MA Modules

Time: Thursdays, 14:00–16:00, Autumn only
Place: Lecture Room, Philosophy Building, KCL
Lecture plan and reading list: here (doc, 26 KB)
Number of credits: 20
Module tutor: jasper.reid@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturer: Anthony Savile (KCL)
Formative assessment: 2 x 1,500-word essays
Summative assessment: 2 x 2,000-word essays, deadline 17 Jan. 2011
Note: Intercollegiate seminars, shared with other MA students and (partially) shared with BA students, to whom different regulations will apply.
 
Description: In the first five weeks of the course we shall discuss questions concerning beauty and the objectivity of aesthetic judgment as treated in two classic texts, Hume's essay 'Of the Standard of Taste' and Kant's Critique of Judgment. The second five weeks will be devoted to topics arising from consideration of the arts: representation, expression, interpretation, and theories of art as treated in major contemporary work, especially Richard Wollheim's Art and its Objects and his Painting as an Art. Suggestions for reading will be made from week to week. Those attending are advised to read Hume's essay before the first session (Thursday, October 7th). In the session 2010, the Royal Institute of Philosophy is hosting a series of public lectures on the Philosophy of Art (Friday evenings at 17:45 in term time, starting 15th October). Although not offcially tied to this module, these sessions will usefully complement it and students will benefit from regular attendance. Consult the Royal Institute's website for details. In a similar vein, students might also wish to attend the Aesthetics forum at the School of Advanced Study's Institute of Philosophy, which will be commencing on October 6th.

Time: Wednesdays, 18:00–20:00, Autumn and Spring
Place: Lecture Room, Philosophy Building, KCL
Lecture plan and reading list: here (doc, 94 KB)
Further course materials (Autumn): here
Number of credits: 40
Module tutor: jasper.reid@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturers:

• Autumn: Jasper Reid (KCL)
• Spring: Sarah Patterson (Birkbeck)

Formative assessment: 2 x 2,000-word essays
Summative assessment: 1 x 3-hour exam
Note:  Intercollegiate seminars, shared with other MA students to whom different regulations may apply.
 
Description: Based on a close reading of selected primary texts from a range of different authors, the module will examine certain themes in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century philosophy. We will largely limit ourselves to the metaphysical and epistemological side of the subject, but will also occasionally touch on matters of theology, ethics and physics. In the Autumn, we will look at theories of extension. Is all extension corporeal, or is there such a thing as empty and/or absolute space? Might spirits such as God or the human soul be extended? Is there really any such thing as extension at all, or does it only have an ideal existence in the mind? In the Spring, we will look at the contrasting roles assigned to reason, sense-perception and imagination in the works of Descartes, Malebranche and Hume. Is our imaginative and sensitive nature the source of errors that need to be corrected by the rational intellect, or is it in fact the proper source of our beliefs?

Time: Thursdays, 18:00–20:00, Autumn and Spring
Place: Seminar Room, Philosophy Building, KCL
Note: If necessary (on account of size), the class will divide in half for the second hour, and one subgroup will move to the Lecture Room, Philosophy Building.
Lecture plan and reading list (Autumn): here (doc, 26 KB)
Lecture plan and reading list (Spring): here (doc, 36 KB)
Number of credits: 40
Module tutor: david.galloway@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturers:

• Autumn: David Galloway (KCL)
• Spring: Anthony Grayling (Birkbeck)

Formative assessment: 2 x 2,000-word essays
Summative assessment: 1 x 3-hour exam
Note: Intercollegiate seminars, shared with other MA students to whom different regulations may apply.
 
Description: The Epistemology & Methodology course aims to bring students to a critical understanding of some of the central problems in the theory of knowledge and scientific methodology, via a close reading and discussion of some of the key recent texts in this area. Topics are likely to include problems of induction, confirmation and scientific explanation; perception and perceptual knowledge; scepticism and epistemic justification.

