Philosophy

This introductory level course provides a critical review of the evolution of notions of the human to the present day from a philosophical, anthropological, historical, social, and technological perspective.

The course investigates current problems from a posthumanist dimension articulated with at least two of the following perspectives: social, cultural, technological, or ethical, to highlight possible individual and collective impacts, in a way that promotes metacognitive reflection and action on the student's responsibility as an agent of change. Class discussions will focus on personal learning experiences and the usefulness of the post humanist perspective in one's daily reality.

This course introduces contemporary issues in democratic theory and philosophy and public policy. It draws on political and moral philosophy as well as philosophy of law in order to examine the philosophical underpinnings of contemporary political debates over civil rights and liberties, democratic institutions and procedures, inequality and disadvantage and human rights. It combines the study of contemporary philosophy with analysis of particular cases, through a mixture of academic articles, newspaper articles, public policy reports and recently published works by distinguished academics.

This course examines some of the fundamental issues in the philosophy of creativity. Topics may include the definition of "creativity"; the relation of creativity to imagination; the nature of the creative process; the relation of creativity to knowledge and skill; computational theories of creativity; Darwinian theories of creativity; the relation of creativity to tradition; whether creativity is a kind of virtue and its relation to moral and intellectual virtues; and, whether creativity differs fundamentally between the arts and the sciences.

How should we balance the need to produce cheap food with environmental damage? Should we be using low-cost airlines? Is it now immoral to have children? Should animals be granted the same rights as human beings? The climate crisis gives rise to many daily and long-term moral questions concerning how we should live and behave. This course introduces students to environmental ethics, the branch of philosophy concerned with how our moral values and decisions impact the natural world. Through a series of talks and discussions, this course grapples with the difficult environmental moral dilemmas we face as humans and encourage students to reflect and consider how we face these challenges.

This course aims to introduce students to the central topics of the problem of knowledge in philosophy. To achieve this, the course will examine the subject from both historical and contemporary perspectives. A historical perspective will enable the student to understand the development of the debate on the possibility, origin, and essence of knowledge within modern philosophy, focusing on the main proponents of rationalism, empiricism, and critical philosophy. The contemporary discussion will consider the question of justification within the framework of analytic philosophy.

On a global scale, wealth, health, and life opportunities are unfairly distributed. Several philosophers have emphasized that this unfairness gives the affluent a moral duty to help the worst-off, others have tried to formulate basic principles for a fair society. Whereas political philosophers of the past mainly focused on these issues through the lens of the nation state, contemporary thinkers argue that globalization processes force us to approach themes like sustainability, justice and equality on an international level, for example by constructing international institutions or by rethinking ideas about national sovereignty. This course discusses a wide range of analyses of these issues by visiting core political theories of past and present and coupling these with debates on specific (applied) questions. The focus is on values as diverse as liberty, equality, (international) justice, sovereignty, sustainability and more, and critically discuss issues arising from phenomena like migration, climate change and poverty.

This course focuses on the philosophical and ethical arguments underlying a range of controversial real-world debates. Each week students focus on a specific debate and assess some of the strongest arguments put forward on either side. The course provides in-depth knowledge of some of the main theoretical and ethical arguments behind a range of deeply contested issues in contemporary politics, develops an ability to assess real-world problems from a philosophical and normative perspective, and develop a critical and reflective approach to the study of philosophical texts.

 This course introduces AI ethics, focusing on fundamental philosophical questions about the nature and implications of artificial intelligence. It is structured around twelve topics, such as: What is the nature of artificial intelligence? Can AI systems be moral agents? Can AI systems have minds, consciousness, or knowledge? How can we collaborate with AI systems while maintaining trust and avoiding discrimination? Can AI systems speak meaningfully and refer to the world? Do AI systems pose an existential threat to humanity? The course discusses some of the most pressing concerns in contemporary AI ethics, including trustworthiness, explainability, discrimination, alignment with human values, and the potential risks posed by advanced AI systems. At the end of this course, students should: understand central issues in the ethics of AI, understand relevant relations between these issues, clearly and concisely expound these issues in their own words, critically discuss questions and assess arguments, offer well-founded views on these issues.

This course examines major figures of liberal political philosophy (Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill), and their defense of capitalism as a route to a more just and efficient society. It will look at whether it’s fair for the Australian government to force people to take jobs they don’t want while others inherit larger fortunes tax-free, whether employers have power over workers akin to authoritarian dictators, whether it should be illegal to sell human organs to save lives, and what role the assessment of capitalism should have in coming to terms with the history of colonialism in Australia and elsewhere. It'll also examine the role of markets in generating and distributing the coronavirus vaccine we desperately need, and what ought to be done to address the economic consequences of the pandemic.

This course offers a range of analytical tools to address controversies, broadly understood as any instance of disagreement around scientific, technological, medical, or environmental issues. Students are exposed to different methods that enable them to better understand how the actors involved in the controversies and their arguments evolve over time. By introducing historical, sociological, philosophical, and political science perspectives, students seek to overcome simplistic views of controversies as easily solvable debates between truth and falsehood. Students also present controversies as involving actors outside the scientific community and reflect on normative agendas for not only studying but also critically intervening in controversies.