Undergraduate Module Descriptor

PHL2053: History of Philosophy

This module descriptor refers to the 2017/8 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 in early modern philosophy:

1) Natural philosophy, including questions about methodology, natural laws, the nature of space and time, and God’s place in the universe.

2) Early modern epistemology, including a variety of scepticisms, as well as questions regarding the existence of innate ideas and the notion of a tabula rasa, theories of perception, and knowledge of substance.

3) Early modern philosophy of mind, including questions about the relationship between mind and body and whether or not animals have cognition, as well as problems of personal identity.

4) Early modern moral philosophy, including questions of belief, freedom, will, and the existence of God.

5) Early modern political philosophy, including questions of rights, the relationship between state and polis, and property ownership.

Learning and Teaching

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

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

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities16.511 x 1.5 hour lectures
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities55 x 1 Hour fortnightly tutorials
Guided Independent Study45Preparation for lectures and tutorial participation including reading, and preparing reading reports and answers to tutorial questions.
Guided Independent Study83.5Independent research for the first and final essays.

Online Resources

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