Undergraduate Course: Meta-Ethics (PHIL10019)
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 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | If ethics is the general investigation of what is right/wrong, good/bad, what one may/ought to do, etc. then metaethics is the investigation of the nature of ethical judgments and facts. This involves questions about: (i) the objectivity and psychology of ethical judgment, (ii) the existence, nature and knowability of ethical facts, and (iii) the meaning of ethical terms and the sentences in which they figure. This course will introduce students this area of philosophy, which is an interesting arena for the interaction of moral theory, metaphysics, ontology, moral psychology, and the philosophy of language. We consider a wide range of metaethical theories which may include non-naturalism, emotivism, error-theory, naturalism, expressivism, and fictionalism. Through this, students will gain an overview of twentieth century meta-ethics and exposure to some recent developments. In addition to students interested in ethical theory, this course will be relevant to those interested in metaphysics, epistemology, and the theory of meaning.
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| Course description |
The philosophical study of ethics can be divided into three main areas: normative ethics, practical ethics, and metaethics. Normative ethics seeks general accounts of right/wrong and good/bad; practical ethics seeks to answer specific practical questions from an ethical point of view. By contrast, metaethics prescinds from these first-order questions to ask second-order questions about the 'status of morality'. Core issues in metaethics arise in each of the following areas as applied to morality: (a) metaphysics, (b) epistemology, (c) the philosophy of language, and (d) the philosophy of mind. In this course, we consider several traditional metaethical theories, including nonnaturalism, the error-theory, fictionalism, expressivism, and naturalism. We will also consider more contemporary theories that don't fit well into the more traditional categories. These include so-called 'hybrid theories,' constructivist theories, and pragmatist theories.
The goal of this course is not to make you a metaethicist or even for you to develop a full understanding of all of the main metaethical theories. Rather, the primary goal of this course is to develop your critical and analytical thinking skills. You will also develop these skills through in-class discussion and by arguing in your written work for the ideas you find most persuasive and challenging ideas you think are incorrect. Excelling in the course will demonstrate your growing precision in thought, an ability to interpret a text charitably and reconstruct the arguments found in that text and critically engage with those arguments, the capacity to develop your own convincing arguments for theses you find plausible, and anticipate the most powerful objections to your arguments and counter them, among other core philosophical skills. The course should be especially useful in honing your ability to think comparatively about the relative costs and benefits of various theories competing for roughly the same logical space.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
Mind, Matter and Language (PHIL08014) AND
Knowledge and Reality (PHIL08017)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Students studying on MA Cognitive Science (Humanities) are permitted to take this course without having met the pre-requisites of Mind, Matter and Language and Knowledge and Reality. However, it is advisable that students discuss the suitability of the course with their PT and the course organiser before enrolling. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have completed at least 3 Philosophy courses at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses. Applicants should note that, as with other popular courses, meeting the minimum does NOT guarantee admission. These enrolments are managed strictly by the Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the department, and all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is not appropriate for students to contact the department directly to request additional spaces. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2021/22, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| 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) |
Midterm 1500 Words (40%) and Final 2500 Words (60%)
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| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
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| Academic year 2021/22, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)
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Quota: 1 |
| 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 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Midterm 1500 Words (40%) and Final 2500 Words (60%)
|
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
| A thorough understanding of the most important positions in contemporary meta-ethics, some of which students will have encountered in less depth in previous courses, others of which will be new to students; an enhancement of philosophical skills, through pursuing contemporary questions at an advanced level; a furthering of communications skills, through presentations and constructive argument in a seminar setting.
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Reading List
| For an indication of topics and content please see Chrisman, M 'What Is This Thing Called Metaethics 2016. For the full reading list please see the Learn site. |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Deborah Roberts
Tel: (0131 6)51 5171
Email: D.Roberts@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Ann-Marie Cowe
Tel: (0131 6)50 3961
Email: Annmarie.Cowe@ed.ac.uk |
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