Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ANT3035: Philosophical Anthropology

This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.

Module Aims

Everybody has an opinion about ‘human nature’.  In this class you will learn how to draw upon empirical sciences in making arguments that are not just opinions but claims that are accountable to evidence and logic.  You will learn how to cross disciplinary boundaries in drawing and amalgamating evidence from different empirical sciences as well as from phenomenological analysis.  You will gain insights into how biology, culture and history influence each other in the course of hominin/human becoming.  You will gain experience in thinking about the relationship of descriptive to normative dimension in human understanding and you will write essays that enable you to address real contemporary problems in areas such as the bioethics of genetic engineering from the perspective of an empirically informed philosophy. 

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. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the basic ideas of Philosophical Anthropology as a tradition and school of thought.
2. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the basic ideas of several leading contemporary scientific investigators whose work bears directly on general questions of what it means to be human.
Discipline-Specific Skills3. skilfully and critically interrelate philosophical ideas with empirical findings
4. skilfully apply your knowledge of human nature to problems in any other area of philosophy
Personal and Key Skills5. critically engage at a high level with assigned readings
6. lucidly communicate concepts and ideas both orally and in writing
7. demonstrate an ability to work independently, within a limited time frame, and without access to external sources, to complete a specified task.