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Philosophy Handbook Interactive 2012 13
Philosophy Handbook Interactive 2012 13
Philosophy
20122013
Contents
PROGRAMME SECTION Welcome to your 20122013 study year as an International Programmes student .............................. 1 Message from the Programme Director 2 The University, the International Programmes and Birkbeck College ....... 4 Notes on our revised programmes for 20122013 .......................................... 6 Dates to note ........................................... 9 Studying philosophy as an International Programmes student ..... 10 The Online Library ................................ 15 Structures of the programmes (New Regulations) ................................ 17 Structures of the programmes (Old Regulations) .................................. 21 Philosophy courses .............................. 25 Online tuition support for International Programmes Philosophy students ...... 48
GENERAL SECTION Introduction ......................................... G.1 New developments in 2012................ G.2 Contacting the University .................. G.3 Your Programme Specification and
Regulations ............................................G.5
Qualifications Framework .................. G.6 Fees, refunds and financial assistance ............................................ G.7 Studying at an institution................... G.9 Online resources ............................... G.13 Libraries ............................................. G.15 Bookshops ......................................... G.15 Confirmation of registration ............ G.16 Change of details .............................. G.16 Requesting your study materials and maintaining your registration .. G.17 Entering for examinations ................G.19 Accreditation of prior learning ........ G.24 Transfers ............................................ G.25 Certificates, transcripts and Diploma supplements ...................... G.27 The graduation ceremony................ G.28 The Careers Group, University of London............................................... G.29 C2, a service from the Careers Group ................................................. G.29 University of London International Programmes Alumni Association .....G.30 University of London Union ............ G.31 Information for students with specific access requirements ........... G.32 Complaints procedure ...................... G.33 Student Charter ................................. G.34
Welcome to your 20122013 study year as an International Programmes student .............................. 1 Message from the Programme Director 2 The University, the International Programmes and Birkbeck College ....... 4 The University of London: a centre of excellence ........................... 4 The University of London International Programmes ......................................... 4 A new name .......................................... 4 Lead College Birkbeck ........................ 5 Notes on our revised programmes for 20122013 .......................................... 6 The BA .................................................. 6 Subject guides ...................................... 7 The Certificate of Higher Education and new Diploma in Higher Education . 7 Transfer from Old Regulations to New Regulations ........................................... 8 Dates to note ........................................... 9 Studying philosophy as an International Programmes student ..... 10 The VLE (virtual learning environment) in Philosophy ........................................10 Introductory and general reading in Philosophy ............................................11 Reading ...............................................11 Reading and writing ............................ 12 Writing................................................. 13 Discussion........................................... 13 Progress .............................................. 13 Preparing for examinations ................. 14 Some practical advice about reading materials ............................................. 14 The Online Library ................................ 15 Structures of the programmes (New Regulations) ................................ 17 For students registering from 20122013 (New Regulations) ............................... 17 BA in Philosophy ................................. 17
A pathway through the BA in Philosophy .......................................... 18 Diploma of Higher Education in Philosophy ........................................... 19 Certificate of Higher Education in Philosophy ........................................... 20 Structures of the programmes (Old Regulations) .................................. 21 For students who registered before 20122013 (Old Regulations) ................................. 21 BA in Philosophy ................................. 21 A recommended way through the BA degree ................................................. 22 Diploma in Philosophy ........................ 23 Introduction to philosophy [PY1020] ... 25 Philosophy courses .............................. 25 Logic [PY1070] .................................... 27 Epistemology [PY1025] ....................... 28 Ethics: historical perspectives [PY1095] ............................................. 29 Greek philosophy: Plato and the Pre-Socratics [PY1085] ........................ 30 Modern philosophy: Descartes, Locke, Berkeley and Hume [PY1065] ............. 31 Metaphysics [PY3075] ........................ 33 Methodology: induction, reason and science [PY3035] ................................ 34 Ethics: contemporary perspectives [PY3115] ............................................. 35 Greek philosophy: Aristotle [PY3120] .. 36 Modern philosophy: Spinoza, Leibniz and Kant [PY3125]................... 37 Political philosophy [PY3090] .............. 38 Philosophy of mind [PY3100] .............. 41 Philosophy of religion [PY3110] ........... 42 Philosophy of language [PY3210] ........ 43 Aesthetics [PY3130] ............................ 45 Continental philosophy: Hegel, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche [PY3190] .............................................. 46 Online tuition support for International Programmes Philosophy students ...... 48
This Programme section provides academic guidance along with practical information and advice that is specific to your studies as a philosophy student. We hope that we have covered everything that you need to know during your studies but if you require any additional information or support please contact us (see page G.3 of the General section). For practical information that applies to all of the programmes offered through the International Programmes, such as how to pay your fees, please refer to Part II of this
reports. These are available online to registered students. Each of them contains the previous years examination paper for a given course, as well as reports from Examiners on how best to approach each question on the examination paper. I strongly recommend that you read these reports carefully as part of your preparation for any examination.
Note that for the Introduction to Philosophy course, there is a printed text entitled Reading Philosophy, which will be posted to you when you register for any programme of which this course is a part. Finally, to get some idea of the nature of philosophy, even before you begin to follow particular courses of study, you would do well to look at one or other of the items mentioned under the heading Introductory and general reading in Philosophy on page 11. If you have any questions concerning examinations or registration, please contact the relevant departments of the International Programmes (see page G.3 in the General section). However, if you still have queries of an academic nature after you have read this handbook, you can write to me at Birkbeck College (see below for details). For obvious reasons, I cannot answer detailed queries about study in a specific course, but I am happy to provide any general academic advice you might need. With best wishes, Professor Samuel Guttenplan Email: s.guttenplan@bbk.ac.uk Programme Director for Philosophy International Programmes students Department of Philosophy Birkbeck College, Malet Street London WC1E 7HX
A new name
In August 2010, we changed our name from the External System to the University of London International Programmes to better describe ourselves in the twentyfirst century. This change allowed greater clarity and inclusiveness and we believe it has helped us to connect to more students. One critical thing that did not change, however, was our commitment to offer worldwide access to a university education of a consistently high standard. We are very proud of our (and your) reputation and will continue to build on everything that the External System stood for and achieved. Although our name has changed, our people, values, reputation and history remain exactly the same.
Subject guides
The courses which figure in the new BA have essentially the same syllabuses as those on the old BA degree. Hence students beginning their studies in 20122013 and those who were registered before that date share the same pool of courses. However, we have commissioned a completely new set of subject guides for all courses. These guides will be made available on the VLE in the course of the 20122013 academic year, and they offer the following significant benefits to all students: They take into account the more recent literature relevant to the topics in each syllabus. In every case they cleave closely to the syllabus for each course, something that wasnt always true, given that the original guides were written some time ago. Most importantly, the recommended reading in each guide has been chosen with a view to making access easier. Typically, these readings will be available on the web or in our Online Library or will be easily purchasable from online booksellers. This should make it easier for students who do not have access to a university library.
than the old one. To put it most simply: the Certificate in Higher Education is a four course qualification which has exactly the same requirements as the previous Diploma. The new Diploma in Higher Education in Philosophy is an eight course qualification. Together these qualifications are stepping stones to the 12 course BA, and all courses passed in each of them can be carried forward for the BA. In renaming the old Diploma and introducing the new one, we were able to bring the Philosophy programme in line with widely understood conventions for these sub-degree qualifications. I will say more about the specific requirements of these two new qualifications, but if you are joining our programme in 20122013, I urge you to consult the New Regulations for more information. Those students registered for the BA or Diploma before 20122013 should consult the Old Regulations, and continue their studies as before. This
handbook includes separate sections on the New as well as the Old Regulations. The thing to keep in mind is that the Regulations in force when you registered on this programme are the ones that apply to you.
Dates to note
Dates to note At the time of initial or continuing registration Examination Centre closing date 1 February
Things to do in the year ahead Start planning which examinations you intend to enter for. You will be able to download a personalised examination entry form from the Student Portal from mid-December. Make sure that you complete and return both copies of the form with the fee to the Examination Centre before the closing date. Do not send your forms direct to us. All entry forms from Examination Centres must be received by us no later than this date. Entries received after 1 February will only be accepted, in exceptional circumstances, at the discretion of the University. You will receive your Admission Notice, which confirms the dates and times of your examinations and your candidate number. If you have not received an Admission Notice by this time, please use the online enquiry system (see page G.3 of the General section) to contact the Student Assessment Office. The first examinations normally start. Note that the University is unable to take religious and/or public holidays into account when setting the examination dates. Last date by which we will accept information about, and corroboration of, any medical condition and/or other mitigating circumstance that may have affected your examination performance. The results of most examinations will be released during this month and will be sent directly to the Examination Centres, which are responsible for forwarding them to candidates. Time to pay continuing registration fees, although you may wish to wait until you have your examination results. The deadline to request an administrative re-check of your examination mark. Please note that this will not be an academic re-mark but purely an administrative re-check.
