Philosophy

The course introduces a range of topics in philosophy of science and show their relevance to debates on science-policy. For example, how are scientific models used to make projections? Which policy decisions do they license? What is the inter-relation between scientific evidence, causation and decision-making? In the weekly "Science Policy Lab" tutorials and associated seminar and lecture, topics covered include: the role of science advisors, science and values, climate science, epidemiological modelling and predictions, ethnobotany, traditional knowledge, cultural rights, among others. Students read landmark science policy reports from agencies such as the United Nations, UNESCO, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), among many others. They also practice science policy writing and discuss underlying philosophical themes.

This course discusses a classical issue for international relations and political theory: the ethics of war. It exemplifies the role of norms in warfare and discusses the major dilemmas that face armies, politicians, and civilians throughout history, with a specific focus on contemporary challenges. Its focus is mainly interdisciplinary as it brings together moral and political philosophy, international law, and international relations. By analyzing case studies, it addresses the legitimacy of resorting to war, discusses the coherence of certain rationales and principles justifying the use of force both legally and morally, and explores future challenges of the field (cyberwar, artificial intelligence). Ultimately, the course provides the concepts and references students can deploy to build their own argument on justice and war.

The course offers an introduction to contemporary philosophy and language and focuses on the nature of truth through an analysis of the main philosophical theories regarding truth as well as issues related to the value of truth, relativism, and the debate on post-truth. The course includes traditional lectures, slides, quizzes on the e-learning system, and experiments with peer instruction methods (Kahoot software). Assessment is based on a research paper and a final oral exam on lecture notes, the required readings, and the research paper.

This course examines the question of ethics, particularly integrity, in the exercise of power by elected officials. It raises the central question of whether it is ever right to do wrong in politics; and if so, to what end. The course is divided into three parts. Drawing on selected texts of political philosophy and political science, it first explores the broad confines of morality, ethics, and integrity in politics; and subsequently focuses on the question of lying. The final part of the course examines integrity through empirical cases in contemporary politics. Overall, the course reflects on what conduct is realistically expected from those in government, and on the seemingly inevitable tension and thin line between using power to serve oneself and using power to serve the common good.

This course provides students with an introduction to some of the central debates and issues in practical philosophy, in particular in moral philosophy and political philosophy. It gives students a basic understanding of the issues in question, as well as to help them acquire and sharpen the necessary critical skills in reading, writing, and argument to engage with the debates, and develop their own views in dialogue with them. The course takes the form of an introduction to the three main divisions in moral philosophy – metaethics, moral theory, and applied ethics – as well as some of the central concepts of political philosophy. These are approached through the reading of a number of important articles and extracts, including extracts from some of the central texts in the history of moral and political philosophy. 

The course is an introduction to social theories in Artificial Intelligence (AI). The course draws reflections and theoretical comparisons between how humans engage in meaningful interactions with other humans and with social robots. The course begins with an overview of the standard and contrasting accounts of social cognition and its development, spanning from the Theory of Mind, embodied and situated approaches, and neural mirroring theories. Mainstream research paradigms to investigate human-robot interactions will be also presented. Finally, the course advances some current psychological and philosophical critical issues related to ethical, relational, and functional issues of using social robots as partners in human daily interactions.

Problems in philosophical aesthetics, both historical and contemporary, are treated in this course. They may be approached as purely philosophical questions or as questions that arise in the meeting of philosophy with the arts. For example: What is beauty and what is its place among other things in the world? What is art and what is its place among other things and other activities? How is aesthetic quality judged? Texts and focus in the course vary.

This course provides a systematic overview of the key topics of environmental ethics. It focuses on three protracted and heated debates at the interface of environmental ethics and ecological restoration. The first debate is about the value of ecological restoration (including ‘nature development’). The second debate is about the moral status of animals within ecological restoration projects. Here the course distinguishes between (complementary) two cases: the first one is about the (re)introduction of indigenous species that were once pushed out of their native environment; the other one is about the elimination or eradication of exotic and alien species that have invaded and degraded ecosystems. Both cases show that there is considerable tension between environmental ethics and animal welfare ethics. The third debate is about the role of human intervention in the Anthropocene. Old-school conservationists want to restore and protect pristine nature and call for an attitude of humility. Ecomodernists, on the other hand, see the Anthropocene not as an ecological disaster, but as an opportunity to increase human welfare and protect nature with the use of technology.