Final Year

Academic semester dates

2026/27 First Semester
Teaching begins	Monday, 7th September, 2026
Teaching ends	Friday, 27th November, 2026
Semester 1 exams start	Monday, 7th December, 2026
Semester 1 exams end	Friday, 18th December, 2026

2026/27 Second Semester
Orientation	to be announced
Teaching begins	Monday, 11th January, 2027
Teaching ends	2nd April 2027
Examinations begin	Monday, 19th April, 2027
Examinations end	Friday, 6th May, 2027

Optional Courses

Code	Course	Semester	ECTS	Examination
PI315	Philosophy of Mind	1	5	By essay and CA
PI327	Philosophy of Religion	1	5	By essay and CA
PI3100	Kant's Theoretical Philosophy	1	5	By essay and continuous assessment
PI3103	Environmental Ethics	1	5	By essay and continuous assessment
PI3104	Philosophy and Culture in Context	1	5	Model A: Placement (at TULCA festival of visual Arts), Reflection and Final Essay OR model B Workshop, Podcast and Final Essay.
PI3106	Formal Logic 2	1	5	By end-of-term assignment, supplemented by several in-class written tests
PI3111	Topics in Philosophy of Science	1	5	Overall assessment is by written exam, supplemented by some short in-class written tests.
PI310	Topics in Applied Philosophy: Disability, Poverty and Human Freedom	2	5	By essay
PI3108	Topics in post-Kantian Philosophy	2	5	Continuous assessment and Final Essay
PI3109	Readings in European Philosophy (Post-Kantian)	2	5	Continuous assessment and Final Essay
PI3110	Philosophy of Literature	2	5	Continuous assessment
PI3112	Paradoxes	2	5	End-of-term assignment and supplemented by some in-class exercises

Timetables

Check the Philosophy's Visiting Students' Handbook for timely information.  Please note that the Semester Two timetable will not be finalised until November 2026.

Individual Course Details

Kant's Theoretical Philosophy

Code	Semester	Contact hours / weekly	ECTS
PI3100	1	2 (Tutorials not included)	5

Lecturer: Dr. T. 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.

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

Methods of assessment and examination: Overall assessment is based on a written essay at the end of the semester. Continuous assessment - is added to the evaluation.

Core texts:

Selected passages from the following texts shall be considered:
Sebastian Gardner, Routledge philosophy guidebook to Kant and the Critique of Pure Reason, London; Routledge, 1999.
Kant, Immanuel, Critique of Pure Reason, (MacMillan, 1929), translated by Norman Kemp Smith.
James O'Shea, Kant's Critique of Pure Reason:  An Introduction, Acumen Publishing.
Jay F. Rosenberg, Accessing Kant, Clarendon Press; 2005. Oxford.
(A detailed list of readings will be distributed at the beginning of the course.)

 

Philosophy of Mind

Code	Semester	Contact hours / weekly	ECTS
PI315	1	2 (Tutorials not included)	5

Lecturer: Dr. J. 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.

Prerequisites: None

Teaching and learning methods: The course is lecture-based.

Methods of assessment and examination: The course will be evaluated by continuous assessment and final essay.

Core texts:
Heil, John. Philosophy of Mind, Routledge, 2013.
Kim, Jaegwon Kim. Philosophy of Mind, Westview Press Colorado, 2011.
Kind, Amy, Philosophy of Mind: The Basics, Routledge, 2020.*

Philosophy of Religion

Code	Semester	Contact hours / weekly	ECTS
PI327	1	2 (Tutorials not included)	5

Lecturer: Prof. F. 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%) 

Core texts: 

Arendt, H.: The Human Condition, Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1998 
Derrida, J.: “To Forgive: The Unforgiveable and the Imprescriptible” in Caput et al.: 
Questioning God, Bloomington, Indiana UP, 2001, pp. 21-51. 
Derrida, J.: “How to Avoid Speaking: Denials” in H. Coward et. al (eds): Derrida and Negative Theology (SUNY Press, 1992), pp. 73-142 
Kant: Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998) 

Also published in: Kant and Rational Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 39-216 
Kierkegaard: Fear and Trembling. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006) Philips, D.Z.: The Concept of Prayer, Oxford, Basil Blackwell, 1981. 
Ricoeur, P.: “Love and Justice”, Figuring the Sacred, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995 

 

Environmental Ethics 

Code	Semester	Contact hours / weekly	ECTS
PI3103	1	2 (Tutorials not included)	5

Lecturer:     Dr. N. Ward

Course Description:   In this class, we will explore the ethical, ecological and social dimensions of environmental issues. We begin with an exploration of the perception of nature in Western thought, as well as an overview of influential texts that have 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.