Three to four weeks before examinations 10 days before the examinations start Early May
August
which has recently been re-edited, is a massive work of 10 volumes (and is available on CD-ROM). If a library near you has it, it can be of help with specific questions that arise in the course of your study. You can also find very useful material both introductory and advanced in the online Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
Reading
A central part of your work will consist of reading philosophical texts. This is the case for anyone studying the subject, but is especially true for International Programmes students working on their own and without the benefit of lectures. Of course, reading is no less a major activity in any academic study, but there are certain special problems where philosophical reading is concerned, and some hints about it are therefore appropriate. When reading a novel, you begin reading at the beginning, expecting to absorb more and more of the content as the pages mount up. No reading is completely passive you often stop and think over some passage or chapter but in a typical case, we can, as we say, immerse ourselves in a novel, and do not need to re-read passages merely to understand what is happening. Reading in philosophy is not like this, and this can be frustrating for a newcomer to the subject. On the
Dictionaries of philosophy tend to be of limited use because their contents are too brief and sketchy. More useful are the various companions and encyclopedias that have been published in recent years. In particular,
Bunnin, N. and E. Tsui-James The Blackwell
is a good and comprehensive guide and covers most of the topics that figure in the subjects for the BA. (Although the coverage is comprehensive, you should definitely not think of this as a substitute for working through the readings in each course.)
one hand, in order to get anything out of what you read, you have to be prepared to read through certain passages you dont quite understand, and then to go back and re-read them in the light of other things you have read in that text and in others. On the other hand, you should never adopt a passive attitude towards what you read. This does not simply mean that you should think about what you are reading that is true of any reading you do. Rather, you should come to a philosophical text with all sorts of questions of your own, questions which structure your reading and re-reading. Let me be a bit more specific about this. The philosophers you will read aim to answer certain questions and support their answers with arguments. In the best writing, these questions and answers are given a setting that makes them stand out reasonably clearly. But you would scarcely expect philosophers to write in every case for the newcomer to philosophical discussion. So, the terms in which the setting is given, the questions posed and, most commonly, the arguments offered, are bound to seem unfamiliar to you. Therefore, what you have to do as you read is to ask yourself these sorts of questions about the text: What question(s) is (are) guiding the author? What conclusions does the author seek to reach? Is there a single central argument for that conclusion or a number of arguments that are intended to work together? Do you think the premises that figure in the argument are true?
Are there premises assumed but not explicitly stated? Are there important premises that are asserted but not argued for? Aside from the truth of the premises, do you think the reasoning to the conclusion is valid? As I expect you can see, if you read in this active way, with these questions probing what you read, you will have to go back and forth in the text in order to generate a complete picture of what the author is doing. It is this criss-crossing of the text in order to understand it that is characteristic of philosophical reading. By recognising this at the beginning, you will not think yourself deficient because you cannot sit down and read philosophy as you would a novel or magazine you simply should not expect to be able to do that.
Writing
Since the aim of philosophical study is to prepare you to be a participant rather than simply a spectator in philosophical discussion, you should be unsurprised to hear that we recommend that you write essays not merely notes arguing for, or against, various philosophical theses. It cannot be stressed too strongly that what is required is reasoned and plausible argument argument addressed to imagined readers who stand to be convinced by what you write. Unless you can offer good reasons to adopt your views, what you have is not philosophy so much as mere assertion and dogma. Of course, at the beginning of an essay, or as a background to what you write, you are likely to have a view in mind, some position you want to adopt in answering a question. This is not always so sometimes your writing will aim only at the arguments offered by others but when it is, that is fine as a starting point. However, you must go on to back up what you think is true. A good question to ask of anything you write is: would I find this persuasive even if I hadnt myself suggested the view? (You should also ask yourself whether you can imagine someone who doesnt think as you do, understanding what you have written. The clearer your writing is, the more likely it is that you yourself have understood the material and are making a genuine contribution to the discussion.)
discussion plays a more central role than in most other intellectual areas. Having to exposit and defend what you think is, in a way, part of what it is to think philosophically in the first place. Writing can help here, but readers who respond to what you say, and to whom you respond in turn, tend to be more useful. Since you are likely to be working towards this award on your own, the opportunities for discussion are going to be limited. However, whether talking to friends, or within a local study group, do what you can to engage in philosophical discussion. Explaining what you think about some topic to a friend who is not studying philosophy can often be just as beneficial as engaging in a discussion with other students. (In talking to friends, you might experience the kind of impatience with philosophy that Socrates did, but this should not discourage you.)
Progress
Do not expect your progress in philosophy to be rapid, steadily incremental or even obvious. Though varying somewhat, all ways into the subject are, in some sense, at the deep end. The material we recommend for each of the courses includes some items that are more accessible and, hence, a little more elementary. However, it is not always clear in philosophy what is elementary and what is not. In studying you are bound to experience a sense of being lost, or of not having any firm ground under you, and you should not be discouraged by these feelings. They are only to be expected, and are themselves necessary for that most wonderful feeling you get when the mist lifts and you see something clearly.
Programme section 20122013 13
Discussion
There can be little doubt that you learn more, and gain clearer insight, by engaging in discussion. However, in philosophy,
On a more practical level, there is something you can do to guide your studies and assess your progress. First, aside from the writing you do while reading, or in preparing essays, you should from time to time choose an examination question from a past paper and try to answer it under examination conditions. (Typically, give yourself an hour from start to finish and do not allow yourself access to any books or notes.) Second, you should re-read what you have written in conjunction with reading the Examiners notes on the question you answered. (These are in the booklet entitled Examination papers and Examiners reports that was mentioned earlier.) By comparing what you have written with what was required, you can gauge how well you answered the question and also see how to improve on it.
since you cannot be completely sure that there will be suitable questions on each of them. One invaluable resource for making this selection is the Examination papers and Examiners reports booklet that is published each year on the VLE. It includes the examination papers for the previous year and, in many cases, it also includes detailed reports by the Examiners of those papers. (This is usually done on a questionby-question basis.) Important note: As stated in the PSR, the answers you provide in written examinations must be in your own words. This means that you must not try to reproduce work that you might have memorised from books that you have read, or from practice essays that may have been produced in a study group.
The Online Library has been developed for International Programmes students. You can access your programmes individual Online Library homepage at:
Summon search box. You will need to use your Athens password to access the resources that you find through Summon. To find out more, please go to:
To access the Online Library from the Portal, click on the Online Library tab. Online Library tour To help you to find your way around the Online Library, take the tour:
Databases and electronic journals The Online Library provides access to a wide variety of databases, many of which contain full-text electronic journals and e-books. If you are interested in a particular journal use the Full Text Electronic Journal List:
This should only take you five minutes to complete but it will save you a lot of time in the future. Passwords for accessing the Online Library To use the resources available in the Online Library you will need to request a personal Athens username and password. To do this, please fill in the form at:
You can browse or search the full list of the Online Librarys databases from the databases page:
Here are some of the major databases that the Online Library provides: Academic Search Complete updated daily, this is a multidisciplinary database with full-text coverage of 7 ,900 periodicals, including more than 6,800 peer-reviewed journals. Cambridge Journals Online Cambridge University Press publishes a prestigious list of scholarly journals online, ranging across the humanities, social sciences and STM disciplines. Dawsons e-book collection several core textbooks are available here in electronic format, and the collection is constantly growing.
Your personal Athens account will be renewed by the Online Library Team in December each year that you are registered as an International Programmes student. Summon Summon is the Online Librarys new Google-like search engine that provides fast, relevancy-ranked results through a single search box. You can find journal articles by typing the article title into the
JSTOR full-text journals across a broad range of subject areas including classical studies, economics, education, finance, history, mathematics, philosophy, political science, sociology and statistics. LexisLibrary although primarily a database containing full-text case law and legislation for various jurisdictions, it also provides access to national and local United Kingdom newspapers. Web of Knowledge delivers easy access to high-quality scholarly information in the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities. This also includes free access to My EndNote Web reference management. The Online Library Team has developed introductory Quick Start Guides for each of the databases to help you learn to use them effectively:
Email replies from the Online Library Enquiries Service are sometimes interpreted as junk mail (spam) by filters. This means that you might miss our reply to you, particularly if you are using Hotmail or AOL. To avoid frustration, if you are using a junk mail filter please set it to allow email from OnlineLibrary@shl.lon.ac.uk or uolia.support@london.ac.uk The Help Desk While the Online Library Team will aim to answer your enquiry within two working days, you may be able to find the information you need instantly at the Online Library Help Desk:
Feedback or suggestions? If you would like to suggest a resource or have any ideas as to how the Online Library can be improved, please let the Online Library Team know:
Support for using the Library The Online Library Team will be available between 09.00 and 17 (GMT) Monday .00 to Friday. You can contact them with your enquiries by email or telephone: Keep up to date with Library developments in the News section of our website:
A specialist librarian will respond to your enquiry within two working days.
BA in Philosophy
The BA Degree in Philosophy consists of 12 courses from Levels 4, 5 and 6, as follows: Students take the following Level 4 courses: Introduction to philosophy [PY1020] Ethics: historical perspectives [PY1095] Epistemology [PY1025] Logic [PY1070] Students choose four Level 5 courses from the following list: Greek philosophy: Plato and the PreSocratics [PY1085]
Modern Philosophy: Descartes, Locke, Berkeley and Hume [PY1065] Ethics: contemporary perspectives [PY3115] (Prerequisite: PY1095) Metaphysics [PY3075] (Prerequisite: PY1070) Methodology: induction, reason and science [PY3035] Students choose three Level 6 courses from the following list: Modern philosophy: Spinoza, Leibniz and Kant [PY3125] (Prerequisite: PY1065) Greek philosophy: Aristotle [PY3120] (Prerequisite: PY1085) Continental philosophy: Hegel, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche [PY3190] (Prerequisite: PY3125) Aesthetics [PY3130] Philosophy of language [PY3210] Philosophy of mind [PY3100] Political philosophy [PY3090] Philosophy of religion [PY3110] All students must do the following Level 6 course: The Dissertation [PY3500] Please consult the PSR (New Regulations) for full details about how to progress, credit transfers and assessment. Course content and selection In the section Philosophy courses on page 25, you will find descriptions of each of the courses that appear in the Philosophy programme, as well as some introductory reading and sample examination questions. For full information
about each course you should consult the relevant subject guide on the VLE. In those cases where you have a choice of courses, you should make it by bearing in mind two things. First, consider which of the various courses strike you as most appealing, given your own background and goals. It is much easier to stay focused when what you have chosen to study is of genuine interest. Second, keep in mind any prerequisites that are listed for the Level 5 or 6 courses, and plan your choices accordingly.
