Postgraduate Course: Philosophy of Death and Dying MSc (PHIL11251)
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 investigates fundamental philosophical questions raised by human mortality, with special attention to the metaphysical nature of death, death's significance for human well-being, and ethical quandaries related to mortality. |
| Course description |
Mortality is one of the few universals of human life and thus raises philosophical questions important to all reflective individuals. This course surveys central topics in the philosophy of death and dying, including the possibility of surviving death, the desirability of immortality, the purported badness of death, the rationality of fear (and other attitudes) toward death, moral duties toward the dead, the nature and ethical significance of grief, and the ethics of suicide. The course also investigates concerns about death that arise in medical practice (for example, medically assisted dying and disputes regarding the criteria for declaring death).
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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 2024/25, 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
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
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 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Essay - 100% |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand and explain, accurately and charitably, influential positions and arguments concerning metaphysical and ethical issues raised by death and dying
- Critically assess these positions and arguments, drawing their own reasoned conclusions about their defensibility
- Demonstrate how disputes within the philosophy of death and dying relate to various subdisciplines of philosophy (ethics, metaphysics, philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, etc.)
- Offer reasoned justifications for their own views regarding the significance of death and dying for their own lives and for humanity in general
- Be able to facilitate larger societal conversations concerning controversies related to death and dying
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Reading List
Representative Readings:
Cave, Immortality
Cholbi, Grief: A Philosophical Guide
Cholbi, Suicide: The Philosophical Dimensions
Cholbi and Timmerman (eds.), Philosophy of Death and Dying: Classical and Contemporary Perspectives
Fischer, Death, Immortality, and Meaning in Life
Gawande, Being Mortal
Kagan, Death
May, Death: The Art of Living |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Mindsets: Enquiry and lifelong learning; Aspiration and personal development
Skill groups: Personal and intellectual autonomy; Personal effectiveness |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Michael Cholbi
Tel:
Email: mcholbi@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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