Time: Wednesdays, 18:00–20:00, Autumn and Spring
Place: S-1.04. 1st Basement, Strand Building, KCL
Note: If necessary (on account of size), the class will divide in half for the second hour, and one subgroup will move to the Seminar Room, Philosophy Building.
Lecture plan and reading list: here (doc, 84 KB)
Number of credits: 40
Module tutor: tom.pink@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturers:

• Autumn: Michael Garnett (Birkbeck)/Tom Pink (KCL)
• Spring: Rai Gaita (KCL)/Miranda Fricker (Birkbeck)

Formative assessment: 2 x 2,000-word essays
Summative assessment: 1 x 3-hour exam
Note: Intercollegiate seminars, shared with other MA students to whom different regulations may apply.
 
Description: The course will introduce students to a range of positions in contemporary ethical debates, and give them the resources to be able to investigate the nature of ethical thought and its place in human life. Topics are likely to include: subjectivism and objectivism in morals (Hume & Kant); J.S. Mill, utilitarianism and consequentialism; objectivity and the personal in morality; reasons, desires, emotions and cultures.

Time: Thursdays, 18:00–20:00, Autumn and Spring
Place: Room 103, 28 Russell Square, Birkbeck
Lecture plan and reading list: here (doc, 41 KB)
Further course materials (Autumn, weeks 1–5): here
Further course materials (Autumn, weeks 6–10): here (requires password—ask Jasper Reid)
Number of credits: 40
Module tutor: jasper.reid@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturers:

• Autumn: Jennifer Hornsby (Birkbeck)/Ken Gemes (Birkbeck)
• Spring: Miranda Fricker (Birkbeck)/Susan James (Birkbeck)

Formative assessment: 2 x 2,000-word essays
Summative assessment: 1 x 3-hour exam
Note: Intercollegiate seminars, shared with other MA students to whom different regulations may apply.
 
Description: A critical examination of some of the arguments and positions that have arisen out of feminist interventions in philosophy. Topics are likely to include: issues surrounding the relation between the political and the personal in the context of work and family, and feminist issues in the abortion debate; feminism in relation to the philosophy of language, covering such issues as hate speech and the linguistic encoding of discriminatory attitudes; issues of sexuality and objectification, including discussions of pornography and societal norms of 'feminine' appearance.

Time:

• Main seminar: Mondays, 18:00–19:30, Autumn and Spring
• Introduction to Logic: Mondays, 19:45–20:45, Autumn and Spring

Place (for both): S-2.08, 2nd Basement, Strand Building, KCL
Lecture plan and reading list: here (doc, 34 KB)
Lecture plan and reading list (Logic): here
Further course materials (Autumn, weeks 6–10): here (requires password—ask Andrea Sangiovanni)
Additional details (Spring, weeks 1–5): here (pdf, 21 KB)
Additional details (Spring, weeks 6–10): here (pdf, 52 KB)
Number of credits: 40
Module tutor: jasper.reid@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturers:

• Autumn: Michael Garnett (Birkbeck)/Andrea Sangiovanni (KCL)
• Spring: Anil Gomes (Birkbeck)/Cristian Constantinescu (Birkbeck)
• Introduction to Logic: Wilfried Meyer-Viol (KCL)

Formative assessment: 2 x 2,000-word essays, plus regular logic exercises
Summative assessment: 1 x 3-hour exam
Notes:

• Intended for and normally required of students who do not have an undergraduate background in Philosophy; unavailable to those who do have such a background.
• Part-time students who take this module at all must do so in the first of their two years.
• In the exam, questions may not be answered from any sections that correspond to other modules that students are taking alongside this one (e.g. Ethics, Political Philosophy, etc.).
• Intercollegiate seminars, shared with other MA students to whom different regulations may apply.
• Also known as 'Introduction to Philosophy'.

Description: The module is intended for those who are converting into Philosophy at Master's level, and is designed to offer them a broad overview of the current state of play in all of the main branches of the discipline: Ethics, Political Philosophy, Logic & Metaphysics, Epistemology & Methodology. In addition, students will receive training in elementary Symbolic Logic through separate classes following the main lectures. The knowledge acquired will serve as a foundation for further, more specialised research in specific fields, as well as providing an appreciation of the interconnected, systematic nature of Philosophy as a whole.

