Postgraduate Course: Philosophy of Time Travel MSc (PHIL11101)
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 | 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.
Shared with UG course Philosophy of Time Travel PHIL10125.
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 |
'To ruin the great work of time, / And cast the kingdom old / Into another mould', Andrew Marvell.
This course will offer detailed seminars on key philosophical issues in the philosophy of time travel, largely with an analytical slant. Students should end this course conversant with a range of significant metaphysical (and other) issues surrounding time travel. No detailed logical, scientific or metaphysical expertise will be assumed, and the course is intended to be accessible to students with a wide range of philosophical interests and aptitudes.
No previous knowledge of physics or the philosophy of time will be required.
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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
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- develop further students' philosophical skills, and to extend and deepen their philosophical knowledge, acquired in previous philosophy courses.
- gain 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.
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Reading List
Barry Dainton, Time and Space, Chesham, Acumen, 2001, second edition Durham Acumen 2010, multiple copies should be available in the Library Hub Reserve (at shelf-mark BD632 Dai).
The full weekly reading list is available on Learn. |
Additional Information
| Course URL |
Please see Learn page |
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
- written skills (through summative essays)
- oral communication skills (through lecturer-led and/or student-led seminar discussions)
- presentation skills (through giving and criticising student presentations)
- analytical skills (through exploring a carefully-chosen series of philosophical texts)
- ability to recognise and critically assess an argument.
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| Additional Class Delivery Information |
The course is taught by Dr Alasdair Richmond. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Alasdair Richmond
Tel: (0131 6)50 3656
Email: A.Richmond@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Lynsey Buchanan
Tel: (0131 6)51 5002
Email: Lynsey.Buchanan@ed.ac.uk |
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