Universität Wien

180067 PS Topics in Moral Philosophy (2021W)

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 18 - Philosophie
Continuous assessment of course work
ON-SITE
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 45 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Update from November 22nd: From November 23 2021, the seminar will move online for the duration of the lockdown. We will resume in-person classes as soon as regulations allow.

  • Tuesday 19.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 31 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Tuesday 09.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 31 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Tuesday 16.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 31 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Tuesday 23.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 31 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Tuesday 30.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Hörsaal 31 Hauptgebäude, 1.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Tuesday 07.12. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
  • Tuesday 14.12. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
  • Tuesday 11.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
  • Tuesday 18.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
  • Tuesday 25.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

This course introduces students to major positions and debates about moral responsibility and free will. We will engage closely with seminal texts and contemporary literature. At the same time, we will work on developing philosophical skills: analyzing arguments, writing clearly, formulating questions, and participating constructively in discussion.

Assessment and permitted materials

Session will center on detailed discussion of the assigned reading. Students are expected to actively contribute to discussions and classroom activities. Students will write two short argument reconstructions on texts assigned in class, which will have to be uploaded on Moodle before the announced deadline.

The final few sessions will be reserved for short presentations on topics chosen from a list of official questions. Students will upload a short video presentation in advance and we will use the sessions for q&a’s and feedback.

Students will then write an essay (Seminararbeit) of maximally 2000 words (excluding bibliography) on the same topic.

Attendance and participation: 10%
Argument analyses: 20%
Presentation: 20%
Final Essay: 50%

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Students must regularly attend (no more than two unexcused absences), complete all written assignment, do the presentation and submit a final essay.

The final grade will be determined by:
Participation: 10%
Argument analyses: 20%
Presentation: 20%
Final Essay: 50%

Examination topics

Reading list

Harry Frankfurt ‘Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person’ Journal of Philosophy 68 (1971)
Harry Frankfurt ‘Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility’ Journal of Philosophy 66 (1969)
Susan Wolf ‘Sanity and the Metaphysics of Responsibility’ in D. Schoeman (ed.) Responsibility, Character and the Emotions (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987)
Christian List, ‘Free Will, Determinism, and the Possibility of Doing Otherwise’ Nous 48 (2014), 156-178
Gary Watson, ‘Responsibility and the Limits of Evil’ in D. Schoeman (ed.) Responsibility, Character and the Emotions (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987)
P.F. Strawson ‘Freedom and Resentment’ Proceedings of the British Academy 48 (1962)
Bernard Williams. Moral luck: philosophical papers 1973-1980. Cambridge University Press, 1981.
Galen Strawson. "The impossibility of moral responsibility." Philosophical Studies: An International Journal for Philosophy in the Analytic Tradition 75.1/2 (1994): 5-24.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Fr 12.05.2023 00:18