Philosophy

In this module we will look at the golden age of German philosophy that runs from the publication of Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason in 1781 to the death of Hegel in 1831, and then ahead to the rise of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. Our focus as we look at this extremely rich period of philosophical productivity will be guided by the lecturer’s interests and research. We will shift between giving an account of broad movements and concepts such as transcendental idealism, the dialectical unfolding of history and the will to power, and very close engagement with particular passages of text and their detailed interpretation. We will not only aim to understand these thinkers and their arguments in the context of their times, but also to see how their ideas remain active today in philosophy, politics, art and culture, along with the contemporary criticisms that they have been subjected to.

In this module we will develop your research skills and your capacity to engage in an independent project in preparation for your third-year dissertation. In the first part of the module, lecturers will present a wide range of potential research topics in religion and philosophy relating to nature, life and ecology. Students will form groups researching the area that interests them and work with the lecturer to produce an independent study on a question they have designed alongside the lecturers. In the second half of the module, students will work with their lecturers to establish the topic and foundational literature for their third-year dissertation, producing a research plan at the end of the year. Students will receive a range of further training in more advanced study and library skills. We will also reflect on the importance of these skills and academic disciplines in the real world and reflect on future career options and work on the skills needed to succeed beyond the course. 

This module will start with some classic debates in the philosophy of mind. In the first term, we will ask what the ‘mark of the mental’ is and whether or not we should conceive of the mind as something fundamentally distinct from the body. On this basis, we can then move on to more recent philosophical work on mental agency and on mental ‘health’, asking ourselves how much control we have over our own minds, whether control even matters for agency, and what it means to go through phases of mental ‘disorder’. In the second term, we will mainly focus on theories of emotion, focussing on love in particular. We will ask what emotions are and whether love is an emotion at all. We end by discussing the particularities of love and the role it plays in shaping our lives.

This module will explore key debates and themes relating to the nature of gender and sexuality in philosophical and/or religious traditions. It will seek to consider questions of the relationship between gender, sexuality, and historical context, alongside contemporary ethical and political questions relating to gender and sexuality. It will consider topics such as gender norms, sex work, sexual violence, trans identities and same sex relationships alongside key texts which provide theoretical frameworks for understanding these topics.

• Angels and Demons - 15 Credits
  

  Thinking about angels and demons enabled medieval people to explore many fundamental philosophical and theological problems, including questions about the nature of time, embodiment, free will, evil, government, work, and cosmology. While angels and demons were also important to medieval art, music, spirituality and religious practice, this module will focus on the relationship between angelology, demonology, and the development of medieval thinking, tracing the development of angelology from the Bible and early Christian Platonism through the arrival of Aristotelian philosophy via Jewish and Muslim philosophers and then to the emergence of nominalism and early modern science and government.

• Religion, Ritual and Society - 15 Credits
  

  This module will introduce students to the study of ritual. It will examine ways to define ritual as a distinct mode of social action, and explore a selection of different approaches to the study of ritual. These will include approaches that focus on the social function of ritual, its structure, its communicative and performative aspects, and the role of power and politics in ritual traditions. It will examine ‘religious’ and ‘secular’ forms of ritual in a range of socio-cultural contexts, and as well as exploring existing rituals, will allow students the opportunity to develop their own ritual in light of theory.

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In consultation with a member of academic staff, students select an appropriate area of investigation. Students must engage with their chosen topic by building on all their previous undergraduate study, using appropriate methodologies, evidence and argument, and developing a range of transferable skills in project planning, management, and delivery, creativity, problem-solving and critical analysis. Students’ work will make an original contribution to disciplinary knowledge and understanding, in that it will be drawn from their own engagement with primary sources and interpretation and analysis of existing secondary literature. The topic chosen must be one which relates to the subject matter of their Programme and which permits the demonstration of independent research, study and reflection.