Year 1 Introduction to philosophy Epistemology Ethics: historical perspectives Year 2 Logic One Level 5 course Year 3 Three remaining Level 5 courses Year 4 Two Level 6 courses Year 5 One Level 6 course Dissertation This is a natural and mutually supportive way to undertake your programme of study. It builds from those courses which introduce you to areas of philosophy and might be less demanding e.g. they involve two-hour examinations and moves on to those in the final two years which require more effort and are examined in three-hour examinations or by writing a dissertation. However, you should recognise that the above plan is only advisory. There is nothing to prevent your completing the BA in fewer or more than five years.
In those cases where you have a choice of courses, you should make it by bearing in mind two things. First, you should consider which of the various courses strike you as most appealing, given your own background and goals. It is much easier to stay focused when what you have chosen to study is of genuine interest. Second, you should keep in mind any prerequisites that are listed for the Level 5 or 6 courses, and plan your choices accordingly.
The exception to this is the Dissertation course in the BA in Philosophy. The Dissertation course is assessed by a pre-submitted 7 ,500 word dissertation. The Dissertation will be available from 20132014. Details of the Dissertation arrangements will be given in the Dissertation subject guide, which will be in the VLE before the 20132014 academic session. To see the Scheme of awards, please refer to the PSR.
BA in Philosophy
The structure of the University of London BA degree in Philosophy for International Programmes students is set out in the Old Regulations. Read them carefully in conjunction with your reading of this handbook. Students enrolled on the BA degree in Philosophy are asked to complete 10 courses in certain specified subject areas. An outline of the courses needed to complete the BA is given below. 1. All five of the following compulsory courses: Ethics: historical perspectives [PY1095] Epistemology [PY1025] Logic [PY1070] Modern philosophy: Descartes, Locke, Berkeley and Hume [PY1065] Greek philosophy: Plato and the Pre-Socratics [PY1085] 2. A choice of three of the following further courses: Ethics: contemporary perspectives [PY3115] (Prerequisite: PY1095) Metaphysics [PY3075] (Prerequisite: PY1070) Methodology: induction, reason and science [PY3035]
Modern philosophy: Spinoza, Leibniz and Kant [PY3125] (Prerequisite: PY1065) Greek philosophy: Aristotle [PY3120] (Prerequisite: PY1085) 3. A choice of two of the following optional courses: Continental philosophy: Hegel, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche [PY3190] (Prerequisite: PY3125) Aesthetics [PY3130] Philosophy of language [PY3210] Philosophy of mind [PY3100] Political philosophy [PY3090] Philosophy of religion [PY3110] Please note, availability of courses may vary from one year to the next. Please consult the relevant PSR for the definitive list of courses available. Please also note that you must have actually completed or be engaged in completing all of the compulsory courses before you can undertake any of the further courses. Also, various optional courses have prerequisites, so that your choices of further courses can affect which of the optional courses are open to you. Details of these matters are given in the PSR.
which International Programmes students complete a degree is four or five years. Even after the fulfilment of the prerequisites laid out in the PSR, students have a great deal of choice about which courses to take and when to take them. However, set out below is a programme of study for a five-year parttime course. Based on the experience of students who have completed this and similar programmes in philosophy, we recommend this particular order and timing of courses as that which will ensure the most efficient progress towards the BA degree. Year 1 Epistemology Modern philosophy: Descartes, Locke, Berkeley and Hume Year 2 Logic Greek philosophy: Plato and the PreSocratics Year 3 Ethics: historical perspectives Choice of one of the further courses Year 4 Choice of the remaining two further courses Year 5 Choice of one of the optional courses Choice of one of the optional courses This is the most natural and mutually supportive way to undertake your programme of study. First of all, many students find that doing two courses each
year is not too taxing and that there is positive benefit in being able to shift from one to the other. Such shifting prevents the kind of staleness that can come from working through a single range of topics. Second, the order of compulsory courses seems to us to be optimal. Though they are all at an appropriate level, some are more accessible than others to those who previously have done little or no philosophy. Also, the kind of work which each requires varies, and the above plan reflects this. Finally, we suggest that you undertake your optional courses after having done all or most of the others. This is because the optional courses tend to focus more sharply on a narrower range of issues. As they are specialised, they can seem more difficult, and it is thus best to have studied most of the more general philosophical courses first. Please recognise that the above plan is only advisory. There is nothing to prevent your completing the BA in fewer or more than five years. However, if you are aiming for, say, four years, it might be a good idea to attempt two courses in the first year, followed by two years of three courses each, and then finishing the fourth year with your two optional courses. By having fewer courses in the first year, you will more easily come to terms with the problems of study both generally and in respect of philosophy. It is better to have only the two optional courses in the fourth year for the reasons outlined at the end of the previous paragraph.
Choosing courses As you will appreciate, you have two major kinds of choice to make in respect of the courses you take. First, you have to decide which three further courses you will study. Second, you have to decide on two optional courses. The detailed material on the content of each course (below) should help you to make informed decisions but a general word or two of advice might still be useful. It is recommended that you choose those further courses that fit most closely with the interests you developed while doing the compulsory courses. This is obvious enough. However, you should also pay close attention to the Old Regulations in respect of optional courses. Some of these have certain further courses as prerequisites and if there is an optional course in which you have a special interest, you must make sure to do any further courses that might be prerequisites for it.
Diploma in Philosophy
The Diploma has a simple structure. All students must take: Introduction to philosophy [PY 1020] and then choose three courses from the following five: Ethics: historical perspectives [PY1095] Epistemology [PY1025] Logic [PY1070] Modern philosophy: Descartes, Locke, Berkeley and Hume [PY1065] Greek philosophy: Plato and the PreSocratics [PY1085]
The five courses in this list figure in the BA degree as compulsory courses. Students who complete the Diploma and go on to the BA will get full credit for the three courses they have completed. (The Old Regulations should be consulted for further details.) Choosing courses In deciding on the three courses from the list of five you should consult the Philosophy courses section on the content of the whole range of courses offered by the International Programmes. In addition to the course descriptions given there, you will find introductory book lists, aimed at giving you some idea of the content of each of the courses. Also, you will find that the work you do in Introduction to philosophy will help inform your selection. Remember that it is best to choose those courses that most excite your interest. That way, you will have a greater incentive to do the reading and thinking necessary for success. Assessment for the BA in Philosophy and Diploma in Philosophy Each course of the BA degree in Philosophy and the Diploma in Philosophy will be assessed by one three-hour written examination held at established centres worldwide. There is no coursework element in the assessment for these programmes. The written examinations take place on one occasion each year, normally in May. To see the Scheme of awards, please refer to the PSR.
Philosophy courses
All philosophy courses are listed below, along with some general descriptions, introductory reading lists and sample examination questions. They are also listed with their unique course code, and an indication of the level of the course for both Old and New Regulations. Each of these courses has a dedicated subject guide which can be found on the VLE. The information in this section is, therefore, only meant to give you an idea of what a course is about, and you should consult the relevant subject guide for more detailed information.
You will be sent a copy of this book when you register any qualification.
Reading Philosophy is constructed around various philosophical problems. It contains texts related to these problems, as well as commentaries and invitations to the reader to think about specific issues raised by the texts. As you will see, the book aims to introduce you in an active way both to classic philosophical problems and to the reading of philosophical texts.
The final examination will contain questions relating to each of the chapters in the book, and you are not required to read anything other than what is contained in it. Below is a sample of the kind of questions you might encounter. (Note that the examination questions are closely associated with the texts in Reading
Philosophy.)
Sample examination questions 1. In his First Meditation, how does Descartes attempt to show that there is reason to doubt everything one believes? 2. In connection with the Second Meditation, Hobbes said that it was possible that something that thinks should be something corporeal. Do Descartes arguments succeed in ruling out this possibility? 3. Strawson states the principle: If we are to talk coherently about individual consciousnesses or minds... we must know the difference between one
such item and two such items. Is this principle acceptable? Does it make a problem for Descartes? 4. Is Hume right to think that tragedy is more enjoyable to an audience the more they suffer painful feelings? How successful is he in explaining why this might be so? 5. Do we, as Feagin alleges, take pleasure in our distress at the sufferings of tragic characters? Does this help us to understand the ethical signficance of tragedy? 6. Williams distinguishes between two elements in the idea of equality: equality of opportunity and equality of respect. What is the difference between these? Is there any reason to think that there could be a problem in practice of combining equality of opportunity with equality of respect? 7 What does Nozick mean to show using . the example of Wilt Chamberlain? Does the example succeed in showing this? 8. What, according to Lemmon, differentiates the Platonic dilemma from the Sartrean one? Is this difference significant for our understanding of moral dilemma? 9. Does Mills use of the principle of utility threaten the reality of moral dilemmas? In so far as there is a tension between Mills theory and the reality of moral dilemmas, what is the best way of resolving it? 10. Outline and evaluate Lockes account of persons and their identity.
