| Unit name | Mortal Questions |
|---|---|
| Unit code | PHIL20028 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Alam |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
PHIL10005: Introduction to Philosophy A, PHIL 10006: Introduction to Philosophy B, PHIL20046: Realism and Normativity |
| Co-requisites |
none |
| School/department | Department of Philosophy |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This Unit will address some of the fundamental issues concerning a mortal life. Broadly speaking, these are questions concerning its meaning, value and end. More particularly, for example, it will explore what attitude an agent should take towards her own death; whether life is absurd and if so whether we can and should do something about it; whether, given moral luck, there is any such thing as moral accountability; how we should understand sexual desire and whether the Scientific World View is an adequate standpoint from which to account for the whole of reality. These are all issues which Thomas Nagel addresses in his collection of essays, Mortal Questions. In that book, a frequently occurring theme amongst these questions is the importance Nagel places on the relation between the view of the individual person and 'more impersonal conceptions of reality' in answering them. A central aim of the course, then, will be to assess this general approach to many of the particular issues, which Nagel takes. In addition, his views on these issues will be compared with those of others.
By the end of the Unit students will have arrived a considered position on the various specific issues posed along the way. In addition, they will have learned of the possibility of approaching each of these issues from either a first or third personal standpoint and will have learned to appreciate the difference this makes to possible resolutions to those issues.
10 1-hr lectures + 10 seminar sessions
3 hr exam
Thomas Nagel (1991). Mortal Questions. New York: Cambridge University Press (Canto). Plus secondary literature
