Values & Knowledge (MA)

Course Overview

The relation between values and knowledge is a central concern for any society. At present, it is widely assumed that the pursuit of knowledge is valuable only to the degree that it has measurable practical benefits as an outcome. Our MA programme offers a context for detailed consideration of this assumption. We identify and question the issues involved in it at deeper levels of analysis than are available through ordinary discussion.

This high level of critical scrutiny is made possible through the programme’s broad philosophical perspective - engaging with questions arising in other disciplines also. More specifically, our programme provides an in-depth study of different forms of values in terms of both their cognitive basis and their relation to other areas of knowledge and activity. We also consider the way in which knowledge has been defined and theorized since the Enlightenment. The programme combines historical perspectives and contemporary critical debates so as to provide a fund of analytic and argumentative skills that are advantageous for further work in philosophy or for competing in the job market.

 Programme aims

• To initiate students into historical and contemporary debates concerning the cognitive basis of values (especially moral and aesthetic ones), and the status of different forms of knowledge .
• To give this initiation a broad scope—embracing personality, gender, political concepts, knowledge in a historical context, and the emotions as such, as well as moral and aesthetic values.
• To explore how the cognitive significance of values may be implicated in the conditions of our knowledge of self and world, and in the grounds on which beliefs are held, and justified.
• To ensure that students are initiated into different methods of philosophical investigation that cross the usual divide between ‘Analytic’ and ‘Continental’ philosophy.
• To open possible overlaps with work done in other disciplines.

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

Additional Requirements

Course Outline

Full-time

The full-time programme is completed over one academic year. Students must take modules and complete a minor dissertation to the value of 90 ECTS in total.

Part-time

• Students must take modules and complete a minor dissertation to the value of 90 ECTS in total over two years.
• Students must attain 30 ECTS in year 1 to progress to year 2 and must attain 60 ECTS in year 2.

 
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Research Methods (Core)
Dr. Felix O' Murchadha and Dr. Heike Felzmann

This course will support students in developing advanced research skills in philosophy. Students will develop familiarity and competence with the advanced use of library resources and electronic databases relevant to philosophy research and will be introduced to the use of reference management programmes. They will discuss basic elements of advanced philosophical writing and will be supported throughout the different stages of developing their MA thesis.

Philosophy Seminar: Participation & Management (Core)
Professor Paul Crowther and Dr. Tsarina Doyle

This module allows students to do a substantial presentation of their research at discipline level, and to receive training and experience in both chairing seminars and contributing to them. Assessment is based on the presented paper in Semester 2.

Dissertation (Core)
Each student will write a 15,000 word dissertation, based on research into a topic of their choice, and supervised by a member of staff in Philosophy.

Values & Knowledge (Optional)
Professor Paul Crowther

The module addresses - historically and critically - the relation between values and knowledge from Hume to the present. It's main linking theme is the concept of intrinsic value. Does it make sense to say, for example, that such things as morality and beauty are worth pursuing for their own sake, and does this apply to the pursuit of knowledge as such? The module also considers whether there could be a necessary connection between values and the possibility of self-consciousness and knowledge of an objective world.

The Philosophy of Emotion (Optional)
Dr. Felix O' Murchadha

This course will explore emotion and feeling from a phenomenological perspective. Taking account of classical phenomenological texts and contemporary debates, this course will consist in a discussion of the nature of emotion, an analysis of specific emotions and finally an exploration of some broader themes with respect to emotion, specifically with respect to the constitution of the self and the nature personhood.

Cultural Philosophy of Globalization (Optional)
Dr. Gerald Cipriani

This module aims to provide students with an insightful understanding and critical grasp of ethical and aesthetic issues related to the phenomenon of globalization. Those include the impact globalization has had on identity formation, whether that of persons, cultures, or communities. The module will also consider the degree to which technology affects ethical and aesthetic values within the context of globalization.

Political Values in the Modern World (Optional)
Dr. Richard Hull

This course will look at the ways in which political values interact with the modern world. It will begin with an introduction to central political and ethical theories along with exploration of key distinctions that tend to be relied upon, whether impllicitly or explicitly. It will then focus on current issues in political theory, concentrating on themes such as justice, equality, freedom, toleration, and genetics. It will look at how these themes are contested in modern diverse democracies.

Moral Reasoning (Optional)
Dr. Heike Felzmann

Moral reasoning is conceptualised in fundamentally different ways, from being rational and principle-driven, to being based on intuition or affective processes, to being grounded in shared social practices. In this course students will explore different approaches to moral reasoning in relation to both historical and contemporary authors, and address the relation between philosophical analysis and psychological and neuroscientific findings.

Environmental Aesthetics (Optional)
Dr. Gerald Cipriani

This module aims to provide students with an insightful understanding and critical grasp of environmental issues in relation to aesthetic values. The module will draw from a variety of philosophical and cultural traditions East-West to explore aesthetic conceptions of nature or the environment at large. Those include beauty, the sublime, the picturesque, the wilderness, the environment and the idea of milieu. 

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

Who’s Suited to This Course

Learning Outcomes

Work Placement

Study Abroad

Related Student Organisations

Course Fees

Fees: EU

Fees: Tuition

Fees: Student levy

Fees: Non EU

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