Time: Tuesdays, 14:00–16:00, Autumn and Spring
Place: Room G04, 43 Gordon Square, Birkbeck
Lecture plan and reading list: here (doc, 48 KB)
Number of credits: 40
Module tutor: peter.adamson@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturers:

• Autumn: Owen Gower (KCL)/Frisbee Sheffield (KCL)
• Spring: Peter Adamson (KCL)/Anthony Price (Birkbeck)

Formative assessment: 2 x 2,000-word essays
Summative assessment: 1 x 3-hour exam
Note: Intercollegiate seminars, shared with other MA students to whom different regulations may apply.
 
Description: This module is designed to give students a good grounding in some key areas of the thought of Plato and Aristotle. It will place emphasis on how one should go about reading the writings of these foundational but very different philosophical figures, and by extension teach how one should approach the reading of texts in the history of philosophy more generally. The course will focus on Epistemology & Metaphysics on the one hand, and Ethics on the other. In particular, it will examine Plato and Aristotle's views on the nature of reality, the acquisition of knowledge, and the attainment of the good life.

Time:

• Lecture: Thursdays, 11:00–12:00, Autumn and Spring
• Discussion class: Mondays, 2:30–3:30, Autumn and Spring

Place:

• Lecture: Seminar Room, Philosophy Building, KCL
• Discussion class: Seminar Room, Philosophy Building, KCL 

Lecture plan and reading list: TBA
Number of credits: 40
Module tutor and instructor: will.rasmussen@kcl.ac.uk
Formative assessment: 2 x 2,000-word essays
Summative assessment: 2 x 4,000-word essays, deadline 3 May 2011
Note: Lectures are shared with upper-level undergraduates, to whom different regulations will apply; discussion classes are exclusive to MA students.
 
Description: This module is intended for students who wish to gain an introduction to Indian philosophy that looks carefully at the high standard of logic, epistemology, metaphysics and linguistics that grounded the various philosophical systems. The schools most fully examined are Mimamsa, Samkhya, Nyaya, Vaiseshika, Buddhism, Jainism and Advaita Vedanta. The examination of these schools makes use of translations of the primary texts and focuses upon the vigorous debate over conceptual analysis and argumentative strategies by which the schools presented their philosophical positions, defended them against attacks by other schools, and mounted in turn their own attacks. Studying Indian philosophy in this way demonstrates both the similarities and the philosophically important differences in the way the main issues of philosophy have been addressed in India and in the West.

Time: Wednesdays 11:00–13:00, Spring only
Place: Basement Room 306, Philosophy Building, KCL
Lecture plan and reading list: TBA
Number of credits: 20
Module tutor: mark.textor@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturers: Mark Textor (KCL)/MM McCabe (KCL)
Formative assessment: 1 x 3,000-word essay
Summative assessment: 1 x 2-hour exam
 
Description: Intentionality has been a fundamental topic in Phenomenology. More recently, the topic has found its way (back) into analytic philosophy. Studies of intentionality were first inspired by Brentano's book, Psychology from an Empirical Standpoint (1874, 1914). Brentano's book is a commentary on Aristotle's De anima, written from the perspective of 19th-century philosophy and psychology. Aristotle's work is the foundation of a theory of intentionality. This module will introduce students to philosophical theories of intentionality and perception through discussions of Aristotle's De anima and Brentano's Psychology from an Empirical Standpoint. Four sessions will be devoted to Aristotle, and three to Brentano. In the remaining seminars, we will look at further developments in the field, drawing on such figures as Husserl, Merleau-Ponty and Searle.

Time:

• Lecture: Mondays, 18:00–19:00, Autumn only
• Discussion class: Wednesdays, 10:00–11:00, Autumn only

Place:

• Lecture: Room G02, 28 Russell Square, Birkbeck
• Discussion class: Basement 304, Philosophy Building, KCL

Lecture plan and reading list: here (pdf, 114 KB)
Further course materials: here
Number of credits: 20
Module tutor: john.callanan@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturer: Anthony Grayling (Birkbeck)
Seminar leader: John Callanan (KCL)
Formative assessment: 2 x 1,500-word essays
Summative assessment: 2 x 2,000-word essays, deadline 17 Jan. 2011
Notes:

• Lectures are shared intercollegiately with upper-level undergraduates, to whom different regulations will apply; discussion classes are exclusive to King's MA students.
• This module may be, but need not be, taken in conjunction with 7AAN2040.

