key thinkers, concepts, and approaches within this set of traditions
• Develop students’ appreciation of the diversity of methods and approaches in philosophy
• Enable students to acquire a sound knowledge and understanding of some of important thinkers in the post-Kantian tradition
• Guide students to engage in critical conversations with these thinkers with a view to assessing their approaches to philosophical questions.
• Develop students’ skills in reading and interpreting texts, critically evaluating arguments and alternative framings, and engaging in discussion and argument.

This module is being offered at L5 because it

• builds upon knowledge and skills acquired at L4 by encouraging students to undertake internal criticism of what has thus far been learned and by deepening their knowledge of traditions in global philosophy.
• allows students to engage with philosophical thinking, and to put their foundational skills and knowledge to work. It provides content which can be drawn on in further research-led or independent study at L6.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Understand and articulate the key ideas and arguments of some important continental philosophers from the nineteenth century onwards.
2. Read and engage with the original texts as well as recent interpretations, and articulate the central arguments found in these writings.
3. Evaluate these arguments in a nuanced and effective way.
4. Formulate and defend their own arguments in response.

Outline Syllabus

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a new approach to philosophy began to emerge that questioned and interrogated the inherited western philosophical tradition from Plato to Kant.? This new approach was later described as ‘continental’ philosophy. In this module, you will discover some of the key thinkers from this continental tradition of philosophy. The particular philosophers will vary from year to year, but will include pioneering thinkers who have been particularly influential on later continental philosophers (for example, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Wittgnstein) as well as more recent continental thinkers themselves (for example, Lyotard, Derrida, Levinas, Badiou, Žižek, Foucault, Arendt and Beauvoir).? While engaging with their thoughts, we will consider difficult and enduring questions such as:

• What is the relationship between history and truth?
• How does subjective experience relate to universal truth?
• What is the significance of gender and embodiment in philosophical reflection?
• What is the role of language and discourse in philosophical claims?
• How might we conceive of the relationship between power and freedom?

On completion of this module, you will be able to understand and interpret the central arguments made by these thinkers and to assess their distinctive claims, methods and approaches and their continuing significance for philosophy and for how we ought to structure our societies and lives.

Assessment Proportions

The essay will assess students’ ability to engage with both primary and secondary sources, and their ability to construct their own argument in the context of, and in conversation with, these sources and the thinkers who produced them. To support this substantive end of module assessment in a scaffolded way, students taking this module will have the opportunity to work on formative essay planning activities alone and with their peers at appropriate junctures in lectures or seminars (for example, through developing an essay plan for formative peer review or lecturer collective feedback).

• 100% essay, ~2500 words

PHIL6003: Philosophy and Popular Culture

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10
• Pre-requisites: Some prior study of Philosophy

Course Description

This course aims to introduce students to philosophical debates about popular culture and the arts, and to develop students’ abilities to understand and critically analyse popular culture and media from a philosophical perspective. The course will cover films, popular music, novels and other forms of cultural and artistic expression and engagement, with a focus on specific examples from these and other media. The course will be suitable for all students who are interested in popular culture and the arts and who want to think about the philosophical issues they raise. Studying this module will give students the opportunity to learn about how philosophers, artists and writers have understood the production, circulation and reception of different works of art and culture and how this relates to important debates about autonomy, agency, power, meaning, and identity. Students will be able to practice considering and applying philosophical concepts to popular culture, and by the end of the module, will be able to produce independent philosophical analyses of popular culture, to reflect critically on popular culture in light of philosophy, and reciprocally to think about questions that popular culture presents to philosophy. Students will develop their abilities to understand the role and value of popular culture and art in wider society.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Analyse key arguments about popular culture from one or more philosophical traditions such as critical theory, pragmatism, feminism, or analytic aesthetics.
2. Explain how accounts of mass and popular culture relate to broader philosophical debates about topics such as reason, agency, freedom, beauty, and society.
3. Assess competing philosophical arguments regarding the value and social significance of popular cultural forms, such as criticisms and defences of popular music, or criticisms and defences of mass culture.
4. Apply philosophical concepts to chosen examples of popular culture and, without collapsing into mere cultural commentary, formulate and defend their own critical positions on the value, meaning, and social role of popular culture.

Outline Syllabus

From music, film, and television to sports, fashion, and digital media, explore how cultural texts raise philosophical questions about identity, morality, power, and meaning, and examine how popular culture both reflects and shapes the way we understand ourselves and the world around us. In this module you will look at how philosophers have understood the production, circulation and reception of popular culture, and how it bears on our own autonomy, agency, power, and identity.

