Module PHL2112 for 2020/1
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
PHL2112: Practical Ethics
This module descriptor refers to the 2020/1 academic year.
Module Aims
This module aims to engage you in some very important contemporary debates in applied ethics. By the end of the module, you should be able to:
1) Understand the motivations and methods of practical ethics;
2) Assess arguments for different social and moral positions; and
3) Discuss in a philosophically sophisticated manner some of the most pressing contemporary moral controversies.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
---|---|
Module-Specific Skills | 1. Identify and discuss the issues raised in some key contemporary debates in applied ethics. 2. Distinguish and evaluate certain positions and arguments within some key contemporary debates in applied ethics. 3. Demonstrate a sound grasp of the methods of applied ethics. |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. Demonstrate a good understanding of the relationship between the practical and theoretical aspects of philosophy. 5. Demonstrate sound knowledge of different types of philosophical analysis. |
Personal and Key Skills | 6. Demonstrate an expanded philosophical vocabulary and understanding with respect to key ideas in practical ethics. 7. Engage in complex arguments both orally and through writing. 8. Conduct research independently engaging with complex ideas and problems. |
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 practical ethics:
1) Animal rights, vegetarianism and the environment.
2) World hunger and the allocation of scarce resources.
3) Citizenship, suffrage and the right to vote.
4) Censorship, pornography and hate speech.
5) Drugs and sport.
6) Group responsibility, rape culture and sexual consent.
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 |
---|---|---|
21.5 | 128.5 | 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 | 16.5 | 11 x 1.5 hour lectures |
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 5 | 5 x 1 Hour fortnightly tutorials. |
Guided Independent Study | 45 | Preparation for lectures and tutorial participation including reading, and preparing reading reports and answers to tutorial questions. |
Guided Independent Study | 83.5 | Independent research for the first and final essays. |
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 |
---|---|---|---|
Tutorial Participation | Fortnightly | 1-8 | Oral |
Essay draft | Draft of final essay | 1-8 | Peer review |
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Reading reports (The mark will be an overall mark for the set: you will have 8 chances to submit a reading report, and if you submit at least 5 reports over the semester, youll get the full 10% (each report is worth 2%, up to a total of 10%). You will get feedback on these assignments in three ways: (1) Reading reports will form the basis of tutorial discussion, so you will receive (and offer) feedback from your peers during class; (2) Ill provide general feedback during classes; (3) Students can receive individual feedback on request). | 10 | 5 reports x 150 words | 1-3 | Oral |
Essay | 30 | 1000 words | 1-7 | Written |
Final Essay | 60 | 2000 words | 1-8 | 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 |
---|---|---|---|
Reading reports | Literature summary (750 words) | 1-3 | August/September reassessment period |
Essay | Essay (1000 words) | 1-7 | August/September reassessment period |
Essay | Essay (2000 words) | 1-8 | August/September reassessment perio |