Description: This course introduces students to the epistemology and metaphysics of Immanuel Kant. Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason is examined in detail. Topics include Kant’s treatment of the relation between experience and concepts; the nature of space and time; the concepts of substance and causality; knowledge of the external world, and Kant’s refutation of scepticism; the self and the unity of the thinking subject; human freedom, and its relation to the thesis of determinism and doctrine of transcendental idealism.

Time:

• Lecture: Mondays, 18:00–19:00, Spring only
• Discussion class: Mondays, 19:00–20:00, Spring only

Place:

• Lecture: Room G02, 28 Russell Square, Birkbeck
• Discussion class: Room 405, 30 Russell Square, Birkbeck

Lecture plan, reading list and further course materials: here
Number of credits: 20
Module tutor: john.callanan@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturer and seminar leader: John Callanan (KCL)
Formative assessment: 2 x 1,500-word essays
Summative assessment: 2 x 2,000-word essays, deadline 3 May 2011
Notes:

• Lectures are shared intercollegiately with upper-level undergraduates, to whom different regulations will apply; discussion classes are exclusive to King's MA students.
• This module may be, but need not be, taken in conjunction with 7AAN2030.

Description: This course provides an introduction to the moral and aesthetic philosophy of Immanuel Kant. The first half of the course will involve a reading of a seminal text in the history of moral philosophy, Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. We will also look at some other of Kant’s ethical writings when appropriate. In the second half of the course, there will be an examination of Kant’s aesthetics, as presented in his Critique of the Power of Judgment. Through a reading of these texts, students will gain a critical understanding of the nature of a Kantian approach to the topics of morality and aesthetic experience.

Time: Tuesdays, 18:00–20:00, Autumn and Spring
Place: Lecture Room, Philosophy Building, KCL
Note: If necessary (on account of size), the class will divide in half for the second hour, and one subgroup will move to Basement Room 306, Philosophy Building.
Lecture plan and reading list: here (doc, 36 KB)
Number of credits: 40
Module tutor: christopher.hughes@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturers:

• Autumn: Chris Hughes (KCL)
• Spring: Ian Rumfitt (Birkbeck)/Oystein Linnebo (Birkbeck)

Formative assessment: 2 x 2,000-word essays
Summative assessment: 1 x 3-hour exam
Note: Intercollegiate seminars, shared with other MA students to whom different regulations may apply.
 
Description: This module is intended to give students a better understanding of some central questions in metaphysics and philosophical logic, and a better understanding of the interrelations between philosophical logic and metaphysics. Topics will include: theories of reference; possible worlds and the philosophical interpretation of modal logic; particulars and universals; persistence through time; the relation of mind to body.

Time: Fridays, 11:00–13:00, Autumn and Spring
Place (Autumn): 342N, 3rd Floor, Norfolk Building, KCL
Place (Spring): Seminar Room, Philosophy Building, KCL
Course materials: here
Number of credits: 40
Module tutor and instructor: wilfried.meyer_viol@kcl.ac.uk
Formative assessment: regular problem sets
Summative assessment: 2 x 2-hour exams
Notes:

• Lectures shared with upper-level BA students to whom different regulations will apply.
• Presupposes competence in elementary symbolic logic.

Description: This module is an advanced course in formal logic, and it presupposes a prior training in symbolic logic to at least an elementary level. It will lead students through the key results of first-order and mathematical logic, including: the compactness, soundness and completeness of first-order logic; the logical axiomatization of arithmetic; Godel’s incompleteness theorem; the fundamental principles of recursion theory. Some attention will also be given to the philosophical implications of some of these formal results.

