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Final Year

Welcome to your Final Year 

It is good to have you back for the final year of your degree. All modules are optional in Final Year, but please note that there is a requirement to have at least a 2.1 in your second year Philosophy in order to register for the Extended Essay modules (PI399). If you are thinking of going on to Postgraduate study in Philosophy, the Extended essay module may be a good choice for you. 

Entry requirements: A pass in Second Arts Philosophy or its equivalent in the case of visiting and exchange students. Students registered for the B.A. (International) must also have attained a satisfactory academic performance during their year abroad.

‌Please make sure you are familiar with our Final Year Handbook (available in late July 2026).

Answers to queries regarding online learning available here

Queries about learning answered here (English and Irish versions).

QA616 University of Galway Student Code of Conduct Policy.

Semester dates 

Third Year Modules 2026/2027

All third-year courses are optional. You should pick three modules each semester. Familiarity with Canvas is essential for your learning this year.

Please note that to register for year-long module PI399 Extended Essay, you must have achieved a Second-Year grade of 2:1 or higher in Philosophy. 

Semester 1:

• PI315 Philosophy of Mind (Dr. O'Reilly)
• PI327 Philosophy of Religion (Prof. Ó Murchadha)
• PI3103 Environmental Ethics (Dr. Ward)
• PI3104 Philosophy and Culture in Context (with placement) (Dr. Elvis & Dr. Yvonne Förster)
• PI3106 Formal Logic 2 (Dr. Tosh)
• PI3111 Topics in Philosophy of Science (Dr. Tosh)
• PI399 Extended Essay (Dr. Felzmann) (*)

Semester 2:

• PI399 Extended Essay (Dr. Felzmann) (*)
• PI310 Topics in Applied Philosophy (Dr. Hull)
• PI3108 Topics in Post-Kantian Philosophy (Dr. Doyle)
• PI3109 Readings in European Philosophy (Post-Kantian) Prof. Ó Murchadha
• PI3110 Philosophy of Literature (Dr. Dianetti)
• PI3112 Paradoxes (Dr. Tosh)

* PI399 is a year-long 5ECTS module for which you register in Semester 1 and which you will attend over both semesters. Semester 2 will require more work to complete your research and writing; for workload reasons it is advisable to pick PI399 and three other modules in Semester 1 and two modules in Semester 2. 

Provisional timetables

                                                                   3rd Arts Semester One 2026/27

(**) Please note, students must attend all scheduled PI3104 workshops. Venues TBC.  There is a choice of continuous assessment within this module. 

3^rd Arts Semester Two 2026/2027

There is no need to sign up to tutorials at the beginning of the year - lecturers will make and communicate any arrangements that might be in place with regard to splitting their classes for tutorials.  All modules will provide an interactive component to students.

Head of Third Years:   

• Dr. Tsarina Doyle: tsarina.doyle@universityofgalway.ie

Individual Course Details

SEMESTER  1

Philosophy of Mind

Lecturer: Dr. John O'Reilly

Course Description: The course begins with an introduction to three influential approaches to mental phenomena – Logical Behaviourism, Identity Theory, and the emergence of Functionalism. The second part of the course builds on these foundations via an exploration of David Lewis’ Analytic Functionalism and Jerry Fodor’s Psycho-functionalism. At this stage, we are ready to look at the Computational Theory of Mind and Daniel Dennett’s Intentional Stance. The final section of the course focuses on John Searle’s critique of the Computational approach to the mind with his “Chinese Room” thought experiment and on the advent of Embodied Cognition as a criticism of overly mind-centred accounts of cognition.

PI327 Philosophy of Religion

Lecturer: Prof. Felix Ó Murchadha

Course description: This course will discuss one of the principal problems of the philosophy of religion, namely the relation of faith and reason.  The relation of faith and reason has been a matter of controversy since the early Christian thinkers.  In modernity, with a revised account of reason and rationality, the question became increasingly complex and the philosophical positions on this issue increasingly divergent.  We will look at two philosophers: Kant and Kierkegaard.  Following upon that, we will discuss a number of themes including forgiveness, language, love, violence and time.  

Prerequisites: None
Teaching and learning methods: The course is lecture-based, supplemented by tutorials.
Methods of assessment and examination: Continuous Assessment (35%) and a Final Assignment (Essay) (65%) 

Kant's Theoretical Philosophy 

Lecturer:  Dr. Tsarina Doyle 

Course description: This module examines Kant's theoretical philosophy by focussing on his arguments for transcendental idealism in the Critique of Pure Reason. Particular attention will be paid to Kant's ambitious aim to establish the objectivity of Newtonian science whilst leaving room for the possibility of God, freedom and immortality by focussing on his arguments for the transcendental ideality of space and time, his argument for the transcendental deduction of the categories, his distinction between phenomena and noumena, the argument of the Analogies and Antinomies. The modules also incorporates a number of revision exercises to help with student learning and understanding of the text. 

Prerequisites: None 

Teaching and learning methods: The course is lecture-based, supplemented by tutorials. 

Methods of assessment and examination:  Assessment is based on a written essay at the end of the semester with continuous assessment added to the evaluation. 

Environmental Ethics 

Lecturer:  Dr. Nora Ward

Course description: This class will focus on the ethical, ecological and social dimensions of environmental issues. We begin with an exploration of the perception of nature in Western thought, through a review of texts that shaped the field of environmental ethics. As such, we will explore the relationship between human and non-human nature, addressing questions such as "Does non-human nature matter for its own sake, or simply for the sake of fulfilling human interests? What about the value of holistic entities such as ecosystems? What is intrinsic value anyway, and how does it differ from instrumental value?" Towards the latter half of the course, we will focus on the philosophical implications of international environmental issues such as climate change, indigenous rights, ecofeminism, environment justice and eco-terrorism.

 
Philosophy and Culture in Context

Lecturers:  Dr. Lucy Elvis & Dr. Yvonne Förster

Course description: This module explores philosophical approaches to the production and consumption of art and culture in contemporary society through an examination of four themes. Culture and reality, culture and technology, culture, culture and alienation and culture and violence. For each theme two different philosophical perspective will be explored to examine the dynamics of contemporary cultural production and consumption. 

SEMESTER 2: 

Topics in Applied Philosophy: Disability, Poverty and Human Freedom

Lecturer:  Dr. Richard Hull

Course description: This course is concerned with the application of the study of philosophy to issues of public concern. It takes the experiences of disability and social deprivation as case studies and looks at how such experiences can best be theoretically articulated. Particular attention is given to rival theories of human freedom and their relevance to contemporary social and political debates. Attention is also focused on how different theories of justice and morality imply very different social responses to the issues of disability and deprivation. Subjects covered include Rawls’ theory of freedom, Nozick's libertarianism, the acts/omissions distinction and the doctrine of double effect. The course is designed to give students an analytical background that can be used to explore other contemporary social and political issues.