Module description
Available to Law students and Non-Law students
The module aims to provide an introduction to moral philosophy, and to key theories, concepts and debates relevant to this area of philosophy. Throughout the module, you will learn about key moral theories and concepts, as well as about real-world moral issues arising in the context of politics, economics, healthcare, law and the environment.
By the end of the module, you will have acquired a solid understanding of key theories, concepts and debates in moral philosophy. Moreover, you will have developed a capacity to appraise and defend arguments on real-world issues arising in several domains with practical relevance.
The first half of the module will provide an overview of key theories (such as for example deontology and consequentialism) and concepts (such as for example responsibility, freedom, luck) in moral philosophy. The second half will include a selection of topics and questions concerning for example: the beginning and the end of life; killing in war; oppression and resistance; sex; non-human animals; the environment, among others.
Assessment details
2500-word essay (100%)
Teaching pattern
Seminar (1 x 2 hours per week)
Suggested reading list
If you are wondering whether the course is for you, it would be worth looking at one or other of a couple of paperbacks to get a sense of the sort of reasoning we will be engaged in:
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Julia Driver, Ethics: The Fundamentals (Blackwell, 2006)
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Jonathan Wolf, An Introduction to Moral Philosophy (2nd edition, 2020)
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Peter Singer, Practical Ethics, 3rd edition, Cambridge 2011).