Undergraduate Module Descriptor

PHL3110: Philosophy of Emotion

This module descriptor refers to the 2016/7 academic year.

Module Aims

You will learn about the most influential philosophical accounts of the emotions, such as somatic theories and cognitive theories. You will also learn about different philosophical accounts of feelings, mood, and other affective experiences. Whereas the module will cover mainly philosophical theories of emotion, you will also learn about psychological studies of emotion.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.

On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. systematically illustrate a variety of philosophical accounts of the emotions;
2. identify specific philosophical problems in the study of emotion;emotion
3. critically evaluate a variety of accounts of the nature of emotions whilst developing your own perspective.
Discipline-Specific Skills4. systematically illustrate a variety of philosophical positions on a specific topic;
5. evaluate, orally and in writing, different philosophical positions;
6. distinguish between sound and unsound arguments, and develop philosophically informed considerations about them.
Personal and Key Skills7. engage in complex arguments verbally as an individual and in small groups;
8. critically engage with and report accurately on existing written material.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover different philosophical theories of emotion, and focus on most of the following themes:

- Emotion and the Body

- Emotion and Cognition

- Emotion and Feeling

- Emotion and Expression

- Emotion and Reason

- Emotion and Mood

- Unconscious emotions

- Emotion, Language and Narratives

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
44256

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity4422 x 2-hour lecture/discussion
Guided Independent Study66Assigned readings associated with each lecture
Guided Independent Study20Preparation for class discussion
Guided Independent Study30Preparation for first assigned essay
Guided Independent Study55Preparation for second assigned essay
Guided Independent Study30Preparation for third assigned essay
Guided Independent Study55Preparation for fourth assigned essay

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).