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Course Structure

Level 1

In your first year at Dundee, you will take Philosophy along with two other subjects from the School of Humanities.

Plato and the Good Life, in the first semester, has two units. One unit introduces you to the philosophy of Plato, and topics such as the immortality of the soul, the question of virtue, and where knowledge comes from. In the second unit we address one of the most enduring questions in philosophy: what is the good life, and how can we live it? We read and discuss a range of philosophers to address this question, considering problems and positions in ethics along the way.
Descartes, Thought, and Reality, in the second semester, is similarly organized into two units. One focuses on the philosophy of Descartes and his famous theories of "I think therefore I am" and the relation of mind and body. The second unit looks at what some later philosophers have thought about the human mind and body, and how we perceive the world around us.

You will attend two Philosophy lectures per week, in which teaching staff will introduce you to the major themes and topics of a philosopher or philosophical problem. You will also attend a Philosophy tutorial every week, where you will discuss philosophical texts and problems in-depth with a small group of students. You will also engage in independent reading and research, with specially designed worksheets and assignments to help you to do this most effectively. All first- and second-year students have a tutor who leads the weekly tutorial discussion and who is there to help you if you run into difficulty.

Level 2

Second year Philosophy follows a similar structure to the first year module, although different topics are covered. In the second year you will look at ethical problems and theories through reading the work of Kant, and you will discover how philosophy can be relevant to art, literature, and film through the unit on Aesthetics. You will also read and discuss the work of the great Scottish empiricist David Hume, and you will be introduced to philosophy of the twentieth-century through questions of selfhood, identity, and otherness.

Levels 3 & 4

In the third and fourth years of your Philosophy degree, you take different module options in areas that are most interesting to you. If you take a joint honours degree course, then half of your modules are in Philosophy, and half are in your other subject. For example, you can take Philosophy modules on specific philosophers, such as Kant, Foucault, or Wittgenstein; and modules that focus on a broader topic such as Philosophy and Literature, Philosophies of Peace and War, or Philosophy and Film. The fourth year dissertation is the high-point of your studies, where you will put forward and defend a thesis in an area of philosophy of your choice.

As part of your studies at Dundee you have the opportunity to spend up to a year abroad as part of the Erasmus student exchange programme. Philosophy currently has exchanges with universities in France and Turkey.

Further Information

If you have any questions that aren't answered on our website, please contact the Philosophy Recruitment Officer, Beth Lord.

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