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Unit outline_

PHIL1011: Reality, Ethics and Beauty

Semester 1, 2023 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

This unit is an introduction to central issues in metaphysics, ethics and aesthetics. It opens with general questions about reality, God, personal identity and free will. The middle section of the unit will consider questions about values, goodness and responsibility. The final part is concerned with the question "what is art", the nature of aesthetic judgment and the role of art in our lives.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit Philosophy
Credit points 6
Prerequisites
? 
None
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
PHIL1003 or PHIL1004 or PHIL1006 or PHIL1008
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Samuel Shpall, sam.shpall@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s) David Braddon-Mitchell, david.braddon-mitchell@sydney.edu.au
Samuel Shpall, sam.shpall@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s) Teck Yong, teck.yong@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Small test Quizzes
n/a
10% - 250 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO7 LO6 LO4
Supervised exam
? 
Exam
In person, hand written exam, prompts distributed ahead of time
50% Formal exam period 2 hours
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7
Assignment Essay outline
n/a
10% Week 05
Due date: 23 Mar 2023 at 23:59
500 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7
Assignment Essay
n/a
30% Week 08
Due date: 20 Apr 2023 at 23:59
1750 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7

Assessment summary

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

 

Distinction

75 - 84

 

Credit

65 - 74

 

Pass

50 - 64

 

Fail

0 - 49

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

 

.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 1. Introduction; 2. Reality: arguing about God Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2
Week 02 1. Reality: God and reality; 2. Reality: free will and the human machine Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 03 1. Reality: the will and the true self; 2. Reality: who am I? Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO3 LO4 LO5
Week 04 1. Reality: am I who I want to be?; 2. Reality: mind and consciousness Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7
Week 05 1. Ethics: what is ethics and why should I care; 2. Ethics: ethics and God Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2
Week 06 1. Ethics: metaethics and cultural relativism; 2. Ethics: Hume on reason and passion Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 07 1. Ethics: goodness and human nature; 2. Ethics: Kant and moral realism Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7
Week 08 1. Ethics: Kantian ethics; 2. Ethics: consequentialism Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6 LO7
Week 09 1. Ethics and metaphysics; 2. Art and Philosophy Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO6
Week 10 1. Art and Theory; 2. Art and Emotion Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO7
Week 11 1. Hume on the standard of taste; 2. Kant on Aesthetic judgement Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO2 LO3 LO4 LO6 LO7
Week 12 1. Intention and Interpretation; 2. Art, knowledge, criticism Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO2 LO3 LO4 LO6 LO7
Week 13 1. The Question of Immoral Art; 2. What is philosophy? Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO2 LO3 LO4 LO6 LO7

Attendance and class requirements

  • Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold.

  • Lecture recording: Most lectures (in recording-equipped venues) will be recorded and may be made available to students on the LMS. However, you should not rely on lecture recording to substitute your classroom learning experience.

  • Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours’ preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Readings will be avilable on the Readings tab in Canvas. 

 

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. understand of various terms that are general to Anglo-American philosophy and further: exam- ples include analytic, a priori, a posteriori, necessity, possibility, qualia, valid, invalid and so on. Throughout the course I’ll be highlighting these terms in lectures and introducing short quizzes and polls to help the mastery of these
  • LO2. Capacity to form arguments: what I want from you is to be able to demonstrate that you can do philosophy. This means not just reporting what famous philosophers have thought, but having a con- sidered opinion of your own as to whether they are right. But a considered opinion is not jus the opinion you get when you consider a lot! It is an opinion backed up by arguments that follow valid patterns of reasoning from particular premises. Often we will hope that when your opinion differs from another philosopher it will be either because you can locate a premise in their reasoning which is different form yours, or else you can say where there has been a mistake in their reasoning.
  • LO3. Developing a critical and enquiring attitude to questions. There is disagreement. Why? Is that the disagreement is merely apparent because terms are being used differently? (Often the case sadly) Is there a difference in premises or assumptions? Is there a difference in what is regarded as a good rule of inference? Learn to be surprised by differences of opinion, and to seek out the differ- ences that explain them.
  • LO4. Learn to read philosophy: reading philosophy is unlike most other reading that you have to do in the humanities. You must read very slowly, and you must read again and again. Often with a diffi- cult article you will be none the wiser after the first read. Sort out what the conclusion is, where it fits in the debate you are dealing with, how the author’s assumptions help. Read it again. Take some notes. Discuss it with some other students.
  • LO5. Learning to research in philosophy, in particular how to use original article database systems via the University Library
  • LO6. Understand the specie questions in metaphysics, ethics and aesthetics, and have an informed opinion on these debates (even if that opinion is we can't tell who is right).
  • LO7. See that there is a real problem in both forming the questions, and justifying the answers to them

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Various suggestions about online teaching, and the preference for more synchronous material, have been implemented

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.