| Unit name | Virtue and Well-Being |
|---|---|
| Unit code | PHIL30126 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Alan Wilson |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
N/A |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
N/A |
| Units you may not take alongside this one | |
| School/department | Department of Philosophy |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
What does it mean to be a good (or virtuous) person? Should we expect being a good person to make our lives go better? This unit focuses on these important ethical questions, seeking to address them by engaging with contemporary debates in virtue theory and the philosophy of well-being.
The unit has three sections. The first section aims to present and evaluate competing accounts of the nature of moral virtue. Specific questions include: Which features of agents are morally virtuous? Does being good require generating positive outcomes, or are good intentions enough? And what is the relationship (if any) between moral virtue and intellectual virtue?
The second section focuses on the extent to which people are (or can be) morally virtuous. Specific questions include: Do results from social psychology show that no-one is truly honest, compassionate, or just? And what can work at the intersection of philosophy and psychology tell us about how to develop virtuous traits?
The third section addresses the issue of whether being virtuous makes our lives go better. Competing theories of well-being will be considered, and we will ask whether, according to those theories, we should expect any connection between living virtuously and living well.
On successful completion of the unit students will be able to:
Lectures and seminars.
Open book take home exam (100%): Designed to test ILOs 1-6. There is no formative assessment for this unit
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. PHIL30126).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an
assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