In this module, we focus on philosophy of the 20^th and 21^st century. In the wake of the Second World War, existentialism emerged as a philosophy that would transform post-war values and culture. Across philosophy and literature, a series of thinkers produced works on topics such as freedom, authenticity, death and anxiety that are still being responded to today. We will look to thinkers such as Heidegger, Sartre, de Beauvoir and Camus, along with their critics, to see how the very notion of being human was redefined in their work.

In the second half of the module, we will turn towards a particular contemporary philosopher or philosophical theme. This is a research-led term, with the lecturer presenting a thinker or theme that they are themselves researching. Students will be expected to engage with the lecturer’s own research alongside other material. Examples of recent topics include Foucault’s History of Madness in relation to anti-psychiatry or looking at the gaze in cinema through the works of Derrida and Lacan.

Philosophy of Religion - 30 Credits

This module will explore key contemporary debates about the nature of philosophy, religion, and their relationship to one another, as well as exploring philosophical ideas and debates within a range of non-Christian traditions. The module will explore debates about the nature of religion, such as whether religion and ‘the secular’ are inherently Christian categories, what – if any – difference there is between philosophy, religion, and magic, and the influence of non-Western traditions on ‘secular’ Western philosophy. It will also explore recent work engaging with philosophical questions from within a range of non-Western traditions: for example, recent debates about philosophy, Islamic thought and psychoanalysis within the migration crisis; recent debates about Sikh identity, nationalism and sovereignty; the Kyoto school; the relationship between Buddhism and modernity; or Africana thought.

Philosophy of Literature and Art - 30 Credits

The production of art is commonly recognised as a universal feature of human culture, yet when we turn to ask even quite basic questions about what art is, and what distinguishes good from bad art, we run into significant difficulties. In this module, we discuss these and related questions about beauty and the sublime, focussing first on literature and moving on to other artforms later. We look at some famous literary works as well as paintings, musical pieces and films alongside of our philosophical debates, and we go on to study the relation between beauty and moral goodness, as well as the political power of art.    

Contemporary Theology - 15 Credits

This module will explore some of the main currents of twentieth and early twenty-first century Christian theology through the analysis of selected theologians and theological movements. Themes explored may include: the contested legacy of liberal theology in figures like Barth, Bonhoeffer and Tillich; postmodern debates around post-liberalism, Radical Orthodoxy and reassertions of liberalism; the diversity of Catholic theology since Vatican II; Orthodox theology in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; the rise of local and contextual theologies in the later twentieth century and their ongoing influence; Christian responses to challenges including holocaust and genocide, global poverty, colonialism, LGBT+ experiences, modern science and the ecological crisis.

Philosophy and Psychoanalysis - 15 Credits

Since being founded by Sigmund Freud at the turn of the 20^th century, the controversial theories and concepts of psychoanalysis have had a profound influence on thought and culture around the world. Many psychoanalytic ideas have become part of our everyday thought and language, establishing themselves as a key part of how we reflect on our own inner life and desires, on art and literature, and on politics and ethics. Whether we accept these theories or reject them, it seems that every philosopher is called to form an opinion on whether they will accept notions of the unconscious, repression, primary process, the Super-Ego, the pleasure principle and the death drive, particularly as such ideas disturb many traditional philosophical claims. In this module we will explore the ideas, methods and case-studies of psychoanalysis, looking particularly at how these have been taken up or rejected by philosophers.

Mapping Mortality - 15 Credits

This module will introduce students to relevant academic discussions and theories related to exploring death and ways of memorialising with a focus on examining the ways in which death, bodily disposal, and remembering the dead can be understood culturally and in various time periods.  The module will also consider some of the sociological, ethical, and philosophical debates which surround death and memorialisation, as well as the display of dead bodies and death and gender. The module will include using Winchester Cathedral and West Hill Cemetery as locations to allow students to consider various ‘death theories’ in relation to actual practice.

Work Placement - 15 Credits

This module allows students to take up a placement in a private or voluntary sector body. The aim is that you will make a positive and personally rewarding contribution to the community whilst also reflecting critically upon your experience and developing skills which will enhance your employability and personal development.