11. Is it really possible for one person to change bodies with another? 12. [T]he will turns at once, like a weathervane on a well-oiled pivot in a changeable wind... It turns successively to all the motives that lie before it as possible, and with each the human being thinks he can will it, and thus fix the weathervane at this point; but this is a mere deception. (Schopenhauer) What are Schopenhauers reasons for saying this is a mere deception? Are they good reasons? 13. Strawson doubts that the question whether determinism is true is a significant question for morality. What arguments does he give for doubting this? 14. Hume gives two definitions of cause in the Treatise. Say how these definitions differ from one another. Do you think we could accept them both? 15. What are Anscombes reasons for denying that causal relations are instances of exceptionless universal generalisations? 16. What distinction do Boyle and Locke make between primary and secondary qualities? Explain and assess two arguments, given by Boyle and/or Locke, for making the distinction. 17 An idea can be like nothing but an idea. . (Berkeley) How does Berkeley argue for this claim? What conclusions does Berkeley draw using this claim?
Logic [PY1070]
Old Regulations: Compulsory for BA in Philosophy New Regulations: Level 4 course in BA in Philosophy Course description Logic is the study of the central notions that figure in our most general attempts to understand reasoning. Included here are: validity, truth, necessity, identity, naming and reference, existence, conditionals and counterfactual conditionals, as well as a number of issues raised by the relationship of formal logic to natural language. The content of this course is sometimes called either philosophical logic or philosophy of logic. The topics studied are closely related, and count among the most fundamental and challenging in philosophy. Some grounding in them is essential for an appreciation of what is discussed in all other branches of philosophy, and it is for this reason that logic is studied early on. (Formal logic the systematic study of deductive reasoning is a separate, although clearly related, course. It would deepen your understanding of this subject if you acquired some background in elementary formal logic. You might do so by reading Guttenplan, The Languages of
Guttenplan, S. The Languages of Logic. (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1997) second edition [ISBN 9781557869883].
(Note: formal logic does not figure as such in the examination for this paper, but some knowledge of elementary formal logic is necessary for the subject as a whole and this is a gentle introduction to that subject.)
Sainsbury, R.M. Paradoxes. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988) [ISBN 9780521720793].
Sample examination questions 1. What is it for an argument to be valid? 2. Why might one doubt that entailment is transitive? 3. Examine one challenge to the correctness of classical logic. 4. Is there an adequate account of indicative conditionals in terms of truthconditions? 5. Does Freges puzzle about identity show that there is more to the meaning of a proper name than its reference? 6. To know the meaning of a name is to know its reference. Say precisely what you take this claim to amount to, and discuss whether or not it is true. 7 Explain and discuss Russells analysis . of sentences containing definite descriptions in grammatical subject place. 8. The referential use of definite descriptions refutes Russells Theory of Descriptions. Discuss. 9. Are there any logical reasons to affirm or deny that there are non-existent things?
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10. Many things dont exist. Can this claim be refuted? 11. What is the best way to explain the concept of analyticity? 12. Discuss whether the following would be a good formulation of Leibnizs Law (that identicals are indiscernible): If a sentence a=b is true, then any sentence containing a must have the same truth-value as a corresponding sentence in which a is replaced by b. 13. Everything is necessarily itself. So all true identity statements are necessarily true. Discuss. 14. How should one give the logical form of English sentences containing modal idioms (e.g. must, can, necessarily)? 15. How, if at all, can contingent truths be known a priori? 16. What does the Liar Paradox tell us about truth? 17 Can there be a satisfactory account of . the notion of correspondence employed in the claim that a proposition or statement is true if it corresponds to the facts? 18. Asserting that P is true is equivalent to asserting simply that P exists. Does it follow that there is no substantive account of truth? 19. Truth entails coherence, not vice versa. Does this refute coherence theories of truth?
Course description Epistemology is sometimes known as the theory of knowledge and, as this name suggests, it is a philosophical enquiry into knowledge. The questions it seeks to answer are: What is knowledge? How do we get it? Are the means we employ to get it defensible? These questions prompt a number of debates. One concerns the conditions that have to be satisfied for it to be true that someone knows something. Enquiry into this problem shows that we need to understand belief and its relation to knowledge; and that we have to be clear about the nature of any justification we have for our knowledge claims. Another debate concerns the adequacy of our ways of getting knowledge. We typically employ reason and perception in this task, but the challenge of scepticism shows that the uses we make of them involve a number of serious difficulties. A satisfactory account of knowledge has to address all these matters. Introductory reading
Dancy, J. An Introduction to Contemporary
Sample examination questions 1. Does knowledge involve having good reasons for ones beliefs? What are good reasons? 2. Knowing that P is at least a matter of having a belief that P which is both true and justified. Is this an adequate definition of knowledge? If not, how should it be improved?
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Epistemology [PY1025]
Old Regulations: Compulsory for BA in Philosophy New Regulations: Level 4 in BA in Philosophy
3. I cannot prove that I am not a brain in a vat. Therefore I do not know anything about the external world. Discuss. 4. If we know that P then we can be , certain that P But we cannot be certain . of anything. Therefore we do not know anything. Discuss. 5. Could I be in error about everything? 6. The sceptics challenge comes down to saying that we can have the very best grounds for asserting P but that P could nevertheless be false. If this is right, does it matter? 7 All our knowledge of the external world . derives, in one way or another, from the senses. Is this true? 8. Do we perceive material objects directly, or only indirectly (i.e. by perceiving them via some kind of intermediate object)? 9. Could it be that, though we use the same language to describe them, the things you see as red I see as green and vice versa? 10. Is there anything a blind man cannot know about colours? If so, what? 11. I could have an experience which is qualitatively identical to the experience I am having now, but which is nevertheless hallucinatory. Is this true? If it is, what does it show about the nature of perception? 12. Does accepting realism about perception entail scepticism about the external world? 13. Does seeing always involve belief?
14. How can I know that I remember something? 15. Is it possible to remember something that did not happen?
Sample examination questions 1. Assess Platos claim that justice is to the soul what health is to the body. 2. Does Socrates give good reason for believing that doing wrong is worse than suffering it? 3. The good is the final end of all actions and for its sake everything else should be done. Are Socrates reasons for believing this good ones?
4. What does Aristotle believe the characteristic function of man is? Does his account of this provide a satisfactory basis for ethics? 5. How well does justice fit Aristotles doctrine of the Mean? 6. Why does Aristotle believe that excellence of character and practical wisdom are interdependent? 7 Should Hobbes be described as an . ethical egoist? 8. Does Hume offer a convincing account of convergence in moral judgements? 9. Tis not contrary to reason to prefer the destruction of the whole world to the scratching of my finger. What was Humes point in making this remark? 10. No action can be virtuous or morally good unless there be in human nature some motive to produce it distinct from the sense of its morality. Explain and evaluate Humes claim. 11. Discuss Humes account of obligation. 12. Discuss Kants view that a free will and will under moral law are one and the same. 13. Treat humanity in yourself and in others never as a means only but always as an end in itself. What does Kant mean by this? How convincing is his argument for it? 14. Evaluate Kants claim that it is morally necessary to believe in the immortality of the soul and the existence of God. 15. Could Hume account satisfactorily for the kind of obligation which Kant describes as categorical?
16. Does Mill explain satisfactorily what moves us to act for the sake of happiness in others? 17 What did J.S. Mill think a moral . requirement is? 18. Critically discuss the main claims in Mills utilitarianism.
Sample examination questions 1. The ordering, the same for all, no god or man has made, but it was, is and will be: fire ever-living, being kindled in measures and going out in measures. (Heraclitus fr. 30) Discuss. 2. What is the Heraclitean logos that people do not comprehend? 3. What is for saying and for thinking must be. (Parmenides fr. 6) How does this claim figure in Parmenides argument? 4. Is the unreliability of the senses a premise or a conclusion for Parmenides? 5. Can Achilles overtake the tortoise? 6. Do Anaxagoras views provide him with effective replies to Zenos arguments against motion and plurality? 7 Were the ancient atomists sceptics? . 8. If Socrates disavowal of knowledge is sincere, is he entitled to conduct the elenchus? 9. What is the connection between Socrates search for definitions of virtue and Platos Theory of Forms? 10. One excellent argument [for the recollection theory] is that when people are questioned, they state the truth about everything for themselves and yet unless knowledge and a correct account were present within them, they would be unable to do this. (Plato Phaedo 73a) Discuss. 11. Is the tripartite soul of the Republic an advance over the immortal soul of the Phaedo?
12. Does Plato have a satisfactory account of the difference between knowledge and belief? 13. Why might Plato be less certain that there are Forms of Man or Mud than that there are Forms of Beauty and Largeness? 14. We are in the habit of positing one Form for each multiplicity to which we give the same name. (Republic X) Is this a reasonable basis for the theory of Forms? 15. Does Plato offer a satisfactory refutation of relativism in the Theaetetus? 16. How far does the Sophist explain what it is to be what is not? 17 Does Plato offer a satisfactory account . of naming in the Cratylus?
in part to Descartes and rationalism generally, so this first subject guide in modern philosophy begins with Descartes. The label modern is intended as a contrast to ancient, (i.e. Plato, the PreSocratics and Aristotle, among others). It is generally understood as covering the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries a period in which there was a decisive break with ancient philosophy. Introductory reading
Hamlyn, D.W. A History of Western
beginning of the Second Meditation? 4. Should Locke be described as holding a representational theory of perception? 5. What gives a Lockean idea its content? 6. Assess Lockes claim about substance that we have no idea of what it is, but only a confused, obscure one of what it does. 7 Does Locke make a good case for . saying that the sense of natural kind words should be applied to nominal essences rather than to real essences? 8. Does the primary-secondary quality distinction give us a way of explaining how we perceive things as they really are? Discuss with reference to either or both of Locke and Berkeley. 9. Why does Berkeley reject the concept of material substance? Are his arguments persuasive? 10. What is meant by Berkeleys claim that esse est percipi? Is it refutable? 11. Give a critical account of Berkeleys argument for the claim that there is an infinite spirit which perceives everything always. 12. Critically discuss Humes account of belief. 13. Why does Hume offer two definitions of cause? 14. Can Hume account for the difference between memory and imagination? 15. Why does Hume think it is vain to enquire whether there be body or not? 16. Does Hume deny that there is such a thing as the self? Is his view of the matter coherent?
