THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2024/2025

Timetable information in the Course Catalogue may be subject to change.

University Homepage
DRPS Homepage
DRPS Search
DRPS Contact
DRPS : Course Catalogue : Centre for Open Learning : Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences

Undergraduate Course: 20th-Century British Philosophers (LLLI07001)

Course Outline
SchoolCentre for Open Learning CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 7 (Year 1 Undergraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits10 ECTS Credits5
SummaryThis is a for-credit course offered by the Office of Lifelong Learning (OLL); only students registered with OLL should be enrolled. British philosophy in the 20th century presents a rich variety of approaches to central questions such as the nature of ethics, how to run society, and what knowledge is and how do we achieve it. Learn about philosophy through studying the lives and thoughts of key figures in its development.
Course description Content of course
1. Overview. An introduction to the main themes and developments in twentieth century British philosophy.
2. R G Collingwood (1889-1943). Collingwood emerged from the tradition of British Idealism to produce important work in both the philosophy of history and aesthetics. This session examines his work in relation to that Idealist tradition and in relation to the empiricist tradition which dominated academic philosophy for much of his career.
3. G. E. Moore (1873-1958). Moore was an important figure in both the break from Idealism and in the development of philosophical ethics in the twentieth century, and his ideas influenced the Bloomsbury Group.
4. A. J. Ayer (1910-1989). Ayer popularized the work of logical positivism in Britain, which rejected large parts of philosophical writing as meaningless. We look at his views on such areas (including ethics and theology) and the effect on later philosophers.
5. Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951). Wittgenstein bridges the gap between logical positivism and later developments in ordinary language philosophy. We look at the radical changes in his views over his career.
6. R. M. Hare (1919-2002). Although little known outside academic philosophy, Hare¿s work typifies the close analysis of language that was characteristic of much philosophical ethics in the twentieth century.
7. Mary Midgley (1919-). Midgley has become famous as a major critic of Richard Dawkins. In this session, we examine her work as part of a movement to move philosophy away from linguistic analysis to substantive ethical questions.
8. Gillian Rose (1947-95). Rose provides a contrast to most of the other philosophers on this course in her engagement with continental philosophy. This session examines her approach as an alternative to the mainstream analytic tradition.
9. Bernard Williams (1929-2003) Williams¿ work in ethics can be seen as focusing on authenticity and self-expression. This session examines the adequacy of such an approach to ethical questions.
10. Final discussion. An opportunity to consider the course as a whole and to return to specific issues in the light of that overview.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students should be able to:

Demonstrate a broad knowledge of some key ideas in twentieth century British philosophy;
Demonstrate an awareness of the diversity of modern philosophical thought and its development over the course of the twentieth century;
Use some of the basic skills, techniques and practices associated generally with reading philosophical texts;
Present and evaluate some central arguments and ideas of twentieth century philosophy
Reading List
Recommended background reading
Baggini, J. and Stangroom, J., eds., 2002.New British Philosophy: the Interviews. London: Routledge.
Magee, B., ed., 2001. Talking Philosophy: Dialogues with Fifteen Leading Philosophers. Oxford: Oxford Paperbacks. (Earlier editions published under the title Men of Ideas.)
Web sources
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
http://www.iep.utm.edu/
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Password access)
http://www.lib.ed.ac.uk/resources/databases/findlita.shtml
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
http://plato.stanford.edu/
Class handouts
Handouts will be provided.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserMr Douglas Dougan
Tel:
Email: ddougan@exseed.ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMr John Ethcuit
Tel: (0131 6)50 3409
Email: jethcuit@exseed.ed.ac.uk
Navigation
Help & Information
Home
Introduction
Glossary
Search DPTs and Courses
Regulations
Regulations
Degree Programmes
Introduction
Browse DPTs
Courses
Introduction
Humanities and Social Science
Science and Engineering
Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Other Information
Combined Course Timetable
Prospectuses
Important Information