Prerequisites:   None.

Teaching and Learning Methods:   This course is lecture-based, supplemented by tutorials.

Methods of Assessment and Examination:  Assessment is based on a written essay (70%) and continuous assessment (30%).

Core Text: A list of readings will be provided at the beginning of the semester.

 

Philosophy of Culture in Context

Code	Semester	Contact hours / weekly	ECTS
PI3104	1	2 (Tutorials not included)	5

Lecturer: Dr. L. Elvis & Dr. Y 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.

Teaching and learning methods: This course is workshop based. Four workshops on four Thursday afternoons across the semester. One introductory lecture and one essay writing tutorial will also be offered to help students navigate the course. In-person attendance at all teaching is mandatory.

Methods of assessment and examination: Students are offered a choice of two assessment streams assessment model A: Placement (at TULCA festival of visual Arts), Reflection and Final Essay, model B Workshop, Podcast and Final Essay.

Core text: All essential and supplementary readings will be available on Canvas, with a full list available at the start of the semester. 

Topics in Applied Philosophy: Disability, Poverty and Human Freedom

Code	Semester	Contact hours / weekly	ECTS
PI310	2	2 (Tutorials not included)	5

Lecturer: Dr. R. Hull

Course Description:   This course is concerned with the application of the study of philosophy to issues of pressing 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. 

Prerequisites:   None

Teaching and Learning Methods:   This course is lecture-based, supplemented by tutorials

Methods of Assessment and Examination:  Overall assessment is based on a written essay.   Written course work (essay) - if required - is added to the evaluation. 

Core Text:
Barnes, C., Disabled people in Britain and discrimination, Hurst and co, 1991. [346.42013 BAR]
Bynoe, I.,  Oliver, M.,  & Barnes, C.,  Equal Rights for Disabled People: the case for a new law, Institute for Public Policy Research, 1991. [346.013 BYN]
Glover, J., Causing death and saving lives, Penguin Books, 1977. [179.7 GLO]
Gray, T, Freedom, Macmillan, 1991. [323.44]
Kymlicka, W. Contemporary Political Philosophy, Clarendon Press, 1990. [320.50904]
Nozick, R., Anarchy, State, and Utopia, Blackwell, 1974. [320.101 NOZ]
Pogge, T.W, Realizing Rawls, Cornell University Press, 1989. [320.001 RAW.P]
Rawls, J. A Theory of Justice, Oxford University Press, 1974. [340.11]

Other resources:
To be posted on Canvas.

 

Formal Logic 2

Code	Semester	Contact hours / weekly	ECTS
PI3106	1	2 (Tutorials not included)	5

Lecturer: Dr. N. Tosh

Course description: This course is the sequel to the 2nd-year Formal Logic module PI2102. It introduces a new proof method -- truth trees -- and a mostly new formal language -- predicate logic with identity. The course text is Paul Teller's _Logic Primer_, freely available online (http://tellerprimer.ucdavis.edu/). Readings and practice exercises will be set each week. Familiarity with material taught in PI2102 is assumed. 

Prerequisites: You need to have passed PI2102 Formal Logic or have an equivalent level of experience with formal logic. 

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

Methods of assessment and examination: end of term assignment, supplemented by several in-class written tests. 
 

Core Texts: Paul Teller, A Modern Formal Logic Primer, https://tellerprimer.ucdavis.edu/ 

 

Topics in Philosophy of Science

Code	Semester	Contact hours / weekly	ECTS
PI3111	1	2 (Tutorials not included)	5

Lecturer: Dr. N. Tosh

Course description: This module introduces students to a selection of major topics in contemporary philosophy of science, including the problem of induction, confirmation theory, and theories of causation.

