College of Social Sciences and International Studies
Cyborg Studies
Module PHL3096 for 2022/3
Module PHL3096 for 2022/3
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
PHL3096: Cyborg Studies
This module descriptor refers to the 2022/3 academic year.
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
- What’s posthumanism?, What’s a human anyway?
- Are you already a Cyborg?,
- What’s Transhumanism? The history of transhumanism,
- Has humanism failed?: Cyborg as deconstruction,
- Do you want to live forever?: Life extension technologies,
- Are humans special in any way? Against human exceptionalism - cybernetics and deep ecology.
- What are the risks of human enhancement? Cognitive and moral enhancement and existential risk.
- Should we enhance other animals? Animal uplifting.
- What’s real anyway? The simulation argument.
- Will the robots take over? The risks of AI.
- Can synthetic minds be conscious? How should we interact with robots?
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
---|---|---|
22 | 128 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
Category | Hours of study time | Description |
---|---|---|
Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 22 | Weekly 2-hour lectures/seminars or 1 hour lecture + 1 hour seminar. |
Guided independent study | 66 | Weekly reading and working through assigned articles and book chapters |
Guided independent study | 62 | Essay writing |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).