Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
Prerequisites
Nil
Incompatible
UNCC100 Self and Community: Exploring the Anatomy of Modern Society , PHIL102 Theories of Human Nature , PHCC104 Ethics and the Good Life
Teaching organisation
This unit involves 150 hours of focused learning, and will be offered in both semester attendance mode, and intensive mode. Different modes are required in order to provide all students with the opportunity to satisfy their Core Curriculum requirements in the context of a diverse range of course structures across the University. Semester attendance mode allows students to develop their understanding and engagements across an extended period, while intensive mode offers a more concentrated experience with students completing readings and activities in Canvas during and shortly after extended class meetings.
Unit rationale, description and aim
Thinking deeply about what it is to be a human being is itself a distinctively human activity, and is a major focus of the discipline of philosophy. This unit, which is part of ACU’s Core Curriculum, introduces students to a wide range of topics in this field, as they examine key concepts, theories and debates concerning a range of matters. These include issues, such as the nature of mind and its relation to the body; the basis of personal identity and the ’self’; the relationship between rationality and emotion; the meaning and extent of personal freedom; the inter–personal nature of being human; the significance of gender & sexuality; considerations about the meaning of life; and the implications of human finitude and mortality. The unit aims to assist students to develop an understanding of key philosophical concepts and theories that allow them to reflect on their beliefs and assumptions, and to engage with the views of others. It also looks to enhance students’ skills in critical reflection on experience, the analysis of arguments, and the formulation and communication of coherent positions of their own.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description | Relevant Graduate Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| LO1 | Describe some central philosophical problems concerning being human | GC1, GC3, GC4, GC7, GC8, GC11 |
| LO2 | Analyse key debates in philosophical anthropology, noting the ways in which the complexity, dignity and diversity of the human condition has been understood, and develop reasoned responses and a coherent position in relation to them | GC2, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC11, GC12 |
| LO3 | Demonstrate beginning skills in philosophical research, including the use of library resources for philosophy | GC1, GC9, GC10, GC11 |
| LO4 | Communicate ideas and arguments effectively through the use of coherent and structured English expression, in formal oral and/or written contexts | GC3, GC7, GC11, GC12 |
Content
Topics will include:
- Theories of mind, body and soul;
- Understandings of personal identity and the ‘self’;
- The social nature of being human, and the common good;
- The meaning and extent of personal freedom;
- The relationship between reason, emotion and knowledge;
- The meaning of gender and sexuality
- The human quest for meaning, value, and fulfilment;
- The implications of human finitude & mortality.
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit involves 150 hours of focused learning, and will be offered in a range of delivery modes.
The unit employs a project-based learning approach, combined with some direct instruction to ensure that unfamiliar concepts and theories are understood. The direct instruction, combined with class discussion, are important to ensure that the central philosophical problems explored in the unit are clearly identified for and with students, without which the concepts, theories, and debates will make little sense (LO1). The project-based aspect relates to the first two structured written tasks, culminating in the final research essay. The first two structured written tasks pave the way for students to develop the requisite analytical skills for addressing a philosophical topic in some depth (LO1 and LO2). The research project enables students to further develop their own reasoned response or position on these matters (LO2). The research project also facilitates the development of students' nascent skills in philosophical research, including the location and use of library resources (LO3) and the strengthening of their skills in producing coherent, well-structured and purposeful written and oral English expression (LO4).
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment strategy for this introductory unit in philosophy is designed to facilitate broad engagement with what for many students will be a new field of study, while also making possible deeper engagement with one of the unit topics.
The first structured written task serves to examine and consolidate understanding of the selected major philosophical problems under investigation (LO1), and to build skills needed for effective communication in a philosophical context (LO4). Accordingly, students are required to describe the problem/s as such, making appropriate use of the key relevant terminology.
Including but extending beyond understanding of the philosophical problem itself (LO1), the second structured written task is designed to allow students to demonstrate achievements in the analysis of issues arising from the problem under consideration, and key debates about how best to respond to these issues. This task also examines the development of a reasoned response and coherent position on the students' part (LO2). Further, they examine and facilitate nascent skills in accessing suitable philosophical resources (LO3) and the presentation of arguments in dialogue with others (LO4).
The research essay task provides students with the opportunity to undertake further, more focused philosophical reading and research, culminating in an extended piece of writing that develops a coherent central argument. This task not only requires students to work from a sound understanding of the philosophical problem being discussed (LO1), but also to demonstrate beginning skills in philosophical analysis and the development of a coherent position of the issue under investigation (LO2). Research library skills (LO3) and communication skills (LO4) are also examined (and further developed) by this task.
Overview of assessments
Semester attendance mode
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Structured written task (Requires students to demonstrate an understanding of key aspects of the problem being considered and major relevant associated terms) | 20% | LO1, LO4 |
Collaborative oral presentation with written component (Requires students to demonstrate understanding of the main lines of a philosophical debate, in dialogue with others) | 30% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
Research Essay (Requires students to analyse an important philosophical issue, and argue for a coherent position) | 50% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
Intensive mode
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Structured written task (Requires students to demonstrate an understanding of key aspects of the problem being considered and major relevant associated terms) | 20% | LO1, LO4 |
Structured written task two (Requires students to develop an argumentative position on a topic discussed in class) | 30% | LO1, LO2, LO4 |
Research Essay (Requires students to analyse an important philosophical issue, and argue for a coherent position) | 50% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
Representative texts and references
Aristotle (1986). On the Soul. Hugh Lawson-Tancred (transl). London: Penguin.
Cowburn, J. (2008). Free Will, Predestination, and Determinism. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press.
Gallagher, S (ed). (2011) The Oxford Handbook of the Self. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kupperman, J. J. (2010). Theories of Human Nature. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing.
Mandik, P. (2014). This is Philosophy of Mind: An Introduction. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Nicholson, S.E and Fisher, V.D., (2014). Integral Voices on Sex, Gender, and Sexuality: Critical Inquiries. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Pojman, L.P. (2006). Who Are We?: Theories of Human Nature. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Macquarrie, John. (1982) In Search of Humanity. London: SCM Press.
Seachris, J, et al (eds). (2012). Exploring the Meaning of Life: An Anthology and Guide. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Solomon, R. (1993). The Passions: Emotions and the Meaning of Life. Indianapolis: Hackett.