Time:

• Tutorials: TBA, Autumn only
• Lecture: Tuesdays, 11:00–13:00, Spring only

Note: The timing (and precise format) of the tutorials might not be settled until the start of term, but a time will be deliberately selected in such a way as to avoid clashes for everyone involved.
Place:

• Tutorials: TBA
• Lecture: Seminar Room, Philosophy Building, KCL

Lecture plan and reading list: TBA
Number of credits: 40
Module tutor: peter.adamson@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturer: Peter Adamson (KCL)
Tutor(s) for Autumn tutorials: TBA, probably including but maybe not limited to Peter Adamson.
Formative assessment: 3 x 2,000-word essays
Summative assessment: 1 x 3-hour exam
Note: Lectures are shared with upper-level undergraduates, to whom different regulations will apply; tutorials are exclusive to MA students.
 
Description: This module is intended for students who want to get a better understanding of mediaeval philosophy, either because they want to see how certain themes in late ancient (post-Aristotelian and neo-Platonic) philosophy were developed in the middle ages, or because they have a particular interest in mediaeval contributions to (still ongoing) debates in metaphysics, philosophical logic, philosophical theology, philosophy of mind, or ethics. Topics are likely to include some of the following: the nature and ontological status of universals, the nature of the will and its relation to the intellect, the knowability or otherwise of propositions about the open future, the existence and nature of God, the relation between God and time, and between time and reality.

Time: Tuesdays, 16:30–18:00, Autumn and Spring
Place: Seminar Room, Philosophy Building, KCL
Lecture plan (Autumn): here (doc, 28 KB)
Lecture plan (Spring): TBA
Reading list: here (doc, 52 KB)
Number of credits: 20
Module tutor: john.milton@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturers: John Milton and other members of the KCL Philosophy Department
Formative assessment: 2 x 1,500–2,000-word essays
Summative assessment: 2 x 2,500-word essays; deadline 3 May 2011
Note: Compulsory for students in the MA in History of Philosophy programme (and available as an option for students in the other MA programmes).
 
Description: This course will give students a broad overview of rival approaches to the study of the history of philosophy, and will provide them with training in research methods to be applied to such study. Students will be introduced to the problems involved in the interpretation of historical texts, including those originally written in English, translated into English, or read in the original languages. They will get an overview of the variety of primary sources that can be used, and the problems involved in the interpretation of different kinds of these. They will be introduced to the tools of research: library catalogues, databases, websites etc. The knowledge that students will acquire will serve as a foundation for further, more specialised research in specific areas of the history of philosophy, as well as giving them an appreciation of the more general problems of the discipline as a whole.

NOT AVAILABLE IN 2010–11:
INFORMATION RETAINED FOR REFERENCE ONLY
 
Time: Thursdays, 11:00–13:00, Spring only
Place: TBA (KCL)
Lecture plan and reading list: TBA
Number of credits: 20
Module tutor and instructor: peter.adamson@kcl.ac.uk
Formative assessment: 2 x 1,500-word essays
Summative assessment: 2 x 2,500-word essays; deadline 3 May 2011
Note: Intercollegiate seminars, shared with other MA students to whom different regulations may apply.
Description: This module offers an introduction to the tradition of philosophy in Arabic, especially during the 'classical period' (roughly from the 9th century to the 12th century CE), with some attention paid to post-classical developments. Authors writing in Arabic in the Jewish and Christian traditions will be considered, but most emphasis will be given to Muslim philosophers such as al-Kindi, al-Farabi, Avicenna, al-Ghazali and Averroes. Major philosophical issues covered include some or all of the following: the problem of divine attributes; proofs of God’s existence; theories of intellect and prophecy; and the relationship between philosophy and religion. While the Greek background of Arabic philosophy will frequently be considered, the module does not presuppose knowledge of the Greek tradition on the part of students. Nor does the module require any knowledge of the Arabic language: all texts will be in English.

Time: Wednesdays, 10:00–12:00, Autumn only
Place: Seminar Room, Philosophy Building, KCL
Number of credits: 20
Module tutor and instructor: matteo.mameli@kcl.ac.uk
Formative assessment: 2 x 1,500-word essays
Summative assessment: 2 x 2,500-word essays; deadline 17 January 2011
 
Description: Are genes selfish? Can evolutionary theory help us explain the structure of the human mind? Can altruism and cooperation be explained in evolutionary terms? Can natural selection help us to understand morality (i.e. the nature of the ability to think in moral terms and to make moral judgments)? Do humans have an innate moral sense? Can evolutionary theory help us explain cultural processes? Is the theory of memes true? Is religion an evolutionary virus, an evolutionary by-product, or a Darwinian adaptation with the function to make societies more cohesive? What is the right way to think about biological and cultural inheritance, and about the way they interact? What is the structure of natural selection explanations? This course will provide some conceptual tools for thinking about these complex issues.

