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161-054 Human Life in Modern Thought | |
Note | This is an intensive subject held over two weeks during Summer Semester. Timetabling will be such that this subject and 161-053 The Good Life in Ancient Thought can be taken concurrently. |
Credit Points | 12.5 |
HECS Band | 1 |
Coordinator | Dr Rod Foster |
Prerequisites | A first year single-semester philosophy subject. Students who lack this prerequisite, but believe themselves adequately prepared to attempt second/third year subjects, should consult the head of department. |
Semester | Summer (view timetable) |
Contact | Two 1-hour lectures and a 1-hour tutorial per day for 10 days |
Subject Description | The subject examines some influential 19th and 20th century conceptions of human life and human nature, including the revolutionary ideas of Nietzsche, Darwin, Marx, Sartre, Freud and Wittgenstein. Students are asked to engage with key questions arising in the writings of these thinkers, including the following: 1. Are human life and values determined by biological instinct, by social and economic forces, by personal psychological dynamics, or by free individual choices? 2. Does human morality require a religious foundation? 3. Do human minds differ radically from those of (other) animals? 4. Do such ideas concerning human nature have implications for the way we should conduct our lives? |
Assessment | Two 2000-word essays and tutorial participation. |
Prescribed Texts | A subject reader will be available. |
Search : Index : Faculty of Arts : Philosophy
Prev 161-053 The Good Life in Ancient Thought
Next 161-037 Themes in 20th Century Philosophy
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