INTRODUCTION TO IDEAS IN
MODERN PHILOSOPHY
10 week course in London - starts 20 April 2009
Was the war in Iraq justified? Should nature be preserved because it helps us to survive or does it have value in itself? What exactly am I and what will we be in the future? How do films like The Matrix and Watchmen contribute to philosophy? Can you tell what time is without telling what a clock does?
Each week we will be going over key text and arguments from various Philosophers and discussing how these ideas can be applied. In some cases we will also be discussing how these ideas are utilised in film and assessing how films “do” Philosophy.
This course will be of particular interest to anyone who has ever had questions like these and would like to know how philosophy can help them think through some of the many more questions and problems our society faces today.
You might be surprised just how much you already take part in philosophical thought and discussion and part of this course has been designed to help bring those ideas out into the open and to test them against opposing or alternative ideas. It’s simply a course for anyone who has ever questioned, wondered or struggled to understand why things are they way the are and how they could be different. It won’t give you the answers, but might give you many more options and certainly many, many more questions!
Issues such as environmentalism, climate change, war, terrorism, justice, cloning, technology, existentialism, reality, time and consciousness will be discussed during this 10 week course using arguments from philosophers such as Kant, Descartes, Sartre, Russell, Schopenhauer, Wittgenstein, Danto and J. S. Mill.
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Week 01: Monday 20th April 2009
Introduction to Modern Philosophy
Week 02: Monday 27th April 2009
Aesthetic Process
Week 03: Monday 11th May 2009
Moral Philosophy and Ethics
Week 04: Monday 18th May 2009
Jus Ad Bellum
Week 05: Monday 1st June 2009
Jus In Bello
Week 06: Monday 8th June 2009
Ecosophy
Week 07: Monday 15th June 2009
Existentialism
Week 08: Monday 22nd June 2009
Idealism and Realism
Week 09: Monday 29th June 2009
Consciousness
Week 10: Monday 6th July 2009
Time & Timelessness
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REQUIREMENTS
None. No previous knowledge of philosophy is required for this course.
AIMS
FAMILIARISE students with ideas in modern philosophy using a wide range of texts from the 17th century to present day philosophers;
ENABLE students to analyse opposing arguments, rationalise and draw their own conculsuions;
HELP students apply these ideas to current problems we face in the world today through discussion and writing;
Although there will be no set essays, there will be some set reading involved in this course.
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
Problem solving skills.
Analytic and critical skills.
To argue from evidence and to communicate ideas effectively.
The ability to listen to all sides and to rationalise.
COST £75 ( no concessions)
COURSE MATERIALS
Course booklets will be given out on the first week. Handouts containing reading material will be given 1 week in advance. Students will also receive login details for the Metatempus site where they can view reading lists and read lesson notes from previous weeks.
TUTOR Patrick Samuel (BA Hons.)
TIME & PLACE
Mondays - 18.00-20.00
Room LF04, West Green Learning Centre
(entrance on West Green Road)
Langham Road
London N15 3RB
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