Time: Tuesdays, 10:00–12:00, Autumn and Spring
Place: Room G04, 43 Gordon Square, Birkbeck
Lecture plan and reading list: here (doc, 40 KB)
Number of credits: 40
Module tutor: mark.textor@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturers:

• Autumn: Mark Textor (KCL)/Shalom Lappin (KCL)
• Spring: Ian Rumfitt (Birkbeck)/Charles Travis (KCL)

Formative assessment: 2 x 2,000-word essays
Summative assessment: 1 x 3-hour exam
Note: Intercollegiate seminars, shared with other MA students to whom different regulations may apply.
 
Description: The module will examine certain central topics in contemporary philosophy of language, such as theories of linguistic meaning and reference, and the study of truth conditions and context. The views of leading philosophers of language, such as Frege, Quine, Davidson, Dummett and Chomsky, will be examined in some detail.

Time (Autumn): Mondays, 11:00–13:00
Time (Spring): Mondays, 10:00–12:00
Place: Room G16, Malet Street, Birkbeck
Note: If necessary (on account of size), the class will divide in half for the second hour, and one subgroup will move to Room 252, Malet Street, Birkbeck.
Lecture plan and reading list: here (doc, 30 KB)
Further course materials (Autumn): here
Further course materials (Spring, weeks 1–5): here
Number of credits: 40
Module tutor: david.yates@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturers:

• Autumn: Jennifer Hornsby (Birkbeck)
• Spring: David Papineau/David Yates (KCL)

Formative assessment: 2 x 2,000-word essays
Summative assessment: 1 x 3-hour exam
Notes:

• Compulsory for students in the MA Philosophy of Psychology programme (and available as an option for students in the other MA programmes).
• Intercollegiate seminars, shared with other MA students and (partially) with upper-level BA students, to whom different regulations will apply.

Description: The module will examine certain central topics in contemporary philosophy of mind, such as: the relation between the mind and the brain; mental causation; the status of folk psychology; knowledge of our own minds.

Time: Tuesdays, 18:00–20:00, Autumn and Spring
Place (Autumn): S-1.27, 1st Basement, Strand Building, KCL
Place (Spring): K6.29, King's Building, KCL
Note: The class will divide in half for the second hour, and the two subgroups will move to Basement rooms 304 and 306, Philosophy Building, KCL.
Lecture plan and reading list: here (doc, 44 KB)
Additional information for weeks 1-5: here (doc, 36 KB)
Number of credits: 40
Module tutor: matteo.mameli@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturers:

• Autumn: Jim Hopkins (KCL)/Matteo Mameli (KCL)
• Spring: Sarah Patterson (Birkbeck)

Formative assessment: 2 x 2,000-word essays
Summative assessment: 1 x 3-hour exam
Notes:

• Compulsory for students in the MA Philosophy of Psychology programme (and available as an option for students in the other MA programmes).
• Intercollegiate seminars, shared with other MA students and (partially) with upper-level BA students, to whom different regulations will apply.

Description: The module will examine certain central topics in contemporary philosophy of psychology, such as: conceptual and methodological issues arising in relation to evolutionary psychology; philosophical questions arising in relation to psychoanalytic theories; the philosophy of computational approaches to cognition; the philosophy of psychology of visual perception.

Time: Wednesdays, 18:30–20:30, Spring only
Place: Walker Room, Heythrop
Lecture plan and reading list: here (doc, 38 KB). Note: Heythrop gives them a different title, 'Reason and Religion', but rest assured that these are the correct lectures.
Number of credits: 20
Module tutor: maria.rosa.antognazza@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturer: Elizabeth Burns (Heythrop)
Formative assessment: 2 x 1,500-word essays
Summative assessment: 2 x 2,500-word essays, deadline 3 May 2011
Note: Intercollegiate seminars, shared with other MA students to whom different regulations may apply.
 
