1997 Swinburne Higher Education Handbook

AH31 0 Approaches to Culture
3 hours per week Hawthorn Prerequisite: two ofAA208,
AH201, AH202, AH203, AH204, AH205 AH206, or
approved equivalents * Assessment: continuous
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
Obiedives and Content
Contemporary approaches to the study of culture draw on
the European philosophical traditions of phenomenology,
hermeneutics and structualism. In this subject, we explore
some key themes in these traditions. Themes include the
notions of meaning and interpretation in relation to
consciousness, signs and texts; different ways of
understanding the contrasting methodologies of the natural
and human sciences; different models that are proposed for
the purpose of interpreting cultural phenomena; the
interconnections between disciplines and the problematic
nature of discipline boundaries.
Recommended reading
Please consult with lecturer before buying recommended reading.
Dreyfus, H.L. Being-in-the- World. A Commentary on Heidegger's
Being and Tine! Cambridge, Mass., MIT Press, 1991
Hammond, M Undmtanding Phenomenology. Oxford, Blackwell,
1991
*AH311 Environmental Philosophy
3 hours per week Hawthorn Prerequisite: two of AA208,
AH201, AH202, AH203, AH204, AH205, AH206 or
approved equivalents Assessment: continuous
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
Objedives and Content
The global destruction of the environment is perhaps the
most serious crisis humanity has ever had to confront. This
course examines the cultural, social and economic roots of
this crisis, with specific reference to Australia, and considers
what courses of action are open to us. While ethics and
political philosophy are considered, the major focus of the
course is on economic theory and policy formation. The
assumptions of prevailing economic thought and prevailing
forms of policy analysis are critically examined, and then the
new approaches to economics and policy formation designed
to take into account energetic and ecological processes and
to provide the basis for an environmentally sustainable
p society are investigated.
k
-. Recommended reading
5 Please consult with lecturer before buying recommended reading.
% Boyden, S., Dovers, S. and Shirlow, M Our Biosphere Under
Threat Ecological Realities and Australia's Opportunities.
Melbourne, Oxford University Press, 1990
Daly, H. and Cobb, J. For the Common Good Redirecting the
Economy Toward Community, the Environmental, and a
Sustainable Future. 2nd edn, Boston, Beacon Press, 1994
Gare, Arran E. Nihilism Incolporated, 2nd ed., Bungendore, NSW,
Eco-logical Press, 1996.
* Not available to students who have previously passed
AH309 Special Topics in Philosophy.
*AH312 Natural Philosophy and the Sciences
3 hours per week Hawthorn Prerequisite: two of AA208,
AH201, AH202, AH203, AH204, AH20J, AH206, or
approved equivalent Assessment: continuous
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
Obiedives and Content
Science in the twentieth century is inaugurating one of the
most radical revolutions in thought in the history of
humanity. This subject examines this revolution and its
implications. It begins with a critical study of theories of
scientific knowledge to reveal the inextricable link between
science and natural philosophy, the quest to characterise the
nature of physical existence. It is then shown how the 'new
physics' and the 'new biology' have abandoned the
philosophy of nature on which science has been based for
the last three hundred years, creating a new conception of
physical existence which is transforming our view of the
cosmos, of life, and what it means to be human. It is shown
how these transformations are enabling us to understand
how we, as both natural and cultural beings, are able to
create science and achieve this understanding of the world
and ourselves. The subject concludes by looking at science as
a cultural process in which humans are creating and
transforming themselves and their relationship to the rest of
nature.
Recommended reading
Please consult with lecturer before buying recommended reading.
Bohm, D. and Peat, D.F. Science, Order,and Creatizity. Toronto,
Bantam Books, 1987
Chalmers, A. What is This Thing Called Science? 2nd edn, St.
Lucia, University of Queensland Press, 1982
Gare, Arran E. Nihilism Incorporated, 2nd ed., Bungendore, NSW,
Eco-logical Press, 1996.
Levidow, L. ed. Radical Science Essays, London, Free Association
Books, 1986
Latour, B., Science in Action, Milton Keynes, Open University
Press, 1987
* Not available to students who have previously passed
AH304 Philosophy of Science A.
*AH313 Knowledge, Science and Realily
3 hours per week Hawthorn Prerequisite: two of AA208,
AH201, AH202, AH203, AH204, AH20.5, AH206 or
approved equivalents Assessment: continuous
A subject in the Bachelor of Arts
Objech'ves and Content
The Instrumentalism/Realism debate. Can we have absolute
knowledge of the world? Is there such a thing as 'truth' or is
our knowledge always tentative and open to revision? What
effects have values, attitudes, perceptions, emotions and
belief systems on the scientific enterprise? (e.g.
biotechnology, IVF). What are the consequences for the
sciences and social sciences? Among the authors whose
works will be considered are Dewey, Smart, Popper, Kuhn,
Ravetz.
Recommended reading
Please consult with lecturer before buying recommended reading.