Topics in Philosophy II
Module Code: PI1004
Module Name: Topics in Philosophy II
- ECTS Weighting: 15
- Semester/Term Taught: Michaelmas + Hilary Term
- Contact Hours: 44 hours of lecture and 11 hours of tutorial
- Module Personnel: Lecturers – Dr. Thomas McNally (email), Dr. Niall Connolly (email), Dr. Thomas Curtin (email), Professor Antti Kauppinen (email)
Learning Outcomes
Having successfully completed this module, students will be able to:
- critically evaluate the foundational issues in the philosophy of language concerning the nature of meaning and the role, if any, of the community in constituting meaning;
- identify and critically evaluate different theories of the nature of truth;
- identify fundamental issues regarding the nature of religion and critically evaluate different responses to those issues;
Module Content
This is a problems–based course, composed of the following components:
Component 1: Meaning – Dr. Thomas McNally (email)
Meaning is the basic property we attach to words in order to speak intelligibly and communicate with others. But what is meaning? The course will be based around addressing two central questions. Firstly: Is meaning a natural phenomenon? Secondly: Is meaning essentially social? The first question is concernded with what kind of thing meaning is, and particularly whether it is compatible with the 'naturalistic' or scientific view of the world. The second question is concerned with the role of the community of language users in making language (or linguistic meaning) possible. It addresses the issue of whether our capacity to attach meaning to words is based on certain mental states (and is something that in principle could be achieved by an individual who is not a member of any community); Or whether meanings are essentially shared and thus presuppose the existence of a community of language users who mean the same thing by the words. We will look at both sides of these debates and consider what view of the nature of meaning emerges from them. We will also reflect on the implications that these debates have for other areas of philosophy, especially epistemology and the philosophy of mind.
Component 2: Truth – Dr. Niall Connolly (email)
'Truth' seems to be a fundamental notions, but it turns out to be elusive. What is it for a proposition to be true? These lectures will examine attempts to tackle this question, including: the Correspondance Theory of truth which says that for a proposition to be true is for it to correspond to the facts; the Coherence Theory of truth which puts down the truthfulness of a proposition to its coherence with other propositions; the Pragmatic Theory of truth which links a proposition's truth to its usefulness, and the Minimalist and Redundancy theories which question the possibility of a substantive answer to the question: 'What is truth'? The Liar Paradox ('This proposition is not true') will also be discussed.
Component 3: Philosophy of Religion – Dr. Thomas Curtin (email)
This component will introduce the philosophy of religion. The course will focus on the role of faith and reason in religion and examine two classical arguments for the existence of God. The problem of evil will be discussed as well.
Component 3: Political Philosophy – Professor Antti Kauppinen (email)
Politicians of all stripes like to justify their proposals by appealing to notions such as justice, freedom, equality and the general good. But what do these abstract concepts really amount to? Which of these values should be given priority in a good society? Political philosophers give general answers to these questions. we will examine them and consider what they would mean for some major political questions of our time.
Assessment Details
Students will be required to submit two essays for this component, comprising 50% of the overall grade. The annual examination accounts for 50% of the overall grade.