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Sample examination questions 1. Examine Descartes reasons for declaring that he is an essentially nonmaterial thinking substance. 2. What weaknesses, if any, do you find in Descartes proof of the existence of God in the Third Meditation? 3. Has Descartes, by the end of the Meditations, escaped from the sceptical dilemma recorded at the
Metaphysics [PY3075]
(Prerequisite: PY1070) Old Regulations: Further course for BA in Philosophy New Regulations: Level 5 for BA in Philosophy Course description Metaphysics is the study of the ultimate nature of reality. It attempts to assess answers to this fundamental question: What exists or is real? Specific metaphysical questions are so various and important that discussion of some of them has come to form separate branches of philosophy, for example Philosophy of mind and Philosophy of religion, both of which are on the list of optional courses. However, the central and more general questions of existence and reality remain part of this core course, and give rise to more specific ones that are also studied, namely: What is time? Are particulars more basic than events? Do human beings have free will? What is causality? Are there universals? Does the world exist independently of our knowledge of it? Introductory reading
Aune, B. Metaphysics: The Elements. (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1985) [ISBN 0631147632]. Van Inwagen, P Metaphysics. (Oxford: . Oxford University Press, 1993) [ISBN 0198751400].
2. What, if anything, is wrong with thinking of time on the model of a river? 3. What do all red things have in common? 4. Triangularity is a shape. Red is more similar to orange than to blue. Can the truth of such statements be explained only if there are universals? 5. Is there any good reason for thinking that there are events? 6. Are some individuals more basic than others? 7 Is an army truly a substance? . 8. What makes a thing the kind of thing it is? 9. Are there essential properties? 10. Can arguments be given to establish that your pen is not a bundle of ideas? 11. Can a fully objective view of human beings account for the subjective qualities of mental states? 12. The physical world is entirely objective. But consciousness is essentially subjective. So consciousness cannot be physical. Discuss. 13. Are causes sufficient for their effects? Are they necessary for those effects? 14. A cause has its effects in virtue of its properties. So causation cannot be a relation simply between particulars. Discuss. 15. What makes a thing the same thing at one time and place as at another time and place? How is it possible for an object to change over time and still, in some sense, be the same object?
Sample examination questions 1. Times can be thought of as past, present and future or as earlier and later. Is one of these ways of thinking about time more fundamental than the other?
16. If I were to divide into two people tomorrow, neither of the resulting people would be me. But this would not be as bad as death. Is this true? If so, why? If not, why not? 17 If free choice is to be better than . something random, must determinism be true?
Introductory reading
OHear, A. An Introduction to the Philosophy
Sample examination questions 1. Inductive methods will lead to truth, if any method will. Does this provide a basis for the justification of induction? 2. Hume did not merely pose the problem of induction, he solved it. Discuss. 3. Is it more rational to believe that all emeralds are green than that all emeralds are grue? Give reasons for your answer. 4. Do we have evidence for the hypothesis that all emeralds are grue? 5. What is Hempels Paradox of the Ravens? How, if at all, can it be solved? 6. What is it to explain why something happened? 7 What is the deductive nomological . model of explanation? Does it apply to all good scientific explanations, to some, or to none? 8. Everything that happens, happens. Everything that does not happen, does not happen. Does this show that no sense can be made of the notion of the objective probability of something happening? 9. Probability theory determines the rational way to change ones degree of confidence in a hypothesis in the light of new data. Discuss.
10. How can we best explain the meaning of counterfactual conditionals? 11. Do Laws of Nature have exceptions? 12. Is nomic necessity a species of necessity? 13. What distinguishes natural laws from accidental generalisations? 14. The existence of experimental error shows that no hypothesis is observationally refutable. Discuss. 15. What is the relation of observation to theory? 16. What does it mean for a theory (or theory shift) to be ad hoc? What, if anything, justifies the view that ad hoc theories are scientifically unacceptable? 17 Is there any reason to suppose that the . conclusion of an inference to the best explanation is likely to be true?
to our understanding of moral questions: Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Kant, Mill and others. (This is the subject matter of the other course in ethics.) But a historical approach needs to be complemented by the more direct consideration of questions about virtue, action, consequences, rights, duties, the fact-value distinction, the nature of moral truth, the universalisability of moral principles, and much besides. These sorts of issues form the basis of this course. Introductory reading
Mackie, J.L. Ethics: Inventing Right and
Sample examination questions 1. If a principle is a moral principle, must it be universalisable? 2. In order to act I must have some end which I desire to achieve by so acting. Discuss. 3. Must cognitive theories about conflicts of obligation eliminate from the scene the ought that is not acted upon? 4. Does consequentialism give a plausible account of the importance of consequences to the moral evaluation of actions? 5. Can consequentialism adequately account for the way in which we condemn ingratitude or disloyalty and the way in which we praise people who return good for evil? 6. Is the concept of character important to an adequate account of morality?
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7 Impartiality is not the essence of . morality; it is one particular virtue. Discuss. 8. Is there an important distinction between saying that an act is intrinsically wrong and that it should under no circumstances be done? 9. Are emotions integral to morality? If so, how? 10. What is the best way of defining an altruistic act? 11. Are moral judgements true or false? 12. Discuss the idea that something is intrinsically valuable if and only if a moral person would choose it for itself. 13. What kind of objective moral considerations can there be? 14. Is there a problem about how moral considerations can motivate? Is this problem a special one for moral realists? 15. What is it for an action to be selfdetermined or autonomous? How is this related to moral responsibility? 16. Is there any form of moral relativism that can escape the charges of incoherence or self-contradiction? 17 If killing a baby is morally wrong, why . isnt contraception also morally wrong? 18. How coherent is pacifism? 19. If a doctor has the resources to treat only one of two patients, what sort of grounds should he use to choose which one?
Sample examination questions 1. What, for Aristotle, is a category? 2. Has Aristotles doctrine of categories any relevance to the Third Man Argument? 3. Does Aristotle believe that Socrates and Callias have the same form? 4. Explain and assess Aristotles account of being. 5. In the Categories Coriscus is a primary substance; man, a secondary
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substance. Explain this view and its development in Aristotles later works. 6. Is Aristotle committed to the existence of featureless prime matter? 7 What would Aristotle say about . the claim that either everything is determined, or some things happen without a cause? 8. Discuss Aristotles treatment of infinite quantities and magnitudes, especially with respect to the size and duration of the universe. Are there any inconsistencies here? 9. Does Aristotle give a good case for a teleological account of nature? 10. Is Aristotles account of the soul consistent? 11. All teaching and all intellectual learning come from pre-existing knowledge. (Posterior Analytics I) Does Aristotle succeed in defending this claim?
modern philosophy, this one is concerned primarily with the epistemological and metaphysical views of these thinkers. Introductory reading
Hamlyn, D.W. A History of Western
Sample examination questions 1. In what sense did Spinoza believe that everything that happens, happens by necessity? 2. Can Spinoza consistently maintain that Nature is a substance? 3. What mode of extension corresponds to my idea of your body? What importance would Spinoza attach to this question? 4. An affect which is a passion ceases to be a passion as soon as we form a clear and distinct idea of it. What does Spinoza mean by this, and is it true? 5. There is nothing positive in ideas on account of which they are called false. (Ethics II, 32) How, then, does Spinoza account for human error?
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6. According to Leibnizs metaphysics, should an apple tree be thought of as a monad, an aggregate of monads, a well-founded phenomenon, or none of these? 7 Why does Leibniz say that monads are . windowless? 8. Critically discuss the account Leibniz gives of truth. 9. Does Leibniz give an unambiguous account of the relation of mind and body? 10. There is nothing in the understanding which does not come from the senses, except the understanding itself. (Leibniz) What is the relevance of this claim to the dispute about innate ideas? 11. How plausible are Kants conceptions of space and time? 12. Why does Kant argue that there must be pure concepts of the understanding? 13. Is Kants view of things-in-themselves plausible? 14. What is the transcendental unity of apperception, and what is its importance in Kants doctrine? 15. What does Kant find objectionable about speculative metaphysics?
answer; in Locke we find an influential discussion of property rights and the origin of political obligation; Rousseau, much more radically, seeks to explain how we can be bound rationally by law, through the concept of the general will. In different ways Hegel and Marx offer critiques of the Enlightenment conception of the citizen and state. In Mill, we find the radical utilitarianism of the early nineteenth century modulated into a delicate plea for liberty. In Anglo-American political philosophy over the last 30 years, the work of the Harvard philosopher John Rawls has been central in defining the scope and focus of debate, although the ideas of Isaiah Berlin, G.A. Cohen, Ronald Dworkin, Robert Nozick, Joseph Raz and T.M. Scanlon are of great importance too. Introductory reading
Wolff, J. An Introduction to Political
2. EITHER (a) What political arrangement, according to Aristotle, best meets the goal of developing human flourishing? Assess his argument. OR (b) Why does Aristotle compare the politician to a craftsman? Is he right to? 3. EITHER (a) According to al-Farabi, why does the ideal ruler need to be a prophet as well as a philosopher? Does his account show that prophecy could be a legitimate basis for political authority? OR (b) What, according to Aquinas, is the natural law? How does it relate to legislation laid down by humans? 4. EITHER (a) What is the relation between Hobbess conception of human nature and his political philosophy? OR (b) Does Hobbes demonstrate that obeying the absolute sovereign is both our duty and to our advantage? 5. EITHER (a) He that encloses land, and has a greater plenty of the conveniences of life from ten acres, than he could have from a hundred left to nature, may truly be said to give ninety acres to mankind.(Locke). How does this passage contribute to Lockes justification of private property? OR (b) On what grounds does Locke affirm a natural right to punish? How plausible is his claim that there is such a right? 6. EITHER (a) How far does Humes political theory allow for disputes about
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Sample examination questions 1. EITHER (a) Does Plato provide a compelling argument in the Crito for the obligation to obey the state in all circumstances? OR (b) Does Plato make a convincing case, in the Republic, that philosophers would be ideal rulers of cities?
