2025/26 Taught Postgraduate Module Catalogue

PHIL5110M Ways of Doing Analytic Philosophy

30 creditsClass Size: 25

Module manager: William Gamester
Email: w.gamester@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2025/26

This module is not approved as an Elective

Module summary

This module will explore a variety of methodological approaches in analytic philosophy by examining key texts and arguments by eminent analytical philosophers. In this way, the module will serve as an introduction to analytic philosophy itself. The exact nature of analytic philosophy is itself a philosophical question, and by the module’s end you will have a good sense of the variety of approaches that fall under this name and how they are themselves philosophically motivated.

Objectives

The module introduces you to a broad range of methodologies used within analytic philosophy and will enable you to examine and evaluate the philosophical bases of these methodologies.

It is taught by seminars focused on texts and philosophers that employ different methodologies, enabling you to see these methods in action and engage with them first-hand. Doing this will enable you to grapple with a variety of philosophical problems, questions, or issues that are presented via these different methodologies, and introduce you to some key approaches and questions distinctive of analytic philosophy.

Through seminars and formative feedback, you will be provided with understanding and guidance to produce original philosophical work of you own on the topics covered.

The seminars, though facilitated by the module leader, will be ‘active’, discursive, and student-led, and will form the basis of further directed reading and discussion.

Learning outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:

1. Evaluate some central methodologies employed in analytic philosophy, including issues connected with their implementation
2. Critically analyse concepts, arguments, and theories central to some significant debates within analytic philosophy
3. Develop and defend your own view on some issues in analytic philosophy through cogent argumentation.

Skills Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:

4. Communicate ideas and understanding clearly and concisely, using appropriate academic language (Academic and Work-Ready skill)
5. Undertake independent critical analysis of source material (Academic and Work-Ready skill)
6. Undertake independent research to identify, evaluate and synthesise relevant material to support knowledge and analysis of topics (Academic, Work-Ready, Digital and Sustainability skill)
7. Apply standards of academic integrity including when and how to appropriately acknowledge someone else’s work (Academic and Work-Ready skill).

Syllabus

Topics that may be covered in the module include (but are not limited to):

- The nature of conceptual analysis.
- The nature of philosophical explanation.
- The possibility of philosophical knowledge.
- The relationship between philosophy and science.
- The theoretical virtues.
- The use of thought experiments in philosophy.
- The possibility of “experimental philosophy”.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Supervision	1	1.00	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

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

In addition to the formative feedback available to students in student hours and seminar-based activities, each student is invited to complete THREE pieces of formative work:

- A brief presentation on the work they have done towards their summatively assessed essay.
- An essay plan, which will receive feedback in a one-to-one supervision.
- A 2,000-word formative essay which will be a partial draft of the essay they will submit for summative assessment, for written or verbal feedback.

To ensure that students get the formative feedback that they need, they are asked to read and reflect on (i) the feedback they received in previous summative assessments, (ii) the PRHS marking criteria, and (iii) the specific guidance provided on the summative assessment in this module. This requires students to critically engage with previous feedback, current expectations, and play an active role in honing their knowledge and skill development.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

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

For the resit, the student must answer a different set question to the one (if any) they originally answered.

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 16/01/2025

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