300-level

PHIL305
Paradoxes
Description
This course surveys a wide range of paradoxes and bizarre brain-twisters drawn from all corners of philosophy.
Occurrences
Semester One 2024
Semester One 2024 (Distance)
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level in PHIL, COSC, or MATH, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA or BSc.
Restrictions
PHIL494, PHIL444
PHIL310
History of Philosophy
Description
This course introduces you to the philosophy of the early modern period. We shall pay particular attention to the epistemological and metaphysical questions addressed by Descartes in his Meditations and by Hume in Book 1 of his A Treatise of Human Nature. We also study Hume’s moral theory in Bk. III of the Treatise, Locke’s epistemology and Berkeley’s metaphysics. Topics covered include rationalism and empiricism, dreaming, scepticism, proofs of the existence of God, mind-body dualism, idealism, the nature of self, personal identity, causation, reason and the passions. Is knowledge based on reason or experience? Can I be sure that I’m not dreaming? Can I be sure of anything? What, in any case, is this ‘I’? What is the relationship between mind and body? What is it to remain the same person over time? Does the external world exist and, if so, what is its nature? Can ‘ought’ be derived from ‘is’? Is morality based on reason or the passions?
Occurrences
Semester One 2024
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from PHIL, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
PHIL311
Meaning, Mind, and the Nature of Philosophy
Description
Do we think in words? If I say 'I'm in pain', do you really know what I mean? How can we talk about what doesn't exist - tomorrow, Harry Potter, or the possible world where you win $1 million on Lotto? Can machines have concepts? Why does every attempt to solve a philosophical problem simply raise more problems, sometimes even worse ones? We look at central philosophical problems through the eyes of some of the greatest and most challenging philosophers of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2024
Semester Two 2024 (Distance)
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from PHIL, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA or the BSc.
Restrictions
PHIL464, PHIL497

Not Offered Courses in 2024

300-level

PHIL317
Contemporary Political Philosophy
Description
The study of politics focuses not only on how the political world operates, but also the normative question of how it ought to operate. Is redistribution of wealth justified? Do people have a right to what they earn in the market? Is equality of opportunity possible? Is it desirable? This course examines theories of distributive justice and their implications for economics and markets. Topics covered include: Utilitarianism; Rawls’s theory of justice; Dworkin’s equality of resources; Libertarianism; Universal basic income; Market socialism; Citizenship; and culture and politics.
Occurrences
Not offered 2024, offered in 2013 , 2014 , 2015 , 2016
For further information see PHIL317 course details
Points
30 points