2024/25 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

PHIL1260 How To Do Philosophy

20 creditsClass Size: 250

Module manager: Thomas Brouwer
Email: t.n.p.a.brouwer@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2024/25

Module replaces

PHIL1250 How to Think Clearly and Argue Well

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

This module will prepare students for critically evaluating philosophical arguments presented in philosophical texts. These skills will be taught by showing rather than telling; we will read and evaluate philosophical literature together, learning how philosophical arguments are structured and what makes them successful/unsuccessful. The skills will be transferable to broader philosophical enquiry; by learning how to reconstruct and evaluate the arguments of others, students acquire the skills to construct their own philosophical arguments. They will start to learn how to ‘do’ philosophy.

Objectives

The overall objective of this module is to develop the core skills needed to construct and critically evaluate a broad range of philosophical arguments. Specifically, students will learn about the variety of methods and tools used in philosophical argumentation, and how effective arguments are constructed, so that they can apply this understanding and skill to the development of their own arguments. Central to this is understanding of:

The concepts of soundness and validity, and possibility and necessity

How to concisely reconstruct an argument made in longform prose, in a way that reveals its underlying logical structure

How to develop a good objection to an argument

How thought experiments are used in philosophical arguments.

The aim is to develop understanding through showing students examples of different concepts and types of argument using instances from a range of actual philosophical texts, rather than explaining concepts in purely abstract terms (telling). After these concepts are introduced and demonstrated in lectures, students will have the opportunity to develop and test their understanding in seminars, by identifying the concepts or types of argument in texts different to those used in the lecture. Through practice exercises in class, the aim is to develop the skills necessary for reading and analysing philosophy papers, and to move from seeing how others do it to doing it themselves.

Learning outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to reading and writing philosophy:

1. Reconstruct the logical form of philosophical arguments

2. Apply core concepts (such as soundness and validity, or possibility and necessity) in the analysis of an argument

3. Critically evaluate philosophical arguments

4. Create a well-structured philosophical argument

Skills Learning Outcomes

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

5. Communicate ideas and understanding clearly and concisely, using appropriate academic language (Academic and Work Ready skill)

6. Critically analyse source material (Academic and Work Ready skill)

7. Search for appropriate material to support knowledge and analysis of topics (Academic, Work Ready, Digital and Sustainability skill)

8. Conform to standards of academic integrity including when and how to appropriately acknowledge someone else’s work (Academic and Work Ready skill)

Syllabus

The syllabus will typically include:
- The structure of philosophical arguments
- Soundness and validity
- Possibility and necessity
- Counterexamples
- Thought experiments
- Principle of Charity
- What is a good objection?
- How to use an objection to develop an original positive position
- Revising vs. replacing a theory

The syllabus will be taught via discussion of philosophical content that will change each year depending on the research specialisation of the teaching staff. We will aim for a balance of philosophical subfields each year, demonstrating to students how these concepts and skills apply to a wide range of topics.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	11	1.00	11.00
Seminar	10	1.00	10.00
Private study hours			179.00
Total Contact hours			21.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

The preparation for the seminars will draw on a wide range of philosophical topics/writing, allowing students to better understand the underlying common approach to constructing philosophical argument, and to develop the skills for evaluating a broad range of philosophical arguments. Weekly formative exercises will enable them to hone these skills while establishing connections with their peers. These activities are designed to serve the overall objective of the module by closely reading and thinking about philosophy together; this allows the module leader to show students, rather than tell them in abstract terms, how to read academic philosophy papers and analyse the arguments therein.

Students will be assigned to read primary philosophy texts, or excerpts from those texts. In the lectures, the module leader will demonstrate concepts from the syllabus by showing them how they appear in those texts. After these concepts are demonstrated for the students, they will have a chance to develop and test their knowledge and skills in seminars. For instance, they may be asked to identify the thought experiments in a given text, reconstruct the main argument or develop an objection. They will work together with their peers on this task during the weekly seminar under the guidance of the seminar leader, receiving feedback on their understanding and progress in real time. There will also be ‘practice’ MCQs to familiarise students with this form of assessment.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Assignment	multiple choice, short answer, and short essay questions	100.00
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: 08/05/2024

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