Undergraduate Course: Morality and Value (PHIL08015)
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 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The courses introduce students to some of the classic issues, concepts, and theories in moral and political philosophy and value theory that are central to philosophy as a discipline. The examination of these will develop students' ability to understand and critically evaluate philosophical ideas and arguments. A mixture of historical and contemporary texts are covered. No background in philosophy is assumed. |
| Course description |
A representative list of topics covered by the course are:
Consequentialism
Deontology
Virtue Ethics
Self-interest and morality
Population Ethics and Procreative Ethics
Moral limits on markets
Existentialism
Meaning of life
Well-Being
Freedom of speech
The Obligation to Obey the Law
Distributive justice
(For the precise topics covered in a given year, consult the course guide).
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Priority will be given to Year 1 students, in particular those who need to take this course as a requirement of their degree programme. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, 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
(
Lecture Hours 33,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
151 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
70 %,
Coursework
30 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Midterm Essay 30%
Final Exam 70%
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| Feedback |
Not entered |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Morality and Value Exam | 120 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand some of the main traditions and theories in moral philosophy.
- Reconstruct an argument from a text, and do so in a way that balances charity of interpretation with fidelity to the text.
- Engage critically with a philosophical argument.
- Think creatively to develop their positive ideas in a rigorous philosophical manner.
- Anticipate and respond to the best objections to their own ideas.
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Additional Information
| Course URL |
https://uoe.sharepoint.com/sites/hss/ppls/PPLS-Undergraduate-Student-Hub-home/SitePages/Handbooks-%26-Course-Guides-Philosophy.aspx |
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Through the lectures, tutorials, readings and assessments, students will start learning how to critically analyse texts and philosophical theories. They will learn how to look for the wider context, arguments for and against a viewpoint, to then decide on a position¿s soundness. They will also learn how to view and apply philosophical theories in a modern context, and they will need to have an open mind to the different perspectives and interpretations of an argument before deciding their stance. Through the assessments and tutorials they will start learning how to write academic essays and develop their public speaking and debating skills (and how to debate respectfully).
Core skills gained on this course:
Critical thinking and analysis, considering alternative perspectives, deconstructing and formulating arguments, public speaking, debating respectfully, written communication, writing academically, deconstructing complex theories and concepts. |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
Course lecturers:
Professor Guy Fletcher
Dr Filipa Melo Lopes |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Guy Fletcher
Tel: (0131 6)51 7112
Email: Guy.Fletcher@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Joan MacKenzie
Tel:
Email: jmacken8@ed.ac.uk |
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