You will study themes which may include:

• Philosophical approaches to mass culture, cultural value, art, and aesthetic judgement
• Authorship, mass production, genre, kitsch, remix, and the ontology of reproducible artworks
• Identities, stereotypes, cultural appropriation, objectification, and other political issues in regard to popular culture and mainstream media
• The Frankfurt School on the culture industry and the critique of popular music
• Pragmatist, analytic and continental arguments for the aesthetic and social value of popular music, film, television and other forms
• Philosophical analysis of selected cultural artefacts as case studies – songs, films, novels, and visual art

In studying this module, you will gain an understanding of how philosophy provides tools for interpreting the stories we collectively tell and consume – and how those stories, in turn, influence our sense of self and the very fabric of the societies and world we inhabit.

Assessment Proportions

The module will be assessed by a portfolio of three components, designed to develop complementary academic, analytical, and communication skills. The elements are: an academic report; a pre-recorded podcast or in-person presentation (formative only in 26/27); and a piece of public philosophy. The three portfolio items must relate to different philosophically relevant questions relating to a single example or set of examples from popular culture (variations on this, or to the structure of the portfolio may be permitted by agreement with the module convener where there are good academic reasons for this approach). Portfolio topics must be agreed with the module convener in advance of submission to ensure sufficient breadth of scope and philosophical relevance, but will allow students to identify their own philosophical questions, or to choose from a broad set of options drawn from the module content.

• The academic report will develop students’ ability to reconstruct theoretical arguments and concepts, apply them to popular culture, and undertake close engagement with primary philosophical texts.
• The podcast which can also optionally be presented in person will develop students’ ability to discuss popular culture in a way that is philosophically informed as well as being clear and engaging, demonstrating the skills required for a number of careers post-degree and for presenting philosophical work. Students will critically discuss a chosen example of popular culture in light of the philosophical theories studied. (Note that this is formative only in 26/27)
• The public philosophy piece will be a short written piece in the style of a public-facing blog post, magazine article or op-ed, and will use philosophy to illuminate an issue in contemporary popular culture. This will foster the ability to translate philosophical reasoning into accessible, persuasive writing for a general readership. Again, this provides an opportunity to work on critical communication skills of the type required in roles post-degree.

PHIL6004: Textual Explorations in Philosophy

• Terms Taught: Michaelmas term
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: Some prior study of Philosophy.

Course Description

This module aims to…?

• Model and scaffold the philosophical practice of reading and responding to texts.?
• Develop students’ philosophical skills?in reading and interpreting texts, critically evaluating arguments, finding and making intelligent use of secondary texts, clearly expressing ideas and reasons, and engaging in open-minded and mutually respectful discussion.?
• Develop students’ active understanding of some important traditions, questions, texts, figures, topics, methods, tools, viewpoints, and/or arguments in philosophy.?
• Support students’ development and expression of their curiosity, creativity, and intellectual independence.?

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Skilfully do philosophy at the?appropriate level?by reading and interpreting texts, critically evaluating arguments, finding and making intelligent use of secondary texts, clearly expressing their ideas and reasons, and engaging in open-minded and mutually respectful discussion.
2. Deploy active understanding of some important traditions, questions, texts, figures, topics, methods, tools, viewpoints, and/or arguments in philosophy.
3. Continue and develop their own creative, well-reasoned, independent thinking about some significant texts in philosophy.

Outline Syllabus

In this module you will engage with a significant philosophical text or collection of texts, working with an academic philosopher on the topic of their live philosophical project and expertise. You will:

• Read deeply
• Develop interpretations
• Make reasoned assessments
• Find and engage with secondary literature
• Contribute to contemporary understanding and critique of your text(s).

In student-led and discussion-based workshops, you will present your own philosophical interpretations and arguments, take part in guided debates, and work on a portfolio of critical readings. In doing so you will be joining the practice, shared by all professional philosophers, of contributing to the understanding and development of the field itself.? The specific text(s) you will work on will vary year by year, but will be drawn from the interests and expertises of Lancaster philosophy staff. They might include, for example:

• Work by philosophers whose work had, and continues to have, major impact, such as Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor Mill, Hannah Arendt, J. L. Austin, or Iris Marion Young
• Work by significant contemporary philosophers such as Miranda Fricker, Peter Railton, Martha Nussbaum, or David Lewis
• Work from within a specific philosophical tradition, such as classical or modern Chinese philosophy, or work by nineteenth-century women philosophers.

One or more options will be offered each year. In studying this module, you will deploy the skills you have developed in your first two years of study, gain in-depth knowledge of an important area of philosophy, and further sharpen your skills in reading, interpretation, and thoughtful response – critical skills for both postgraduate study and a range of post-study careers.

Assessment Proportions

Assessment for this module has been designed to further promote and encourage careful and close textual independent study. Students will submit a portfolio of textual analyses, designed to develop and demonstrate the skills of the scholar and reader of philosophy. Students will write each week in response to prompts for interpretative and/or critical engagement with the set reading. These pieces will inform workshop discussion and receive general collective formative feedback throughout the module, providing scaffolded opportunity for students to improve and refine their work. Students will then develop a portfolio of revised versions of the best of their writing for grading at the end of the module.

