Undergraduate Course: Philosophy of Time Travel ( S1) (PHIL10127)
Course Outline
School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
Home subject area | Philosophy |
Other subject area | None |
Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
Course description | Time travel (surprising as it may sound) is a topic of wide and growing interest to philosophers as well as physicists. There are now (literally) scores of philosophical articles relating time travel to a host of interesting metaphysical and epistemic problems centred around (e.g.) laws of nature, personal identity and free will. Students will be encouraged to engage critically with the works of such important figures as David Lewis, Kurt Gödel, D. H. Mellor and Robin Le Poidevin, amongst others.
This course is research-led and is largely designed around an ongoing project (funded by the AHRC 2008/09) to produce a book-length treatment and a series of related articles on all philosophical aspects of time travel. No previous knowledge of physics or the philosophy of time will be required and the course will have only minimal overlap with the existing Honours option in 'Philosophy of Time' (U04614).
This course will ordinarily be taught by myself as part of my normal teaching load. The course will make use of the resources of the University library, and on-line academic journals. There should be no extra resource implications in running this course and no costs peculiar to this course should be incurred. |
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 Philosophy courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses. |
Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | No |
Course Delivery Information
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Delivery period: 2014/15 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)
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Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: 25 |
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Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
Course Start Date |
15/09/2014 |
Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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Additional Notes |
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Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
90 %,
Practical Exam
10 %
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No Exam Information |
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Delivery period: 2014/15 Semester 1, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)
|
Learn enabled: No |
Quota: 5 |
|
Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
Course Start Date |
15/09/2014 |
Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
|
Additional Notes |
|
Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
90 %,
Practical Exam
10 %
|
No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
To develop further students' philosophical skills, and to extend and deepen their philosophical knowledge, acquired in previous philosophy courses. Students who successfully complete this course will have received a thorough grounding in all philosophical aspects of the current time travel debate and should be equipped to discuss critically a range of relevant, contemporary philosophical issues in metaphysics. |
Assessment Information
1. Class Participation (class presentation --- see Course Guide for details) (10%)
2. Mid-term essay of 1,500 words (40%)
3. End-of-semester essay of 2,000 words (50%) |
Special Arrangements
None |
Additional Information
Academic description |
Not entered |
Syllabus |
Not entered |
Transferable skills |
Not entered |
Reading list |
Not entered |
Study Abroad |
Not entered |
Study Pattern |
Not entered |
Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
Course organiser | Dr Alasdair Richmond
Tel: (0131 6)50 3656
Email: A.Richmond@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Susan Richards
Tel: (0131 6)51 3733
Email: sue.richards@ed.ac.uk |
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© Copyright 2014 The University of Edinburgh - 29 August 2014 4:35 am
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