Postgraduate Course: Philosophy of Time Travel MSc (PHIL11101)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| 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. 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. |
| Course description |
Not entered
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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 2019/20, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 8 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
One 2,500 word essay.
Word limit: 2500 maximum (excluding references) |
| Feedback |
Students have the opportunity to submit a formative essay. The essay cannot be draft of the summative essay but it can be on the same topic. |
| No Exam Information |
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). |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
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. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Alasdair Richmond
Tel: (0131 6)50 3656
Email: A.Richmond@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Becky Verdon
Tel: (0131 6)50 3860
Email: Rebecca.Verdon@ed.ac.uk |
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