PHILOSOPHY - Oxford Brookes University - Department of History

parts, the first being devoted to Descartes'
Meditations on First Philosophy, the second
to Hume's Enquiries concerning Human
Understanding.
The Philosophy of Religion
The module engages with the central issues
that religion raises for philosophy. While the
focus will be on the Western tradition of
thought, the module will address the question
of defining religion and situate western themes
in the philosophy of religion in relation to world
religions. Issues such as the existence of God,
the rationality of belief, the problem of evil, and
the special character of religious language will
be examined.
Culture, Gender and Sexuality
Explores the relationship between issues of
gender, sexuality and culture as key factors in
human identity, development and society. It
critiques traditional and static understandings
of gender and sexuality, drawing on the insights
of a diversity of disciplines including gender
studies, critical theory, queer theory, feminist
philosophy and feminist criticism.
Philosophy of Science
Introduces you to some of the leading figures
and issues in the philosophy of science. The
work of Popper, Kuhn and Feyerabend will be
discussed. A background theme throughout the
module is the realist dispute in science, i.e., the
question concerning whether mature scientific
theories ought to be seen as providing a literally
true representation of (some aspect of) the
world, or whether they should be taken in an
anti-realist sense, say as mere instruments of
prediction and control of phenomena.
Philosophy of Language
An introduction to one of the dominant
contemporary traditions in philosophy. The
Anglo-American analytic tradition places great
emphasis upon understanding how language
works. The aim of this module is to provide
you with a grounding in the basic approaches
to meaning and reference. The import of these
theories for other areas of philosophy will also
be explored.
Hellenistic Philosophy
In ancient Greece philosophy was thought to
be more than simply a discipline of academic
interest. Many philosophers saw themselves as
analogous to physicians. If physicians treat and
heal the body, the work of the philosopher was
to provide comparable therapy for the soul. This
view was common to Aristotle, the Epicureans,
the Sceptics and the Stoics. This module is
designed to introduce you to this philosophical
tradition and the work of its proponents.
Metaethics
The module is devoted to the sustained and
detailed exploration of a topic introduced in the
compulsory Introduction to Philosophy, namely,
the realism vs. non-cognitivism dispute in metaethics.
The implications of meta-ethical theories
for normative ethics will also be explored.
This module relates to elements of virtually all
of the earlier modules, and can be seen as
the culmination of the undergraduate degree
course.
Philosophy of Mind
Introduces students to one of the liveliest areas
of current research, contemporary philosophy
of mind. Much current work in the field is
devoted to the task of explaining how mental
phenomena can be accommodated within a
physicalist framework. The leading assumption
of this module is a commitment to ‘minimal
physicalism’ - the view that mental phenomena
supervene upon the physical.
Special Topics in Philosophy
Designed to hone the reading and oral
presentation skills of honours students. This is
predominantly a student-led module. Students
present seminar papers on classic philosophical
works - either journal articles or chapters from
seminal monographs – and students assess
each other’s presentations. There is no fixed set
of topics, articles or monographs. Topics and
works change to match the current state of the
discipline
Medieval Philosophy
Introduces you to an unfairly neglected period
in the history of western philosophy and to
the extremely high quality work produced in
this period by a variety of thinkers, work that
continues to attract current interest. It is also
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