BUU11540 Fundamentals of Philosophy, Ethics and Social Science 2025/26
(10 ECTS)
Lecturer:
Dr. Michael Markunas
Email: markunam@tcd.ie
Office Hours: TBD/by appointment
Pre- Requisite:
Not available to exchange students
Module Description
This module is an introduction to a broad range of topics within philosophy, ethics, and the social sciences. It arms students with the conceptual tools and the context needed to frame and evaluate challenging questions about what we should do in business and society at large.
In the Michaelmas semester, we focus on understanding various wrongs with an emphasis on those we are likely to encounter in business (e.g., imposing risks, corruption, exploitation). We will discuss both what these kinds of behaviour are and what’s bad about them, as well as how they might be avoided and what should happen when they are not.
In the Hillary semester, the focus shifts towards our positive obligations to others and how best to use social institutions to satisfy them. This requires us to engage with economic and political theory, and it calls us to question not only the grounds for and scope of our duties but also the ways that historical and economic factors influence the roles of the market and the state.
Learning and Teaching Approach
The approach taken involves students doing close readings of recent and innovative texts from a variety of subfields. This is coupled with detailed lectures for background context and distillation of the main ideas as well as tutorials for students to become comfortable discussing these challenging ideas together. Papers and examinations offer students further opportunities to consider how these ideas interact and, ultimately, what they think about them.
Module-Level Learning Outcomes
LO1: Become familiar with the primary philosophical methodology of reasoning and conceptual analysis.
LO2: Become familiar with current issues and methodology in social science, particularly in economics, sociology, and political theory.
LO3: Leverage the conceptual tools of ethics and political theory to frame and understand challenging normative questions in contemporary business contexts.
LO4: Develop critical thinking, reading, and writing skills on contemporary business-ethical debates including the extent of our personal, economic, and political obligations.
LO5: Develop an ability to discuss these challenging issues productively with peers.
Workload
| Content | Indicative Number of Hours |
|---|---|
| Lecturing hours | 2 per week for 22 weeks |
| Preparation for lectures | 1 per week for 22 weeks |
| Individual assignments | 16 |
| Reading of assigned materials and active reflection on lecture and course content and linkage to personal experiences | 4 per week for 22 weeks |
| Final exam preparation | 8 |
| Total | 178 |
Textbooks and Required Resources
Required core course textbook:
There is no textbook required.
General Supplemental Readings:
All readings will be provided through Blackboard.
Student preparation for the module
Students should read assigned reading before each class and consider how it connects with readings done before.
Course Communication
Please note that all course related email communication must be sent from your official TCD email address. Emails sent from other addresses will not be attended to.
Assessment
Course participation (10%)
Quizzes (10%) – 6 short quizzes/essay questions ( 3 each term) to be completed in class at the start of lecture
Essay 1 (20%) due towards the end of Michaelmas semester
Essay 2 (20%) due towards the end of Hilary semester
Final Examination (40%)
Supplemental Assessment: Exam (100%)
REASSESSMENT
Students who fail the Final Examination will have an opportunity to take a further exam for reassessment. Similarly, students who fail one of the essays will have the opportunity to submit a make-up essay on a new topic by an agreed upon date.
Biographical Note
Dr. Markunas graduated with a PhD in Philosophy from University College London in 2024, following a Bachelors of Arts from the University of California Berkeley. Dr. Markunas has taught a wide range of modules at the undergraduate and postgraduate level, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. His research ranges broadly across ethics, epistemology, artificial intelligence and the philosophy of mind and language. His work has been published in venues such as Synthese, Proceedings of the International Wittgenstein Symposium, The Institute of Philosophy and What to do about now?