Trinity College Dublin

The first part of the course introduces students to Kant’s theoretical philosophy as articulated in the Critique of Pure Reason. The course focuses primarily, but not exclusively, on topics from the first half of the book, and examine core topics such as the Copernican Turn, Kant’s doctrine of transcendental idealism, the analytic/synthetic distinction, the nature of space, the problem of causation and the response to Humean scepticism, and Kant’s theory of the self.   The course aims to show the centrality of Kant’s thought both to an understanding of the development of the history of philosophy and as a source of philosophical interest for contemporary epistemology and metaphysics.

This course examines the workings of science through four core topics: how science explains, how we reason to science, what scientific theories tell us about the world, and what role values play in science. Students consider cases where science succeeds, as well as cases where it fails, and they learn to explore deep philosophical issues about our knowledge of the world.

This course begins with a brief history of Islam in Ireland. It will subsequently examine the Islamic “other,” and Muslim identities in Europe from historical and modern perspectives. The focus of the course then shifts to the modern era and to debates concerning Muslims living in Europe, including discussions around secularism, human rights, and religious freedoms.

The course is taught jointly by the School of Natural Sciences and the School of Psychology, and begins with a brief history of behavioral research. Students are introduced to various aspects of learning, cultural transmission, cognition, play, and intelligence in animals, including humans. They explore the animal’s behavior in its environment and why all individuals of a species do not behave in the same way. The course addresses the importance of an understanding of behavior in relation to conservation in the wild and in zoos, and in relation to climate change.

This course covers approaches to meeting the needs of people with neurological disorders and progressive neurological diseases. As the production of purposeful goal directed movement pervades all aspects of behavior, there is a specific focus upon the physical, psychological, and social consequences of movement dysfunction. The course deals with the scientific principles underlying neurological rehabilitation, including motor control and learning. Students are also introduced to intervention strategies that are designed to maintain or re-establish functional capability, such as brain-computer interfaces, robot assisted therapy, deep brain stimulation, and cortical stimulation.