Courses / Module

• identify and assess the opposing views on the proper relation of morality to law: to legislate against immorality as such or only against that which is damaging to society;
• discriminate between moral and non-moral dimensions of the nature and purpose of law;
• distinguish the concept of punishment from the issue of its moral justification, with reference to the retributive, reformative and deterrent theories of punishment;
• explain and evaluate the effectiveness of the use of metaphors in the debate on crime and punishment (e.g., ‘balancing the scales of justice’, ‘paying a debt back to society’);
• describe main historical factors that influenced the development of the concept of rights: 13th-century Natural Law theory (Aquinas), 17th-century Social Contract theories (Hobbes and Locke), and the 17th- and 18th-century English, American and French revolutions;
• recognise and evaluate different definitions for the meaning of the concept of a right (as a liberty, a permission, a claim, a judicial remedy, a power, an interest, a relative duty) used in contemporary moral discourse;
• analyse and evaluate particular controversial rights, such as: the right to revolt, the right to peace, the right to life, the right to euthanasia, the right to eat animals, animal rights, the right to use nature’s resources in the planet, ecological rights;
• demonstrate the ability to select, think through and present an articulated and pertinent response to issues of moral concern in society today in contemporary moral philosophy.

• 36 lecture hours (3 lectures × 12 weeks) and 9 tutorial hours (1 × 9 weeks). Directed reading, reflection, discussion, and writing.

• Module Graded (numeric value) or Ungraded (Pass/Not Passed): Graded
• Continuous Assessment detail(s): Continuous assessment (broken down as follows): 1.Tutorial attendance and participation (10%) 2. Mid term essay (c 1,500 words] (30%) 3. one final written examination (60%)

• Pass standard: 40%
• Could the result of this module be capped? No
• Penalties: As set out in the department handbook.

• Are supplemental/resit registrations permitted? Yes
• Autumn sitting of a final written examination [60%], with continuous assessment mark carried over.
• University scheduled written examination (Autumn): 120 minutes
• Is Supplemental Continuous Assessment registration permitted? Written permission from Department
• Is Supplemental Continuous Assessment capped? No

This timetable is not currently available, please contact the Philosophy Department.