Philosophy (Conversion) MSc
Contemporary Ethics PHIL5065
- Academic Session: 2026-27
- School: School of Humanities
- Credits: 20
- Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
- Typically Offered: Semester 2
- Available to Visiting Students: Yes
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
- Curriculum For Life: No
Short Description
This course is concerned with some leading contemporary theories in normative ethics.
Timetable
2 lectures per week for 9 weeks, plus 4 seminars. The course may not run every year. Options running this year are available on MyCampus.
Excluded Courses
None
Co-requisites
None
Assessment
The standard assessments for this course are:
■ 2 x Essay (2500 words) - 100%
If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:
■ There is no alternative to the essays, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustments (students should follow the usual process for extensions)
Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.
Course Aims
This course aims to:
■ introduce students to issues in contemporary normative theory
■ foster an appreciation of the relation between an inquiry into practical moral wisdom and philosophical normative theory.
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
■ Analyse and critically evaluate recent versions of consequentialism, virtue ethics, and their competitors and variants;
■ Explain and evaluate the bearing of epistemological issues on ethics;
■ Engage critically with recent writers on these issues.
Assessment for this course is at Masters Level