Postgraduate Course: Self, Agency and the Will MSc (PHIL11088)
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 | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course gives MSc students the opportunity to engage with issues surrounding the zombie challenge. |
| Course description |
The course will provide an introduction to one of the most exciting debates in the interdisciplinary field between philosophy and the cognitive sciences. It will examine the relationship between our phenomenal sense of agency and the sub-personal behavioural control layers that scientific psychology and the neurosciences describe.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2020/21, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
196 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Participation 5%
Mid-term essay (1500 words) 35%
Final essay (2500 words) 60% |
| Feedback |
Students have the opportunity to submit a formative essay via Learn. The essay cannot be draft of summative essay but it can be on the same topic.
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- understand the literature on the zombie challenge
- use empirical literature in a philosophical context
- critically discuss the relationship between our phenomenal sense of agency and subpersonal behavioural control layers
- understand why it can be problematic to rely on introspection
- apply the issues raised by the zombie challenge in a moral psychology context
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Reading List
| For a core reading on the zombie challenge see Clark, Andy, Julian Kiverstein, and Tillmann Vierkant, eds. Decomposing the will. Oxford University Press, 2013. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Reading, understanding and critically engaging with complex texts; critical thinking; constructive oral engagement; essay writing. Interdisciplinary thinking |
| Keywords | Conscious Will,Sense of Agency,Libet,Wegner,Mental Actions,Introspection |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Tillman Vierkant
Tel: (0131 6)51 3748
Email: T.Vierkant@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Becky Verdon
Tel: (0131 6)50 3860
Email: Rebecca.Verdon@ed.ac.uk |
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