Last modified: 25 Mar 2016 11:39
This course focuses on David Hume's 'An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding' (1748/1777). This important text continues to exert a strong influence in contemporary metaphysics, epistemology and philosophy of mind. Topics covered will include: the mind-world relation and the nature of thought; the nature of causation and causal explanation; free will and determinism; the Design Argument for the existence of God; the nature of objectivity. Classroom sessions involve both lecture-style teaching and student-led group work.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | First Term | Credit Points | 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Old Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
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Course Aims
1. To develop a sophisticated understanding of an important text from the history of Philosophy.
2. To develop academic skills in the discipline - in particular, how to read philosophical texts (both historical and from contemporary academic literature) and how to develop a critical response to academic material.
Main Learning Outcomes
In this course, we will engage in a close reading of a rich philosophical text. The benefits of doing this are many, but in particular we will practice independent critical engagement with primary texts. In doing so, you will
- learn to read academic texts in an active rather than a passive way;
- learn to outline and develop clearly articulated critical responses to the text;
- learn how to use these critical responses as a basis for an academic paper on the text, with appropriate citation and structure.
Focusing on Hume' s rich but readable text will allow students to think hard about a variety of important philosophical topics. Seminar activities will build on this, encouraging a pro-active approach, and helping students to develop ideas into full length essays with appropriate academic style, structure and content.
Course Content
This course focuses on David Hume's 'An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding' (1748/1777). This important text continues to exert a strong influence in contemporary metaphysics, epistemology and philosophy of mind. Topics covered will include: the mind-world relation and the nature of thought; the nature of causation and causal explanation; free will and determinism; the Design Argument for the existence of God; the nature of objectivity. Classroom sessions involve both lecture-style teaching and student-led group work.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
1st Attempt
One 2500-3000-word essay (45%); one two-hour exam (45%); class participation (10%).
Resit
Two 2500-word essay (100%).
There are no assessments for this course.
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