Module PHLM015 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Postgraduate Module Descriptor
PHLM015: Contemporary Ethics
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
This module aims to give you a broad understanding of present-day discussions in philosophical ethics.
The module covers concepts such as responsibility, power and self-understanding as a moral agent. The aim is arrive at an understanding of the challenges of and to ethics in our contemporary world by discussing specific examples such as humanitarian medical aid, transnational adoption and human genome editing. In these cases the interlinkages between knowledge, technologies, power relations, and human self-understanding are configures in complex ways. We explore them to develop a sharper understanding of ethics in the Anthropocene.
The aims of this module are twofold, to equip you with the philosophical knowledge to participate in ongoing debates about facts and values, and to advance your knowledge about current thought in ethics and the normative and epistemic assumptions they entail.
You will gain a good understanding of topical questions in philosophical ethics in theory and practice. We will discuss topical subjects in small groups and you will practice presenting arguments.
The writing of short review essays will advance your ability to summarize arguments succinctly and you will be guided to write one brief essay on a theme of your choice from the course.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
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Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate solid knowledge and understanding of current theories and problems in philosophical ethics; 2. Demonstrate understanding of the methodological and conceptual problems of applied ethics; 3. Present your own analyses of the implications of theories on pressing ethical debates of our time. |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. Demonstrate a high level of knowledge about ethical theory and its application; 5. Demonstrate sound knowledge of different types of philosophical ethics. |
Personal and Key Skills | 6. Demonstrate capacity to conduct research independently; 7. Demonstrate aptitude for succinct oral presentations to groups; 8. Write reflective academic review and research essays. |
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:
Practical and theoretical themes relating to current problems.
The role of human nature arguments in current practical ethics such as interspecies ethics, violence, and responsibility in relation to oneself, others and global ethics on the one hand the importance of meaning, rules and normativity on the other.
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 |
---|---|---|
26 | 124 | 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 Activities | 22 | 11 x 2 hour taught sessions - 30-minute lectures and 1.5 hour seminar discussion of readings for each 2-hour session |
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 4 | 4 x 1-hour facilitated tutorial with student presentations |
Guided Independent Study | 16 | Analyse one course reading and write a succinct summary of the key arguments of the text |
Guided Independent Study | 58 | Reading of the module texts for each week |
Guided Independent Study | 50 | Writing independent research essay. Conduct guided and independent research on a theme from the course; write a scholarly essay to be submitted after the end of term |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|
Presentation of essay plan | 10 minutes | 1-4, 6, 7 | Oral |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
---|---|---|
100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|---|
Essay | 80 | 3,000 words | 1-6, 8 | Written |
1 x Reading Review | 20 | 1 x 800 words | 1-5, 8 | Written |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
---|---|---|---|
Essay | Essay (3,000 words) (80%) | 1-5, 6, 8 | August/September reassessment period |
Reading Review | Reading Summary (800 words) (20%) | 1-4, 6, 8 | August/September reassessment period |