Module:  PET6104-20 Life and Meaning

Credit Value: 20

Module Tutor: Dr Paul Reid-Bowen

Module Tutor Contact Details: p.reid-bowen@bathspa.ac.uk

1. Brief description and aims of module:

This module promotes the analysis of philosophical arguments, concepts and debates pertaining to the nature and meaning of the human condition. Socrates famously claimed that the ‘unexamined life is not worth living’, this module proceeds by philosophically questioning what it means to be human. Representative topics to be covered include: the meaning of life as a philosophical question, absurdity and nihilism, existential moods such as anguish, angst and nausea, and the nature and meaning of freedom, mortality, immortality and personal identity.   Both Western and Eastern, pre-modern and modern philosophical perspectives are considered, although emphasis is directed towards modern existential and phenomenological analysis and arguments. 

This module aims to:

• Promote systematic existential analysis and argumentation;

• Encourage you to critically examine your own pre-suppositions and explore unfamiliar methods of thinking about the human condition;

• Develop an understanding of the complexity and diversity of philosophical arguments and concepts pertaining to the human condition;

• Demonstrate how existential analysis and enquiry can be applied to a range of contemporary debates, issues and problems.

 2.Outline syllabus

This module will include a selection of topics drawn from the following:

• An introduction to the philosophical notion of the ‘examined life’ and the meaning of life as a philosophical question;

• An analysis and evaluation of attempts to anchor meaning in purpose and teleology;

• An analysis of philosophical senses in which life may be argued to be meaningless or absurd;

• A critical exploration of some concepts of human perfectibility and self-fulfilment;

• An analysis and assessment of attitudes towards death, immortality and personal identity;

• An engagement with some examples of existential analysis and phenomenological ontology, notably as applied to existential moods such as anguish, boredom, dread and nausea;

• Some specific examples of philosophical writings on life and meaning (e.g. Ahmed, Camus, de Beauvoir, Feinberg, Heidegger, Nagel, Nussbaum, Sartre and Schopenhauer).

 3.Teaching and learning activities

Teaching and Learning is centred on workshops in which you engage in critical discussion of selected journal articles, book chapters and philosophical extracts. These materials will be read prior to the workshops and will be the subject of analysis, argument and clarification during the contact time afforded by the workshops. Questions and debates introduced through the readings will subsequently be developed and explored further through online discussion fora.

Assessment Item 1:

• Assessment Type: CW

• Description: Online Discussion Fora (equiv. 2500 words)

• % Weighting: 50

Assessment Item 2:

• Assessment Type: CW

• Description: Essay (2500 words)

• % Weighting: 50