the proper extent of political liberty to be resolvable rationally? Does it matter whether such resolution is possible? OR (b) Does Hume show that political obligation has nothing to do with consent? 7 EITHER . (a) Why does Rousseau distinguish the general will from the will of all? How clear and illuminating is this distinction? OR (b) Why does Rousseau claim that we must sometimes be forced to be free? Does this expression show that his is an authoritarian conception of the state? 8. EITHER (a) Why does Kant think that rightful possession of property cannot be acquired in a state of nature? Is he right? OR (b) Does Kant offer convincing reasons for the requirement of a league of nations? 9. EITHER (a) Critically examine Hegels distinction between the state, civil society and the family. OR (b) What is the relation between Hegels theology and his political philosophy? 10. EITHER (a) Does Marx show that capitalism must inevitably break down? OR (b) What does Marx mean by alienated labour? Under what circumstances is labour alienated? 11. EITHER (a) To what extent, according to Mill, may the state coerce individuals to come to the assistance of others? Is this position consistent with Mills harm principle? Is the position consistent with his principle of utility?
OR (b) Mill says that one may seize a man who cannot be warned against crossing an unsafe bridge, for liberty consists in doing what one desires, and he does not desire to fall into the river. What is the significance of this claim for Mills case against paternalism? 12. EITHER (a) The principle of open positions expresses the conviction that if some places were not open on a basis fair to all, those kept out would be right in feeling unjustly treated even though they benefited from the greater efforts of those who were allowed to hold them. (Rawls) Discuss. OR (b) Why does Rawls think that the parties behind the veil of ignorance would accept his two principles over utilitarianism? Is he right? 13. Is every comprehensive conception of the good capable of accommodation in a Rawlsian overlapping consensus? 14. EITHER (a) What, if anything, does Nozicks Wilt Chamberlain example show? OR (b) Does Nozick show that self-ownership is compatible with the existence of the minimal state? 15. EITHER (a) Do we harm the global poor? OR (b) Against his many critics, Rawls was right not to extend the difference principle to the global level. Discuss. 16. Properly functioning markets reward social contribution, and are therefore just. Discuss.
17 EITHER . (a) On the best understanding of negative liberty, what kinds of interference make us unfree? OR (b) Are all freedoms valuable? 18. EITHER (a) What, if any, is the relationship between political equality and majority rule? OR (b) Is it possible to successfully combine intrinsic and instrumental justifications in a single, coherent justification of democracy? 19. EITHER (a) What is the levelling down objection to equality? Can this objection be answered? OR (b) What role, if any, should the idea of responsibility play in a theory of distributive justice? 20.Can the notion of human rights be given a philosophical justification? 21. If we want to understand civil authority, we need to distinguish there being a government exercising civil authority from two contrasting things: on the one side, from large-scale voluntary co-operative associations, and on the other from a places being quite under the control of a smooth sophisticated mafia. (Anscombe) Discuss.
that arise from reflecting on the mind. You will also find various parts of the logic, metaphysics, epistemology and methodology entries in this handbook useful. Introductory reading
Braddon-Mitchell, D. and F Jackson (eds) .
Sample examination questions 1. What does the possibility of hallucination reveal about the nature of perceptual experience? 2. Can one be in error about ones own mind? 3. If mental causes were not physical, they would be epiphenomenal. Discuss. 4. Is there something it is like to hold a belief? 5. Mental representations represent things in virtue of a causal relation which holds between representation and world. Discuss. 6. How should we understand the relationship between a belief ascription and the belief itself? 7 To what extent are our beliefs about . other peoples mental states justified by an inference to the best explanation?
8. If one has to imagine someone elses pain on the model of ones own, this is none too easy a thing to do... (Wittgenstein). Is this true? 9. What, if anything, would Frank Jacksons Mary learn on seeing something red for the first time? If she learns something, does that show that physicalism is false? 10. What is the explanatory gap and does it cast doubt on the truth of materialism? 11. If physicalism were true, zombies would not be conceivable. Discuss. 12. Can we understand the mind in terms of dispositions to behaviour? 13. Functionalism can provide a good account of our beliefs and desires but not our tickles and pains. Discuss. 14. To explain why a subject acted as she did is to situate her action in a wider rational context; it is not to provide a causal account of her movements. Discuss. 15. Are emotions feelings of changes in the body?
to be the philosophical scrutiny of the claims of religious believers and those made on behalf of religious traditions. The focus of study is principally on the three monotheistic traditions of the West: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Those coming to the subject for the first time need to be aware that it demands competence in many of the central areas of philosophy: metaphysics, philosophical logic, epistemology and ethics. In this respect, the course provides a student with an opportunity to apply their general philosophical acumen to a body of important questions concerning theism. Among the questions raised are: the existence of God; the coherence of theism; the compatibility of divine omniscience and human freedom; the problem of evil; and immortality. Introductory reading
Davies, B. An Introduction to the Philosophy
Sample examination questions 1. How convincing is Anselms ontological argument? 2. Do cosmological arguments depend on the Principle of Sufficient Reason? 3. Describe and assess a version of the argument from design.
4. Is there a persuasive moral argument for the existence of God? 5. What problems are raised for human freedom by the claim that there is divine foreknowledge? Can these problems be solved? 6. Does the simplicity of God compromise divine freedom? 7 How satisfactory is Augustines answer . to the problem of evil? 8. What is Pascals Wager? How successful is it as an exercise in apologetics? 9. Critically examine a divine command theory of ethics. 10. Is it reasonable to expect God to act in response to prayer? 11. Is Hume right to reject miracles as a basis for faith? 12. What is the epistemological significance of religious experience? 13. Describe and evaluate Wittgensteinian fideism. 14. Plantinga has defended the view that Christian belief is properly basic. How successful is his argument? 15. Is Swinburne right that there is cumulative evidence for Christian belief? 16. What is eternal life?
radical interpretation to the consequences of Chomskian linguistics. In addition to studying the work of these philosophers, you will have the opportunity to look at particular problems concerning indexical expressions; proper names; the nature of definite descriptions; pronouns and quantified phrases in natural language; indirect contexts and propositional attitude ascriptions; adverbs, adjectives and metaphor. Introductory reading
Blackburn, S. Spreading the Word:
satisfied) as soon as he recognizes that I am trying to tell him something and exactly what it is that I am trying to tell him, I have succeeded in telling it to him (Searle). Which speech acts have this extraordinary property? Was Searle right to think that the property plays an important part in an account of speech acts? 2. Does the presence of non-indicative sentences in a language show that truth cannot be used as a central semantic notion in a theory for that language? 3. How should differences between and and but and differences between money and dosh be accounted for? 4. What is Carnaps concept of intensional isomorphism? Does it solve the problem it is designed to solve? 5. What difficulty, according to Quine, arises when we try to specify the semantic representation of a sentence like John believes that someone is a spy, on at least one of its readings? Assess Quines solution of this difficulty. 6. Is knowing a statements truth conditions (a) necessary, and (b) sufficient for knowing what it means? 7 Wittgenstein describes one picture of . language as follows: Every word has a meaning. This meaning is correlated with the word. It is the object for which the word stands. (Philosophical Investigations 1) Davidson suggests that this picture, correct or not, is no help when it comes to constructing a semantic theory of a language. Is Davidson right?
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Readable, if opinionated, treatment of the central areas of philosophy of language, with large amounts of metaphysics thrown in for free.
Larson, R. and G. Segal Knowledge of
A thorough introduction to philosophy of language for both philosophy and linguistics students.
McCulloch, G. The Game of the Name:
A vigorous introduction to issues in the theory of reference. Sample examination questions 1. Human communication has some extraordinary properties, not shared by most other kinds of human behaviour. One of the most extraordinary is this: If I am trying to tell someone something, then (assuming certain conditions are
8. EITHER (a) Many sentences of English have never been uttered, and no one has ever meant anything by uttering them. Therefore their meaning cannot be determined by the speakers intentions. Discuss. OR (b) The Gricean line of explanation [of meaning] is hence essentially no more than a sophisticated version of the code conception of language. (Dummett) Discuss. 9. How does Grice distinguish between what is said by an utterance and what is implicated by it? Is this distinction defensible? 10. EITHER (a) Quines thesis of indeterminacy of translation is a reductio ad absurdum of his behaviourism. Discuss. OR (b) What is Quines proxyfunction argument? Is it convincing? 11. In what ways are the semantics of a language compositional? What reasons are there for expecting it to be? 12. Explain Kaplans notions of character and content. What role do they leave for truth in the semantics of a language? 13. For it is a fashionable mistake to take as primary (The sentence) S is true (in the English language). Here the addition of the words in the English language serves to emphasize that sentence is not being used as equivalent to statement so that it , precisely is not what can be true or false. (Austin) Why is this a mistake? Can the mistake be rectified by relativising truth to parameters?
