| Unit name | Death, dying and disease |
|---|---|
| Unit code | PHIL20049 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Carel |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
none |
| School/department | Department of Philosophy |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit will provide a systematic study of key philosophical themes relating to death, dying, and disease. This is an intermediate-level unit, and will give students a strong foundation in key themes and texts. Core philosophical questions to be studied are: (1) is death a harm, and if so, what kind of harm is it? (2) should mortality (and our awareness of it) change how we live? (3) would immortality be a good thing? (4) how does bodily vulnerability shape us? These themes will be studied drawing on a range of philosophical resources, including Epicurus, Thomas Nagel, Bernard Williams, JM Fischer and Martin Heidegger.
On successful completion of this unit students will have (1) developed a strong intermediate-level knowledge of the main philosophical literature on death; (2) developed a critical understanding of the central concepts in the death literature, e.g. immortality, posthumous harm, being-towards-death; (3) acquired an understanding of philosophical approaches to death including deprivation theory, Epicureanism, and phenomenology; (4) demonstrated their ability to philosophically analyse the main arguments in the literature; (5) strengthened their skills in philosophical writing and argumentation, and (6) strengthened their skills in oral presentation of philosophical argument.
10 x 1-hour lectures + 10 x 1-hour seminars.
Summative assessment in three forms:
No formative essays – instead, the instructor will use the presentation (which contributes moderately to the final mark) as a chance to give feedback on progress.
The essay and exam will assess ILOs 1-5: (1) knowledge of the main philosophical literature on death; (2) critical understanding of the central concepts in the death literature, e.g. immortality, posthumous harm, being-towards-death; (3) understanding of philosophical approaches to death including deprivation theory, Epicureanism, and phenomenology; (4) ability to philosophically analyse the main arguments in the literature; (5) skills in philosophical writing and argumentation.
The class presentation will assess learning outcomes (1), (3), and (4), as well as (6) skills in oral presentation of philosophical argument.
Fischer JM (1993). The Metaphysics of Death. Stanford CA: Stanford UP. Warren J. (2004). Facing Death: Epicurus and His Critics. Oxford: Oxford UP. Heidegger M. (1962 [1927]). Being and time. London: Blackwell.
