Postgraduate Course: Ancient Ethics MSc (PHIL11092)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course is based on a systematic coverage of the main themes of Aristotle¿s Nicomachean Ethics.
Shared with UG course Ancient Ethics PHIL10101.
For courses co-taught with undergraduate students and with no remaining undergraduate spaces left, a maximum of 8 MSc students can join the course. Priority will be given to MSc students who wish to take the course for credit on a first come first served basis after matriculation. |
| Course description |
Topics discussed will include the human good, moral and intellectual virtues, responsibility, pleasure, friendship, and the place of philosophy in the good life. The impact of ancient theories of virtue on later thought will also be considered.
Seminar Content
Week 1. Introduction to Aristotle and to major themes of ancient ethics.
Week 2. The human good.
Week 3. Moral virtue and the doctrine of the mean.
Week 4. The voluntary, choice, responsibility.
Week 5. Justice.
Week 6. Intellectual virtue and practical reasoning.
Week 7. Akrasia (lack of self-control).
Week 8. Pleasure.
Week 9. Friendship.
Week 10. Contemplation; philosophy and the good life.
Week 11. The impact of ancient ethics on modern thought
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 8 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
172 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
One 2,500 word essay
Essay deadline: Thursday 17th December 2015 by 12 noon.
Word limit: 2500 words maximum (excluding references)
Return deadline: Tuesday 19th January 2016 |
| Feedback |
- Weekly tutorial groups shared with undergraduate students
- Additional fortnightly MSc-only tutorial groups
- Students have the opportunity to submit a formative essay by week 6 deadline on Turnitin via Learn. The essay cannot be draft of summative essay but it can be on the same topic.
Formative essay deadline: Thursday 29th October 2015 by 12 noon
Return deadline: Friday 20th November 2015 |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- an understanding of how these issues relate to continuing debates
- an ability to read closely, analyse and criticise ancient philosophical texts.
- the ability to present and defend arguments
- the ability to understand and analyse arguments
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Reading List
The primary reading is Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, which is available in numerous editions; the best are:
Crisp, Roger. Nicomachean Ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
Rowe, Christopher. Nicomachean Ethics, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. With introduction and commentary by Sarah Broadie.
Recommended secondary reading:
D.S. Hutchinson. ¿Ethics¿ in J. Barnes, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Aristotle.
J. Annas, The Morality of Happiness.
T. Irwin, The Development of Ethics (vol. 1).
G. Hughes, Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Aristotle on Ethics.
S. Broadie, Ethics with Aristotle.
A.O. Rorty, ed. Essays on Aristotle¿s Ethics.
R. Kraut, ed. The Blackwell Guide to Aristotle¿s Ethics.
L.P. Gerson, ed. Aristotle: Critical Assessments, vol. 3.
G. Anagnostopoulos, ed. A Companion to Aristotle. (Contains articles on each major topic from the Ethics.)
Other reading, relevant to particular topics, may be recommended during the course.
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Additional Information
| Course URL |
Please see Learn page |
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
The course is taught by Dr Andrew Mason
The course has a 1 hour lecture and 2 x 1 hour tutorial teaching arrangement in place; students must go to ALL lectures and choose only ONE tutorial group. Students do not attend both shared tutorial groups. Courses may also have additional postgraduate-only tutorials. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Theodore Scaltsas
Tel: (0131 6)50 3649
Email: Scaltsas@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Lynsey Buchanan
Tel: (0131 6)51 5002
Email: Lynsey.Buchanan@ed.ac.uk |
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