| Wk | Date | Topic | Reading Due | Discussion Questions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Friday 5 Jan |
No Lecture or Classes | First Summative Essay: Due Fri, 5 Jan by 3pm. | |
| 1 | 9 Jan | What are space and time? Part 1: What is space? Lecture 11 |
Primary Reading: The Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence, 1715-1716, Letters 1-3 Further Reading:
|
DQ-11 |
| 2 | 16 Jan | What are space and time? Part 2: What is time? Lecture 12 |
Primary Reading: McTaggart (1908) 'The Unreality of Time' |
DQ-12 |
| 3 | 23 Jan | What are numbers? Part 1: What is an Integer? Lecture 13 |
Primary Reading: Bertrand Russell (1919), Excerpt from Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy, Sections I-II (pgs.160-173) only |
DQ-13 |
| 4 | 30 Jan | What are numbers? Part 2: Is Infinity a Number? Lecture 14 |
Primary Reading: Thomson (1954) "Tasks and Super-Tasks" Further Reading:
|
DQ-14 |
| 5 | 6 Feb | What's the right thing to do? Part 1: In theory Lecture 15 / Handout / Smiling Philosophers |
Primary Reading: Choose one:
|
DQ-15 2nd Formative Essay: Due Mon, 12 Feb by 3pm |
| 6 | 13 Feb | What's the right thing to do? Part 2: In practice Lecture 16 |
Primary Reading: Peter Singer (1972) 'Famine, Affluence and Morality' and Onora O'Neill (1980) 'Kantian Approaches to Some Famine Problems' |
DQ-16 |
| 7 | 20 Feb | What's the best form of government? Part 1: For and Against Democracy Lecture 17 / Handout |
Primary Reading: John Stuart Mill (1861) Considerations on Representative Government, Chapter 3 Further Reading:
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DQ-17 |
| 8 | 27 Feb | What's the best form of govenrment? Part 2: Are there any alternatives? Lecture 18 / Handout |
Primary Reading: Alexander Guerrero (2014) 'The Lottocracy' AND Jason Brennan (2016) 'Against Democracy' |
DQ-18 |
| 9 | 6 Mar | What is the meaning of life? Part 1: Meaning, Happiness, Morality |
Primary Reading: Susan Wolf (2010) Meaning in Life and Why It Matters, Chapter/Lecture 1, 'Meaning in Life' Further Reading:
|
DQ-19 |
| 10 | 13 Mar | What is the meaning of life? Part 2: The absurd |
Primary Reading: Thomas Nagel (1971) 'The Absurd' Further Reading: [N.B. These readings contain some discussion of the topic of suicide]
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DQ-20 3rd Formative Essay: Due Thu, 15 Mar by 3pm |
| 11 | 20 Mar | Reading Week (No Lecture) |
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| ST | Friday 20 Apr |
No Lecture or Classes | Second Summative Essay: Due Fri, 20 Apr by 3pm. |