Information on Philosophy Course Units
W7106 Ancient and Early Medieval Philosophy (in 2022 replaced by W1010)
Level 5, 15 Credits (use in BTh or Grad Dip Th)
The Ancient and Early Medieval Philosophy course unit provides an introduction to philosophy by considering its origins in Greek philosophy and its encounter with Christian thought during the early Middle Ages. Students will also be introduced to the nature of philosophical inquiry and will examine several philosophical texts, thereby gaining a sense of the history of ideas.
W1010 Ancient and Early Medieval Philosophy
Stage 1 of a level 7 award (BDiv or Grad Dip Th) 15 Credits
This course examines the origins of philosophy in ancient Greece, its development during the Hellenistic and Roman periods, and its encounter with Christian thought during the early Middle Ages. The course covers major thinkers from the Pre-Socratics, Plato and Aristotle through to figures such as Augustine, Boethius and Anselm of Canterbury, especially in terms of their impact on the formation of Western thought and society. Key areas of philosophy explored include epistemology, logic, metaphysics, ethics, and social and political philosophy.
W7109 Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy
Level 5, 15 Credits (use in BTh or Grad Dip Th)
The Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy course unit covers the history of thought in the West during the Middle Ages and up to Locke. Students are introduced to several key texts and will learn how and why philosophical enquiry changes during the period.
W7207 Logic and Critical Thinking
Level 6, 15 Credits (use in BTh or Grad Dip Th)
The Logic and Critical Thinking course unit provides structured, practical instruction in the nature of and skills of critical thinking.
W7222 Moral Philosophy (in 2022 replaced by W2020)
Level 6, 15 Credits (use in BTh or Grad Dip Th)
Moral philosophy or ethics is one of the major branches of philosophy and part of the foundational submajor in philosophy in the SCD. This unit will introduce students to the basic questions of, and most common approaches to, moral philosophy, with special reference to those ethical issues and approaches that are relevant to Christian Ethics or Moral Theology.
Stage 2 of a level 7 award (BDiv or Grad Dip Th)
Moral Philosophy is the study of how humans approach, understand, justify, and engage moral principles and theories. The course firstly explores metaethical issues of subjectivism, relativism, and divine command. Secondly, it explores normative theories of utilitarianism, deontology, natural law, and virtue ethics.
Level 7, 15 Credits (use in BTh or Grad Dip Th)
The Descartes to Kant course unit covers the history of thought in the West from the time of Descartes (early 17th century) to the time of Kant (end of the 18th century). We study “modernity”, the philosophical approach which led to the Western Enlightenment, and eventually to the rise of Western secular society.
W7310 From Kant to Postmodernism (in 2022 replaced by W2000)
Level 7, 15 Credits (use in BTh or Grad Dip Th)
The Kant to Postmodernism unit examines the critical tradition of philosophy in the modern period that has largely defined itself over and against religion and authority. This unit provides an important background for the study of modern theology.
W2000 Late Modern and Contemporary Philosophy
Stage 2 of a level 7 award (BDiv or Grad Dip Th)
This course examines, in the wake of the revolution initiated in philosophy by Immanuel Kant during the late eighteenth century, various strands of philosophical thought in Late Modern and Contemporary Philosophy. These strands include German Idealism, Romanticism, Phenomenology, Existentialism, Hermeneutics, Pragmatism, Analytic Philosophy, Poststructuralism and Postmodernism. Attention will be given to how the development of philosophy throughout modernity has influenced the way philosophical and other questions are posed, articulated and addressed
Level 7, 15 Credits (use in BTh or Grad Dip Th)
The Metaphysics course unit address the most fundamental questions at stake in our understanding of reality in all its forms, by considering the perennial questions of being and existence, God and the human soul. This unit complements those approaches to theology which are shaped by philosophical concepts and modes of reasoning.
Level 7, 15 Credit (use in BTh or Grad Dip Th)
The Human Person course unit examines the philosophical anthropology of major texts and thinkers from the history of philosophy. It takes in classical traditional accounts from a Christian perspective and critical accounts from psychological and other perspectives.