• 100% portfolio of textual analyses, 4x ~750 words

PHIL6005: Questions at the Frontiers of Philosophy

• Terms Taught: Lent/Summer term
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: Some prior study of Philosophy.

Course Description

This module aims to…?

• Model and scaffold the philosophical practice of reasoned questioning.
• Develop students’ philosophical skills in reading and interpreting texts, critically evaluating arguments, finding and making intelligent use of secondary texts, clearly expressing ideas and reasons, and engaging in open-minded and mutually respectful discussion.
• Develop students’ active understanding of some important traditions, questions, texts, figures, topics, methods, tools, viewpoints, and/or arguments in philosophy.
• Support students’ development and expression of their curiosity, creativity, and intellectual independence.
• Allow students to undertake independent research into current philosophical work, as recommended by the 2025 Philosophy Subject Benchmark for their final year of study.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Skilfully do philosophy at the?appropriate level?by reading and interpreting texts, critically evaluating arguments, finding and making intelligent use of secondary texts, clearly expressing their ideas and reasons, and engaging in open-minded and mutually respectful discussion.?
2. Deploy active understanding of some important traditions, questions, texts, figures, topics, methods, tools, viewpoints, and/or arguments in philosophy.?
3. Continue and develop their own creative, well-reasoned, independent thinking about some deep questions in philosophy.??

Outline Syllabus

Engage with cutting-edge philosophical research, working with an academic philosopher on the topic of their live philosophical project and expertise. In this module you may be:

• Reviewing and critically commenting on the chapters of a manuscript
• Reading an academic’s recent?publications?and?coming up with?further questions and challenges to build on their ideas
• Discussing new research relevant to the contemporary philosophical debates your module supervisor is currently engaged with.

In student-led and discussion-based workshops you will present your own summaries and arguments, take part in guided debates, and work on the challenge of your final written piece: a paper which is not only informed by, but may itself eventually inform, current debates within the discipline. In doing so you will be joining the practice, shared by all professional philosophers, of contributing to the understanding and development of the field itself.? The specific question/s you will work on will vary year by year, but will be drawn from the interests and expertises of Lancaster philosophy staff. They might include, for example:

• What is the best life for a human being?
• What do psychiatric diagnoses mean?
• What is personhood and what entities can be persons?
• How can we respect human autonomy while making public policy?
• What can combatant experience teach us about the ethics of war?

In studying this module, you will deploy the skills you have developed in the first two years of your degree, gain in-depth knowledge of an important area of contemporary philosophical inquiry, and further sharpen skills in argument and critique – critical skills for both postgraduate study and a range of post-study careers.

Assessment Proportions

Assessment for this module has been designed to further promote and encourage independent study and skills in developing and sustaining philosophical argumentation and critique. Students will submit a single assessed 3000-word essay at the end of the module, developed over the term in discussion with peers and the module convenor (with the option to participate in formative collective feedback).

PHIL6006: Comparative Political Philosophy

• Terms Taught: Lent/Summer term
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: Some prior study of Philosophy

Course Description

This module aims to…

• Develop skills that enable students to critically engage with a topic in political philosophy by drawing from schools, texts, thinkers, concepts, ideas, and approaches from a variety of philosophical traditions.
• Develop the students’ global cultural sensitivity, by engaging with a range of philosophical perspectives.
• Introduce students to the main methods for studying philosophy comparatively.
• Develop the students’ skills in close reading, interpreting, and commenting texts as well as situating them in their social, cultural, and historical contexts.
• Encourage students to reflect critically on the assumptions and predispositions they inherited from their upbringing.
• Encourage students to be self-reflexive about their own positionality and subjectivity.

Programmatically, this module is being offered at L6 as it…

• Allows students to undertake independent research, as recommended by the subject benchmark for students in their final year of study.
• Requires students to critically compare philosophical traditions, some of which will have been introduced at L4 and L5, thus building on earlier work and knowledge.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Show a critical understanding of the central political topic covered in the module from a comparative perspective.
2. Engage critically with texts written in different historical and cultural contexts.
3. Articulate their own position orally or in written form on a philosophical issue by drawing from a comparative approach.

