MA Philosophy Part 1 A853 - Outline

Question 1

About this course:

The MA programme is studied part time, and is normally completed over two years, starting in October. It consists of two parts. Part 1 is a 60 point module studied over 31 weeks. Part 2 (which includes a dissertation) is a 120 point module studied over 47 weeks.

Credits 60

Course work includes:

3 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs)
End-of-module assessment
No residential school

This module consists of four blocks, each of five weeks, and five further weeks in which you have the opportunity to think about and discuss the nature of philosophical study. The four blocks are as follows:

Block 1: The aesthetics of nature
What do we mean when we call a piece of nature ‘beautiful’? Do we mean only that we like it? Or is it being beautiful an objective fact about it? Is all of nature beautiful? When we ruin a piece of nature, do we make everything alright again if we make it look like how it looked before? This block asks all these questions – and more – and guides you towards the arguments that will enable you to answer them.

Block 2: Plato’s Meno
Plato’s dialogue, The Meno, is a classic text by one of the founders of Western Philosophy. You will learn how to read and interpret the text through looking at some contemporary interpretations. Such interpretations make vivid the claims and arguments that, even today, underpin important philosophical controversies surrounding the nature of knowledge, the nature of virtue, and whether virtue is teachable.

Answer 1

Block 3: Consciousness
There is perhaps no greater mystery than the nature of consciousness. What is it that we have that sticks and stones do not? What is it to be aware of the world, to experience colours and sounds? Is consciousness a physical phenomenon? If so, what is the relation between a sensation (a feeling of pain, say) and a state of our brain? Drawing on dramatic recent work in the philosophy of mind, this block attempts to throw light on these issues.

Block 4: Global justice
It is a fact that some people in the world have plenty, and other people in the world have not enough, or barely enough, on which to live. Global justice has always been important in Political Philosophy, but it is emerging as a central issue of debate. This block will go into the history of the debate (since the 1970s) and consider the key current points of contention: who is responsible for how things are? What should we do about it?

Reading the following will be useful preparation for the MA:

Glenn Parsons, Aesthetics and Nature, Bloomsbury, 2008.
Plato, The Meno. Many editions available.
David Chalmers, The Conscious Mind, Oxford University Press, 1997.
Thom Brooks (ed.), The Global Justice Reader, Wiley-Blackwell, 2008. Particularly sections IV-VII.

Question 2

Set books

Warburton, N. The Basics of Essay Writing Routledge £14.99 - ISBN 9780415434041
Teaching and assessment

Support from your tutor

Your tutor will help you with the module work and mark and comment on your assignments. Both modules in the MA in Philosophy are supported with a mix of online tutorial support. You are encouraged to take part in the online tutorials with your tutor and tutor group, as well as the Module-wide Forum. There will also be events led by course authors. Tutorials will be held throughout the year and can be accessed from any computer with internet access. They are likely to be a blend of asynchronous online discussions, in which you can participate at times of your choice, and synchronous (‘live’) tutorials at set times. Further information about tutorials will be provided at the start of the module.

There is a continuous assessment component and an examinable component.
The continuous assessment component comprises 3 TMAs.

Your overall continuous assessment score (OCAS) is determined from your scores for these assignments weighted as follows: TMAs 01 / 02 - 30% each; TMA 03 - 40%.

Your overall examinable component score (OES) is the score you achieve on the EMA.

To be sure of passing the course, you need to achieve at least 40 on OCAS and at least 40 on OES.

Answer 2

Assignment Cut-off date
TMA 01 22 November 2018
TMA 02 24 January 2019
TMA 03 21 March 2019

There are 10 Free Learning courses to do at Open Learn.

Before you enter the degree you must be able to:

• Write clear, concise, accurate prose
• Read large quantities of text quickly, accurately and critically
• Classify evidence precisely and assess its value and reliability
• Argue logically, consistently and sceptically
• Marshal various sorts of evidence to support a logical argument.