14. EITHER (a) B is true :=: (p). B is a belief that p & p. Def (Ramsey). Is this an adequate definition of true as it applies to individual states of belief? OR (b) As a philosophical account of truth, Tarskis theory fails as badly as it is possible to fail. (Putnam) Discuss.
Aesthetics [PY3130]
Old Regulations: Optional course for BA in Philosophy New Regulations: Level 6 for BA in Philosophy Course description In Aesthetics we turn to questions about the nature of art, values in art and the appreciation of nature as art. Wide reading in the history of aesthetics is necessary for a proper approach to the course. Issues in contemporary aesthetics are illuminated by their treatment throughout history, and the understanding and assessment of the views of past thinkers is facilitated by reflection on the problems they deal with. Aesthetics, done properly, is as hard and as rewarding as any branch of philosophy. It is philosophy turning its attention to the nature of aesthetic experience and judgement, and to questions about art, the different art forms, how they relate to the world and to the mind, and what value they may have. Some questions in this course also form part of Philosophy of mind or Metaphysics, for example. It is not an easy subject to study. One does best by using as material ones own experience of artworks and of aesthetic situations, but one has to use the tools of philosophy as carefully as possible in order to think about
them relatively dispassionately and in a disciplined way. There are no fixed starting points in the course, which is why, again, wide reading in the history of aesthetics is especially recommended. Introductory reading
Hanfling, O. (ed.) Philosophical Aesthetics:
9. How, if at all, can music express emotion? 10. Can art be defined? 11. Does pictorial representation involve resemblance? 12. Are works of art physical objects? 13. Can we be moved by the fate of a fictional personage? 14. Must each literary work have one correct interpretation? 15. Is there any aesthetic difference between an original artwork and a perfect forgery? 16. Is the notion of pornographic art incoherent? 17 To what extent, if at all, should moral . judgements influence aesthetic judgements? 18. The aesthetic attitude is a myth. Discuss.
Sample examination questions 1. What needs to be assumed, if Platos objections to poetry are to be met? 2. Does Aristotle provide an adequate account of our response to tragic drama? 3. Does Hume establish the existence of a standard of taste? 4. Does Kant succeed in showing that is it possible for a judgement which rests on a feeling of pleasure to have universal validity? 5. Does Schiller make a convincing case for the necessity of aesthetic education? 6. Why does Hegel believe that art no longer satisfies our supreme need, and is he correct? 7 If the whole world as representation . is only the visibility of will, then art is the elucidation of this visibility (Schopenhauer). Discuss. 8. Explain and evaluate Nietzsches notion of an aesthetic justification of existence.
Introductory reading
Roberts, J. German Philosophy, An
9. EITHER (a) What does Nietzsche mean by claiming that all happenings in the organic world are an expression of the will to power? OR (b) What is Nietzsches perspectivism? 10. What, according to Nietzsche, is the meaning of ascetic ideals? 11. Does Nietzsche value master morality above slave morality?
Sample examination questions 1. What is the basis of Hegels method in the Phenomenology of Spirit? 2. What does Hegel mean by recognition in his narrative of the master/slave relation? 3. To what extent is Hegels conception of ethical life (Sittlichkeit) consistent with individual freedom? 4. In what sense, or senses, is Hegel an idealist? 5. What is Schopenhauers conception of will? What reasons does he provide to believe in its existence? 6. Outline and critically discuss Schopenhauers account of aesthetic experience. Outline and critically discuss Schopenhauers conception of compassion, and its role in morality. 7 The world is my representation. How . does Schopenhauer defend this claim? Is his defence successful? 8. What is Nietzsches aim in doing a genealogy of morality?
Introduction ......................................... G.1 New developments in 2012................ G.2 Student registration cards ..................G.2 A new way to communicate with the University ...........................................G.2 Online examination entries ................G.2 Services launched in 2011 ..................G.2 Contacting the University .................. G.3 Contacting us .....................................G.3 Academic queries ..............................G.4 Social media .......................................G.4 Your Programme Specification and Regulations ......................................... G.5 Qualifications Framework .................. G.6 Fees, refunds and financial assistance ............................................ G.7 Fees ...................................................G.7 How to pay .........................................G.7 Refunds..............................................G.7 Financial assistance ...........................G.7 Studying at an institution................... G.9 Directory of institutions.................... G.10 Choosing an institution .................... G.10 Checklist to use when choosing an institution ......................................... G.10 Complaints .......................................G.12 Online resources ............................... G.13 Internet and computer requirements....................................G.13 Student Portal ..................................G.13 New to computer technology? .........G.14 Libraries ............................................. G.15 Senate House Library ......................G.15 Other libraries ..................................G.15 The Online Library ............................G.15 Bookshops ......................................... G.15 Confirmation of registration ............ G.16 Change of details .............................. G.16 Requesting your study materials and maintaining your registration .. G.17
How to request your study materials and maintain your registration.......... G.17 Tracking and receiving your study materials ..........................................G.18 Queries about your study materials .G.18 Entering for examinations ................G.19 New codes .......................................G.19 Making an examination entry for 2013 .................................................G.19 Examination Centres ........................G.20 HM Forces overseas and HM Ships .........................................G.21 Changing your address ....................G.21 Special examination arrangements ..G.21 The examination timetable ...............G.21 Examination Admission Notice ........G.21 Sitting your examination ...................G.22 Mitigating circumstances .................G.22 Receiving your examination results .G.22 Administrative recheck of examination results ..........................G.23 Further questions? ...........................G.23 Accreditation of prior learning ........ G.24 Transfers ............................................ G.25 Transferring to another International Programmes undergraduate programme .....................................G.25 Transferring to an International Programmes postgraduate programme ......................................G.25 Transferring to another United Kingdom university at undergraduate level..........................G.25 How to apply to universities in the United Kingdom .....................G.26 Certificates, transcripts and Diploma supplements ...................... G.27 Transcripts ........................................G.27 Official letters confirming your award ..............................................G.27 Replacement certificates and original Diploma supplements..........G.27 The graduation ceremony................ G.28
The Careers Group, University of London............................................... G.29 C2, a service from the Careers Group ................................................. G.29 University of London International Programmes Alumni Association .....G.30 How our alumni can help you as a student .............................................G.30 University of London Union ............ G.31 Information for students with specific access requirements ........... G.32 Special examination arrangements ..G.32 Complaints procedure ...................... G.33 Advice on how to proceed ...............G.33 Student Charter ................................. G.34
Introduction
This General section is intended to guide your experience as an International Programmes student, providing useful information and advice that is common to all the courses offered by the University of London International Programmes. For information that is specific to your programme of study, please refer to Part I: the Programme section of this handbook.
Studying as an International Programmes student, while offering enormous rewards, can be challenging. We hope that the information presented in this section will assist you during your studies, but if you require any additional information or support, please do not hesitate to contact us. Information on how to contact the University is provided on page G.3.
In 2009, we launched the start of a major Business Transformation Process to enhance the services we provide to you. Since then, we have introduced a range of online services including payments and registration. More new services are being developed and some of these are listed below. Regular updates and information are also posted on the Student Portal so please look out for these.
will also be posted online. Important advice, updates and instructions about this process will be posted on the Portal/ virtual learning environment (VLE) and on our website throughout the year, so you should check regularly to ensure that you are up to date with the most recent developments.
Online services
You can now do the following activities online via the Student Portal: register select study courses/modules pay fees inform us of a change of address apply for special examination arrangements view your personal records.
New codes
Please remember, we also issued new course/module codes for all of our programmes. These codes are listed in Appendices A and B of your Programme Specification and Regulations (PSR). You can also find them on our website:
Contacting us
In 2012, we established a more efficient way for you to communicate with the University by launching our new online enquiry management system. This system swiftly directs your questions to the appropriate department and you can easily track the progress of your enquiry using your student registration number (SRN). We aim to reply to all enquiries within two working days and resolve any specialist enquiries within five working days. In addition, you can use our extensive, programme-specific FAQ database to see if a similar question has been asked before. This database is available all year round, 24 hours a day, so you will be able to find an answer to the most common queries straightaway. All of the information is monitored to ensure that it is accurate and up to date. You can also rate the answers to let us know which have been most helpful. To use the online system to contact any of our departments or to access the FAQ database, please go to:
If you need to send us a letter or any other information by post, please use the address below, including the department it should be sent to (for example, Student Assessment Office): University of London International Programmes Stewart House 32 Russell Square London WC1B 5DN United Kingdom
If you would prefer to telephone, you can call the University of London Student Advice Centre on: +44 (0)20 7862 8360.
Academic queries
If you have queries of an academic nature you can contact your Programme Director, but please note that they cannot provide regular advice or tuition. Details of your Programme Director can be found in the Programme section of this handbook. If you are studying in a local institution you should first consult your Course Director.
Student blog: A range of students talk about their studies and how they fit in with their lives:
Social media
Dont forget, you can also find us online at various social media sites. Facebook: Find out about events in countries all over the world and interact with your fellow students: iTunes: Find academic videos relating to specific programmes on iTunes. YouTube channel: Watch over 100 videos about specific programmes, see real-life student experiences or become inspired by our Academic Inspiration series, which shows academics from the Lead Colleges talking about exciting ideas relating to their fields of study: Subscribe to our Student Newsletter: Google Plus: Keep up to date with news and events:
The PSR contains key information about your programme of study, such as: the structure and content of your programme the ways in which you can progress in your programme the ways in which you can transfer to other programmes any prerequisites for courses and information on courses that cannot be taken together assessment regulations syllabuses and course outlines information on courses that are being added or withdrawn from your programme marking information and classification guidelines.