Description: There will be ten seminars devoted to the discussion of central topics in the philosophy of religion, both traditional and contemporary. Topics will include some of the following: arguments for the existence and attributes of God; religious epistemology; the problem of evil; miracles; prayer; life after death; transcendence and religious language; religious diversity.

Time:

• Lecture: Tuesdays, 18:00–19:00, Autumn and Spring
• Seminar: Tuesdays, 19:00–20:00, Autumn and Spring

Note: The term-dates at the LSE don't quite synchronise with ours. The lecturer or seminar-leader will advise you on the precise timetable for this module.
 
Place:

• Lecture: Room STC75, St Clement's Building, LSE
• Seminar: Seminar Room, Philosophy Building, KCL

Lecture plan and reading list: here. But note that this is the LSE's document, and much of it is only applicable to the LSE's own students. You should simply ignore everything (e.g. codes, assessment regime, etc.) that doesn't tally with the information you're getting right here. It's only the lecture plan and reading list themselves that are relevant to you.
 
Number of credits: 40
Module tutor: david.yates@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturer: Miklos Redei (LSE)
Seminar leader: David Yates (KCL)
Formative assessment: 2 x 2,000-word essays
Summative assessment: 1 x 3-hour exam
Note: Intercollegiate lectures and seminars, shared with other students to whom different regulations may apply.
 
Description: The module will survey certain key topics in contemporary philosophy of science, including some or all of the following: the problem of induction and theories of confirmation; probabilities and their interpretation; scientific explanation; reductionism; laws of nature; realism vs antirealism; scientific revolutions; sociological perspectives on science.

Time: Wednesdays, 14:00–16:00, Autumn and Spring
Place: Room G16, Malet Street, Birkbeck
Note: If necessary (on account of size), the class will divide in half for the second hour, and one subgroup will move to Room 252, Malet Street, Birkbeck.
Lecture plan and reading list: here (doc, 112 KB)
Further course materials (Autumn): here (requires password—ask Andrea Sangiovanni)
Number of credits: 40
Module tutor: andrea.sangiovanni@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturers:

• Autumn: Andrea Sangiovanni (KCL)/Leif Wenar (KCL, School of Law)
• Spring: Michael Garnett (Birkbeck)/Susan James (Birkbeck)

Formative assessment: 2 x 2,000-word essays
Summative assessment: 1 x 3-hour exam
Note: Intercollegiate seminars, shared with other MA students to whom different regulations may apply.
 
Description: This module will explore a range of central topics and puzzles in contemporary political philosophy at an advanced level. Questions addressed include: Under what circumstances, if any, do we have an obligation to obey the law? What is liberty, and why is it of value? What is the relation between the ideal of liberty and rights? What, if anything, makes the exercise of coercive power legitimate, including the right to punish? Do we have an obligation to aim for social and political equality? If so, what kind? If not, are there other distributive patterns a just political society should aim for? Is distributive justice best understood as specifying a distributive pattern or a set of relationships among citizens? What obligations of justice do we have beyond the nation-state?

Time: Thursdays, 14:00–16:00, Autumn and Spring
Place: Room B04, 43 Gordon Square, Birkbeck
Note: If necessary (on account of size), the class will divide in half for the second hour, and one subgroup will move to Room 124, 43 Gordon Square, Birkbeck.
Lecture plan and reading list: here (doc, 40 KB)
Further course materials: here (requires password—ask Jasper Reid)
Number of credits: 40
Module tutor: maria.rosa.antognazza@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturers:

• Autumn: Gudrun von Tevenar (Birkbeck)/Ken Gemes (Birkbeck)
• Spring: Ken Gemes (Birkbeck)

Formative assessment: 2 x 2,000-word essays
Summative assessment: 1 x 3-hour exam
Note: Intercollegiate seminars, shared with other MA students to whom different regulations may apply.
 
