2023/24 Taught Postgraduate Module Catalogue

PHIL5223M Ethics, Meta-Ethics and Political Philosophy

30 creditsClass Size: 50

Module manager: Rach Cosker-Rowland
Email: R.Cosker-Rowland@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2023/24

This module is not approved as an Elective

Module summary

The module aims to provide students with a high level of understanding of contemporary work in ethics, metaethics, and political philosophy. The module does not aim to provide an exhaustive introduction to these three areas which would be impossible in one module. It instead provides students with an understanding of contemporary work in these areas which will enable them to understand what the most pressing issues in these areas are and to enable students to pursue work in these areas in their dissertations, independent studies, or further studies. The module also aims to provide students with an understanding of how debates in metaethics, ethics, and political philosophy are related. And of how we can learn more about one of these areas by learning about others.

Objectives

The module introduces students to contemporary work in ethics, metaethics, and political philosophy, how this work is related, and what the most pressing debates and issues in these areas are and are understood to be. Students will learn about topics such as the nature of reasons and justifications in ethics and political philosophy and the implications of moral disagreement in ethics and political philosophy. Do the justifications for policies and laws have to be ones that all can accept? What is a moral justification? Do our special relationships and desires provide moral justifications? What is a reason or justification? How does moral disagreement impact on what laws are just and legitimate? Does the seemingly intractable disagreement we find about so many moral topics show that morality is not objective and does this disagreement impact on what actions are right and wrong? Students will gain an understanding of major positions in ethics, metaethics, and political philosophy such as political liberalism and perfectionism, internalism and externalism, realism, relativism, and anti-realism, and impartialism.

Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:

Demonstrate advanced knowledge and understanding of issues in contemporary ethics and/or political philosophy

Demonstrate the ability to critically engage with and evaluate complex and varied material in contemporary ethics and/or political philosophy

Develop a critical and nuanced argument in essay form engaging with relevant material using their own independent critical skills and drawing on material from a range of relevant sources. 

Conduct independent research and make appropriate use of supervision structures. 

Syllabus

The module will introduce students to contemporary positions and debates in ethics, metaethics, and political philosophy by introducing them to particular debates, ideas, and issues that have implications across these different areas such as:

The nature of reasons and justifications in ethics and political philosophy; and how these debates are related to the nature of reasons and justifications in metaethics

The relationship between our desires and what can be justified in ethics and political philosophy; metaethically, can oughts and obligations be analysed in terms of desires?

What implications does moral disagreement have for what laws are just or legitimate, which actions we ought to perform, and which metaethical views are plausible? Does moral disagreement show that we must be Moral Relativists? Or does it in fact count against Relativism?

Normativity: is there a distinct form of political normativity as Realists allege; is moral normativity different from prudential normativity and do we have special reasons to privilege those to whom we bear a special relationship or duties to ourselves; what is normativity? And is moral and political normativity categorical and/or irreducible?

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Supervision	2	0.50	1.00
Seminar	11	2.00	22.00
Private study hours			277.00
Total Contact hours			23.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			300.00

Private study

Outside of formal meetings, students should expect to spend their time in private study as follows:

Weekly reading and preparation for seminars: 11 x 10 = 110 hours

Research, preparation and writing for essays 1 and 2: 83.5 hours per essay = 167 hours

(Approximately, for each essay, 50 hours research and preparation of essay plan, 33 hours writing and redrafting.)

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Formative feedback will be given:

In weekly, two-hour-long seminars, where the module leader will respond to student questions and support understanding based on the module content and readings.

In a one-to-one supervision (30 mins), where the module leader will comment and provide guidance and feedback on an essay plan (500 words) for the first essay.

In a second one-to-one supervision (30 mins), where the module leader will comment and provide guidance and feedback on an essay plan (500 words) for the second essay.

Student progress will be monitored

Through the submission of essay plans.

Through the submission of a 2,500 word essay submitted in Semester 1, Week 8, on which feedback will be provided.

Through the submission of a 2,500 word essay submitted during the Semester 1, week 13, on which feedback will be provided.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	2500 words	50.00
Essay	2500 words	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 14/08/2023

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