Short courses

Summary

Can moral claims like “it’s wrong to steal” be true in one culture but false in another? What makes something right or wrong anyway, or do we behave as per our nature? How do we resolve moral controversies over such things as euthanasia, abortion, and the treatment of non-human animals? And what’s the relationship between moral values like right and wrong and aesthetic values like beauty? Is anything ever objectively good, natural or beautiful, or is it all in the eye of the beholder?  

Join this course to explore these profound questions of morality, nature and beauty and be introduced to how some of the major figures of Western philosophy, in the past and more recently, have tried to answer them. 

Over a series of talks and key texts, our expert tutor will explain: 

• the key philosophical problems and arguments concerning the philosophy of the mind, religion and free will. 
• Introduce students to some of the key philosophical debates and figures in the Western Philosophical tradition 
• Introduce student to relevant key ideas from science  

You will also have the chance to discuss and reflect on what you learn with other students and the tutor in seminars 

Choose this course if you want to learn: 

• The basic philosophical problems and arguments concerning the mind, religion and free will. 
• How to share your thinking in discussion and learn from others 
• (if assessment taken) how to evaluate these ideas in writing and illustrate your thinking with examples