Methods of assessment and examination:  Overall assessment is by written exam

Recommended Book Resources:  

• David Hume 1757, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Sections 4, 5, 7
• Peter Godfrey-Smith 2021, Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science, 2 Ed., University of Chicago Press [ISBN: 978-022661865]
• A. C. Grayling, Philosophy 1: A Guide Through the Subject, 3, Oxford University Press [ISBN: 9780198752431]

PI3108 Topics in post-Kantian Philosophy 

Code	Semester	ECTS
PI3108	2	5

 
Lecturer: Dr. T. Doyle 

Course description: This module engages in an in-depth investigation of the possibility of metaphysics in post-Kantian philosophy with particular emphasis on Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophical thought. The first part of the module investigates Nietzsche’s interpretation of the meaning and significance of Kant’s transcendental idealism. It also explores how Nietzsche’s own philosophical writings, both early and late, are informed by his understanding of and response to Kant. The second part of the module explores prominent interpretations of Nietzsche’s metaphysics, including the panpsychist, ontic structural realist, neo-Darwinian, constructivist and dispositional readings. The implications of these interpretations for how we should understand Nietzsche’s philosophical psychology, philosophy of value and political philosophy will be explored in detail. Students taking this module will be expected to prepare in advance for class and to actively participate in class discussions. 

Prerequisites: None 

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

Methods of assessment and examination:  Continuous Assessment- Textual comprehension exercise - (20%) and a Final Assignment (Essay) (80%) 

Core Texts: 

Recomended book resources: 

Ansell Pearson, Keith and Large, Duncan (eds) 2006, The Nietzsche Reader, Blackwell Oxford 

Supplementary book resources: 
 
Brusotti, Marco and Herman Siemens (eds) 2017, Nietzsche, Kant and the Problem of Metaphysics, Bloomsbury London  
Tsarina Doyle 2018, Nietzsche’s Metaphysics of the Will to Power: The Possibility of Value, Cambridge University Press Cambridge
R Kevin Hill 2003, Nietzsche's Critiques: The Kantian Foundations of his Thought, Clarendon Press Oxford 
Peter Poellner 1995, Nietzsche and Metaphysics, Oxford University Press Oxford  
Justin Remhof 2023, Nietzsche as Metaphysician, Routledge New York  
John Richardson 2004, Nietzsche’s New Darwinism, Oxford University Press Oxford 

 

Readings in European Philosophy (Post-Kantian)

Code	Semester	ECTS
PI3109	2	5

Lecturer: Prof. F. Ó Murchadha
Description: This module will a text-based course concentrating on fundamental texts from German and French philosophers over the past two hundred years or so. Guided by in-depth study of a specific text, questions concerning being, freedom, truth, time and nature will be discussed. The discussion will be both informed by historical scholarship and focused on the systematic questions and issues as they arise in the respective texts.

Assessment and Examination methods: Final Essay and CA.

Recommended book resources:

• Kearney, Richard; Rainwater, Mara 1995, The Continental Philosophy Reader, Routledge [ISBN: 9780415095266]
• David West 1996, An Introduction to Continental Philosophy, Polity [ISBN: 0745611842]

 

Philosophy of Literature

Code	Semester	ECTS
PI3110	2	5

Lecturer: Dr. M Dianetti
Description: This module explores the complex and evolving relationship between philosophy and literary forms and its significance not only for literary studies but also for drama and cinema. One part of the module explores philosophical thinking about literature, exploring its purpose, value, and function, and issues such as the ethics of authorship and readership, the nature of truth in fiction, literature’s epistemic and moral potential, the paradox of tragic pleasure. These debates will also be extended to drama and cinema, engaging with theories of spectatorship and performance. A second part explores philosophical thinking within and through literary forms drawing on authors such as Jean Paul Sartre and Iris Murdoch. Assessment offers a choice between critical philosophical analysis and creative philosophical writing: students will either write a philosophical essay about a novel, movie, or play, or create and workshop their own creative writing, giving life to philosophical ideas. 

Assessment methods:  Essay and CA

Recommended reading list:

• Eileen John,Dominic McIver Lopes 2004, The Philosophy of Literature, Wiley-Blackwell [ISBN: 1405112093]
• Iris Murdoch 1978, The Fire & the Sun, Oxford University Press, USA [ISBN: 0198245807]

Code	Semester	Contact hours / weekly	ECTS
PI3112	2	2 (Tutorials not included)	5

 Lecturer: Dr. N. Tosh

Course description: This module introduces students to paradoxes of decision theory, paradoxes relating to the concept of a set/collection, and (briefly) a paradox about truth.

Prerequisites: None

Teaching and learning methods: the course is lecture-based.

Methods of assessment and examination: Written examination.

Core Texts: 

• R. M. Sainsbury 1995, Paradoxes, 2 Ed., Cambridge University Press [ISBN: 978-05214834]
• Raymond Smullyan 2009, Satan, Cantor and Infinity, Dover [ISBN: 978-048647036]