PHIL10040 Introduction to Ethics

Academic Year 2023/2024

This module is taught in both the autumn and the spring trimesters, and students are welcome in either. The teaching staff and the content will differ slightly, but the assessment will be the same.

Ethics is all about doing the right thing and about becoming the right sort of person; it is also about how we act collectively, as a family, as a nation, as the human race, to improve welfare and reduce harm; it is about how we blame and praise people, including ourselves; it is about how we teach children, both at home and in schools. In this module we will look at how some philosophers have understood "the right thing" and "the right sort of person" from ancient Greece through to the 18th Century through to the present day, (although we might not teach it chronologically). Moreover, we will discuss these views through specific case studies, to understand how these frameworks may be applied in practical contexts, and explore possible strategies to address some ethical challenges that we face in the current society.

This module is designed for people with no background in philosophy at all.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

This module will introduce students to philosophical approaches to ethics. It will provide students with the philosophical vocabulary to voice, clarify, and justify their own ethical positions while critically engaging with contrasting views.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

22
Tutorial

7
Autonomous Student Learning

96
Total

125
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
The module will comprise lectures and small-group tutorials 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Recommendations:

This module assumes no background knowledge of philosophy at all.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Examination: Exam 2 hour End of Trimester Exam No Graded No

60
Multiple Choice Questionnaire: Test Unspecified n/a Graded No

30
Attendance: Attendance and participation at tutorials Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

10

Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Remediation Type Remediation Timing
Repeat Within Two Trimesters
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback will be given to students on each of the essays.

Name Role
Dr Christopher Cowley Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Dr Silvia Ivani Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Mr Conall Clarke Tutor
Armando Francesco D'Ippolito Tutor
Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
 
Autumn
      
Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Thurs 17:00 - 17:50
Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Tues 17:00 - 17:50
Tutorial Offering 1 Week(s) - 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Wed 13:00 - 13:50
Tutorial Offering 2 Week(s) - 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Tues 14:00 - 14:50
Tutorial Offering 3 Week(s) - 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Tues 13:00 - 13:50
Tutorial Offering 4 Week(s) - 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Wed 10:00 - 10:50
Tutorial Offering 5 Week(s) - 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Wed 16:00 - 16:50
Tutorial Offering 6 Week(s) - 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Fri 11:00 - 11:50
Tutorial Offering 7 Week(s) - 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Thurs 10:00 - 10:50
Tutorial Offering 8 Week(s) - 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Wed 14:00 - 14:50
Tutorial Offering 9 Week(s) - 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Mon 13:00 - 13:50
Tutorial Offering 16 Week(s) - 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Fri 13:00 - 13:50
Autumn
      
Spring
      
Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Mon 16:00 - 16:50
Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Wed 16:00 - 16:50
Tutorial Offering 1 Week(s) - 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30 Tues 15:00 - 15:50
Tutorial Offering 2 Week(s) - 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30 Tues 16:00 - 16:50
Tutorial Offering 3 Week(s) - 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30 Wed 15:00 - 15:50
Tutorial Offering 4 Week(s) - 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30 Wed 14:00 - 14:50
Tutorial Offering 5 Week(s) - 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30 Tues 11:00 - 11:50
Spring