Outline Syllabus

Politics is one of the most widespread and diverse phenomena of human experience. Yet it is often studied by relying on concepts, theoretical resources, and methodological approaches derived from a single intellectual tradition. This module seeks to reverse this trend by introducing you to global philosophical perspectives emanating from different intellectual traditions on a particular topic. The philosophical traditions with which we engage will vary from year to year, but may include Chinese, Continental, Analytic, African, Feminist, Postcolonial, and/or Decolonial perspectives. The topics that we look at will also change but may include one or more of the following:

• Democracy
• Modernity
• Secularism
• Pluralism
• Rights
• Political legitimacy

We will consider how the theme(s) we focus on has or have been construed in different settings, and we will inquire into how these different construals can help us achieve a better understanding of today’s sociopolitical landscape, while also providing new perspectives on how to tackle some of the most pressing political problems of our times. In addition to learning about different philosophical traditions, through studying this module you will also reflect on the challenges of studying philosophy comparatively and of engaging with philosophical traditions that derive from different cultural settings, developing a broader critical understanding of political community and life.

Assessment Proportions

Students will be encouraged to actively participate in the production and communication of knowledge through two pieces of assessment. First, students will complete a short assessed presentation at some point during the term on a reading they select from the suggested reading list. This will allow students to demonstrate their ability to critically assess and interpret the complex ideas expressed in a philosophical text, and to communicate these ideas orally in a clear and concise manner. (NOTE that this is formative only in 26/27.) Second, students will complete an end-of-module essay worth 100% of their grade for the module. Essay assessments provide students with the thinking time, and space, to engage with relevant philosophical literature, wrestle with complex ideas and arguments, and develop their own thought through philosophical arguments. At the point of L6 study, students will have had experience of this work at L4 and L5 and will be well-equipped for the final essay on this module, which will enable students to engage in an independent research project in which they will engage with a political topic from a comparative philosophical perspective.

PHIL6007: Philosophy For Times of Global Crisis

• Terms Taught: Lent/Summer term
• US Credits: 5
• ECTS Credits: 10 ECTS
• Pre-requisites: Some prior study of Philosophy

Course Description

This module will equip students to consider important issues related to current global crises in the light of major contemporary philosophical debates:

• Questions of social epistemology relate to the challenges of creating global knowledge in the face of increasing complexity, misinformation and fracturing national(ist), authoritarian and populist perspectives.
• The philosophy of collective action bears on immense challenges of collective action in the face of crises of climate damage, technological change, ecosystem destruction, and forms of conflict both old (e.g. conventional warfare) and new (e.g. cyber warfare).
• Philosophical concepts, theories and methods can help elucidate a range of global crises. For example, the proper understanding of democracy, law and political order bear on problems of both national organisation and international cooperation, and challenges of both inter and intranational reconciliation and progress.

Educational Aims

Upon successful completion of this module students will be able to…

1. Analyse major epistemological challenges facing the world today.
2. Analyse problems of collective action as these arise in different spheres of society, in different regions, and at the global level.
3. Apply philosophical concepts and methods to elucidate a range of global crises – both to explain why it is that certain problems can become relatively intractable and to evaluate potential solutions.

Outline Syllabus

Interconnected global crises and states of ‘polycrises’ or ‘wicked problems’ impact upon the daily lives of millions of people across the globe. Environmental, financial, technological, security, diplomatic, political and military concerns all pose acute problems of knowledge and understanding, require individual and collective action, and raise questions around duties and rights for addressing multi-faceted complex problems. Philosophical reasoning can play a key role in helping individuals, politicians, states and societies navigate these challenges, and in shaping and critiquing the principles for taking action. In this module you will actively work on developing your own philosophical contributions to addressing global crises, studying topics which may include:

• Themes from social epistemology, including the difficulty of creating shared knowledge in the face of societal challenges; institutions for scrutinising as well as disseminating knowledge claims; the need for diverse perspectives on so-called wicked problems, and also the challenges of combining and reconciling these.
• Themes from the philosophy of collective action and metaphysics, including the ways in which human beings can cooperate outside of formal institutions and create new institutions to address societal and international problems, as well as problems of diffuse responsibility amid complex or changing social structures.
• Themes from political philosophy, such as the difficulties and strengths of democratic institutions and the compromises they require; the challenges of reconciliation and institution-building after war and conflict; the challenges democracies face in light of populism, authoritarianism, corruption in the democratic process, and problems of disinformation.

Over the course of this module you will learn how different philosophical approaches can help us to think our way through our own responsibilities in these times, offering different perspectives on the various roles we can play in surviving, and even flourishing, in times of global crisis.

Assessment Proportions

The module will be assessed by a report framed in terms of the needs of an external, non-philosophical audience, in response to a question agreed in advance with the module convener. This might take different formats depending on the audience considered – members of parliament, civil servants, business leaders, a United Nations forum, or some type of non-governmental organisation. It might be a longer report considering a specific problem, such as how to secure accurate information in the face of AI, or a series of briefing notes on a specific theme. A key element of the task will be to take an important philosophical debate and to explain it to a wider audience, and show how it affects the proper interpretation and judgments of a major issue facing the world today. The report should be prefaced by a short account of how the student understands the relevant audience and their needs.