Philosophy 3 (2021)

Philosophy 3 (PHI 3)

Third-year, full-year course (60 credits at NQF level 7)

Entrance requirements: PHI 201 and PHI 202.

Course description: The course covers an advanced examination of some particular historical and contemporary debates. PHI 3 consists of four Papers, one of which is an Options Paper which is taught in small groups and focuses on developing philosophical writing skills.

Assessment: Continuous 50%; Summative 50%.

Supplementary exam: June/November result 45 – 49%

 

Term 1: The Philosophy of Testimony
Dr Tess Dewhurst (tessdewhurst@gmail.com)

This course will be on the philosophy of testimony. Testimony is the means by which we get perhaps the majority of our knowledge of the world around us. The phenomenon is philosophically interesting for a number of reasons; we will be looking at a couple of them this term.

 

First is the epistemological problem, which is how we get knowledge from the testimony of others – how is it that a person saying that something is the case can bring us to know that this is the case? We will also look at the question of whether or not we can get moral or aesthetic knowledge from other people – can we come to know that X is a bad action, for example, just from someone telling us it is so? And lastly, we will look at testimony and the internet – how does the rise of fake news and conspiracy theories affect our ability to get knowledge in this contemporary way?

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Term 2: Options

The class is divided into distinct groups according to course preference (if possible), and then you will meet with your lecturer on a weekly basis for a one-on-one meeting PLUS attend one or two weekly seminars on teh material rather than lectures. The course is focused on your philosophical writing and gives you a taste of what it is like to be in a postgraduate class.
The Options for this year are still to be announced, depending on the size of the class.

 

 

 

Last Modified: Wed, 10 Mar 2021 09:39:41 SAST