Description: A close examination of the philosophical opinions of these two thinkers. Topics are likely to include some or all of the following: the Kantian legacy; Schopenhauer's Moral Philosophy in 'On the Basis of Morality', and his views on women, sex, love, and freedom of the will; Nietzsche's early works; Nietzsche's 'positivist' period in Human, All-too Human; Nietzsche's Daybreak, Thoughts on the Prejudices of Morality, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, On the Genealogy of Morals, and Twilight of the Idols; Schopenhauer and Nietzsche on suffering; the value/disvalue of pity and compassion; Schopenhauer and Nietzsche on the meaning of life, its affirmation or denial.

Time: Wednesdays, 10:00–12:00, Spring only
Place: Seminar Room, Philosophy Building, KCL
Lecture plan and reading list: TBA
Number of credits: 20
Module tutor and instructor: matteo.mameli@kcl.ac.uk
Formative assessment: 2 x 1,500-word essays
Summative assessment: 2 x 2,500-word essays; deadline 3 May 2011
 
Description: What role should science play in democratic societies? Since everyone in these societies benefits from scientific research (even though some more than others), do the members of these societies have a duty to promote and to participate in scientific research? Should the opinions of citizens play a role in determining science policy? How can laymen contribute to decisions about science policy if research is often on issues that laymen, not being experts, do not fully grasp? Should these decisions be left to scientists? But what if the decisions they take are biased and not for the good of the whole community? How do we avoid elitism, paternalism, and the ‘tyranny of the ignorant’? In societies that value justice, should there be mechanisms that ensure that the disadvantaged are not made even worse off by scientific research? What if these mechanisms require imposing tight constraints on the freedom of scientists, on the topics they can research on, and on the kinds of claims they can make? Should we still put these mechanisms in place? Should there also be mechanisms that ensure that scientists do not come up with ‘subversive truths’ (on, say, religion, morality, race, sexuality), that is, with claims that some might find deeply offensive, or that might affect negatively the way people conceive of themselves and act in society? Should we be afraid of ‘Brave New World’ scenarios? This course will provide some conceptual tools for thinking about these complex issues.

Time: Tuesdays, 14:00–16:00, except in weeks when the 'Concepts of Health' seminar is meeting, in which case Tuesdays 16:00–18:00.
Place: Seminar Room, except when 'Concepts of Health' is meeting, in which case Basement 306, Philosophy Building, KCL.
Lecture plan and reading list: TBA
Number of credits: 40
Module tutor: david.galloway@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturers: David Galloway (KCL), Elselijn Kingma (KCL)
Formative assessment: 3 x 2,000-word essays
Summative assessment: 1 x 3-hour exam
Note: Compulsory for students in the MA in Philosophy of Medicine programme (and available as an option to students in the other MA programmes).
 
Description: This module aims to provide an understanding of the central problems of contemporary Philosophy of Medicine. The specific problems under consideration will vary slightly from year to year, but a typical selection might include: biological accounts of health and disease; health as a natural value; introspection and knowledge of bodily states.

Time:

• Lecture: Wednesdays, 15:00–16:00, Autumn and Spring
• Seminar: Tuesdays, 15:00–16:00, Spring

Place:

• Lecture: Lecture Room, Philosophy Building, KCL
• Seminar: Room 509, Philosophy Building, KCL

Lecture plan and reading list (Autumn): here (doc, 25 KB)
Lecture plan and reading list (Spring): here (rtf, 20 KB)
Number of credits: 40
Module tutor: charles.travis@kcl.ac.uk
Lecturers:

• Autumn: Mark Textor (KCL)
• Spring: Charles Travis (KCL)

Formative assessment: 2 x 2,000-word essays
Summative assessment: 1 x 3-hour exam
Note: Lectures are shared with upper-level undergraduates, to whom different regulations will apply; discussion classes are exclusive to King's MA students.
 
Description: A close examination of the main ideas of Ludwig Wittgenstein, drawn from both the (importantly different) early and the later periods of his career. Topics will include some or all of the following: logical atomism; the picture theory of meaning; the limits of thought and the limits of the world; family resemblances, language-games and forms of life; rule-following, and the private language argument; ‘seeing as’ and seeing aspects. Attention will also be given to the reception—whether positive or negative—of Wittgenstein’s ideas by subsequent philosophers, and the many different ways in which they have helped to shape the discipline since his own time.