If you have any questions about your Regulations, please contact the University (see page G.3). The University is not responsible for any consequences arising from students failure to comply with the Regulations. In brief: The Programme Specification and Regulations are reviewed annually. Any changes will be reflected in the PSR. You should be familiar with the content of the PSR for your programme. If you have any questions about the Regulations, please contact the University.
Programmes are reviewed annually and changes are sometimes made to keep them up to date. These changes are reflected in the PSR and it is important that you are familiar with this document so that you are kept informed on any changes to your programme.
Qualifications Framework
Each qualification or award granted by the UniveEach qualification or award granted by the University is located at a specific level. You can find the level of your qualification or award in your Programme Specification. The level of the qualification or award of all International Programmes follows the Quality Assurance Agencys Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ) which has operated in England, Wales and Northern
Ireland since 2001. The purpose of the FHEQ is to describe the different levels and summarise the types of skills and competences a person who has attained a qualification is expected to demonstrate. If you would like to read more about the FHEQ, please visit the following website:
Fees
During your time as an International Programmes student you will be required to pay certain fees. A list of fees for your programme can be found on the International Programmes website. These fees have to be paid in full at the time that they fall due. Each year all fees are reviewed and, in many cases, increased. In order to find out about the relevant fees for your programme, please go to the International Programmes website:
Sterling international money orders/ postal orders must be made payable to University of London.
All payments must be made in Great British Pounds (GBP) sterling. Please quote your full name and SRN with any offline payment that you submit. Further detailed information is available at:
You can also view your fee statements and see the status of any payments made to the University via the Student Portal:
How to pay
We recommend that you make use of the online payment facility to pay your fees by credit or debit card. If you are unable to use the online payment facility, we will accept one of the offline payment methods listed below: Western Union Quick Pay (if Quick Pay is not selected the payment will not reach the University). Offline credit/debit card payment cards recognised by Mastercard, Visa Group or Maestro/Electron. Sterling bankers draft made payable to University of London, drawn on a bank based in the United Kingdom. Drafts must state the paying banks name and branch location. Sterling cheques made payable to University of London, crossed A/c payee, drawn on and payable at a bank based in the United Kingdom.
Refunds
As a general rule, fees paid to the University are not refundable, but please refer to the PSR for your programme for full details.
Financial assistance
Financial assistance is not available from the University. However, some employers in both the public and private sectors may be willing to consider offering financial assistance to their employees. Therefore, if you are employed, it may be worth discussing this with your employer. Students who are resident in the United Kingdom may be able to apply for part-time student funding (for undergraduate programmes only) or a Career Development Loan. Information can be obtained as follows:
Part-time student funding Information Line: 0845 100 900 www.direct.gov.uk/en/ educationandlearning Career Development Loan Information Line: 0800 100 900 www.direct.gov.uk/pcdl Students with a disability/special needs who are resident in the United Kingdom may also be able to apply for a Disabled Student Allowance (DSA). For a copy of the information leaflet, which answers most of the questions commonly asked about DSAs, please contact: Disabled Student Allowance Information Line: 0845 300 5090 Minicom: 0845 604 4434 www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/ EducationandTraining The information leaflet is also available on audio tape, in large print or in Braille. Students who are members of the United Kingdom Armed Forces should note that the University of London has been approved by the Ministry of Defence in support of the Enhanced Learning Credits (ELC) Scheme (ELC Provider Reference Number 1284). The scheme provides financial support to eligible service personnel who wish to enhance their educational or vocational achievements. The ELC Administration Service website can be found at:
Students who are in prison in the United Kingdom may be able to get help with the cost of their studies from the Prisoners Education Trust. For further information contact: Prisoners Education Trust Wardle House Riverside Drive Mitcham Surrey CR4 4BU Tel: 020 8648 7760 www.prisonerseducation.org.uk Students who study overseas are advised to check the availability of loans and financial assistance schemes in the country in which they are studying. In brief: A list of fees for your programme can be found on the International Programmes website. As a general rule, fees paid to the University are not refundable. Financial assistance is not available from the University but often employers will provide assistance. Certain students in the United Kingdom may be eligible for funding or financial assistance schemes. If you study overseas you are advised to check the availability of funding and/or financial assistance schemes in the country in which you are studying.schemes.
Studying at an institution
All of our programmes are designed to be completed anywhere in the world by independent study (with the exception of the five undergraduate Diplomas and one Access programme listed below). However, on many of our undergraduate courses and some postgraduate courses students often choose to attend classes at a local institution and can benefit from the support these organisations can offer. The type of support provided varies between institutions. Most teaching institutions provide regular full-time and part-time classes or occasional revision sessions. Others may provide online or correspondence support. Institutions may also provide social and recreational facilities, libraries and other services that could benefit you during your time as an International Programmes student. As mentioned above, attending an institution is not compulsory for most International Programmes. However, if you wish to register on any of the Diploma courses or the Access programme listed
below, you must attend a recognised institution that has been listed as offering that programme on the International Programmes directory of institutions: Diploma in Computing and Information Systems Diploma in Creative Computing Diploma in Economics Diploma in Law Diploma in Social Sciences Access programme for BSc in Business Administration.
If you are not taking one of the above programmes but are seeking additional support, we advise you to wait for confirmation from the University of London that you are eligible for the programme of your choice before enrolling at an institution and paying their tuition fees. Please note, enrolment at a local institution is not the same as registering as an International Programmes student with the University of London.
Directory of institutions
Most students on International Programmes attend institutions for additional support in their learning, and are happy with the assistance they receive. If you decide to assist your studies by attending an institution we suggest you first check the International Programmes online directory of institutions:
We aim to ensure that all International Programmes students who study at a recognised centre will experience good standards of teaching, support and administration. In order to assure students of these standards, International Programmes staff undertake regular exercises to monitor these institutions, including site visits and annual monitoring.
Choosing an institution
Recognised centres are split into two categories: Affiliate Centres and Registered Centres. Affiliate Centres have proved to the University that they are able to offer a long-term commitment to developing high standards in respect of teaching, support and administration. Affiliate Centre status is the highest level of recognition the University can give an institution. Registered centres also meet specific quality criteria and demonstrate standards of teaching, support and administration that are acceptable to the University of London for supporting International Programmes students to prepare for their examinations.
If the institution is not listed, it is possible that they are in discussions with the University of London International Programmes with a view to commencing our recognition process. However, we are not able to comment on such institutions. As such, we advise you to undertake your own research on them.
Does the institution offer teaching and learning support for all levels of the degree? Is this support limited to a range of courses? Ask to see the facilities, especially the library. Can you borrow books from the library or is it for reference only? If you already have your subject guides, check that there are copies of the essential and recommended texts. Is there room to study in the library and is it quiet?
We advise you not to enrol at an institution until you have an offer of registration from the University of London International Programmes. If you are eager to start your studies ask if the institution is able to charge you only for the tuition you have actually received if you are not successful in your application to study with the University.
Complaints
If you have concerns or complaints about an institution that you are attending, you should first discuss these with the staff at your institution. In many situations you will be able to resolve your problems quickly and easily. If you still feel, however, that your problem has not been sorted out, then you should follow the further stages in our Complaints Procedure. Additional information can be found on page G.33 and the full procedure can be found on our website at:
If you have further questions please check our FAQs in the first instance to see if the answers are there.
Online resources
your student email account your user details other useful information.
Dont forget, you can also use the discussion areas on the Portal to connect with other students and feel part of our student community. For information about your VLE and resources available through it, please refer to the Programme section. If you have not received your username and password or require further assistance logging in, please go to the login FAQs at the bottom of the Portal homepage:
Some courses may have other specific computer requirements, for example, Flash player and audio. Please consult your study materials for further details.
As with all websites, the higher the bandwidth of your internet connection, the smoother your experience of the Portal will be.
Student Portal
When you initially registered with us you were given a University of London username and password, which allow you to log in to the Student Portal and access all the resources it contains. The address of the Portal is:
The Portal gives you access to online resources that are relevant to your programme of study, including: your VLE your Online Library
It is important that you check this email account regularly as we will use it to tell you about new developments and other important matters.
Support
If you are having technical issues with the Portal, including difficulty accessing the study materials or logging in, please go to the login FAQs at the bottom of the Portal homepage:
We will try to respond to your query within two working days; however, this may take longer during busy periods and holidays. Please note that the user support service is for Portal queries only and should never be used for questions on how to set up your computer, how to use software, or to troubleshoot faults with your computer or Internet Service Provider.
Libraries
Bookshops
During your studies you will need access to a range of textbooks and periodicals that are not always available to buy, so it is strongly advised that you join, or have access to, a good library.
The Programme section of this handbook will tell you if you need to buy textbooks to supplement the study materials we send you. This is often, but not always, the case. If you need to buy textbooks, a list of bookshops that International Programmes students have found useful can be found on our website at:
You should contact the bookshop directly in order to check whether they stock the particular book you require. If you find a bookshop that is not included in our list, but has provided you with good service, we would be grateful if you could let us know. We can then contact the bookshop to ask if we can include them on our list next year.
Other libraries
Many of our students use local or university libraries close to where they live. We provide details of libraries that offer facilities to International Programmes students on our website, in the list mentioned above. This information is updated annually and is correct at the time of publication. If you find a library that is not included or if you discover problems with any of the libraries listed, please let us know.
Confirmation of registration
If you complete the online registration process you will receive an instant confirmation of registration message at the end of the task, which you can print off for your records and use to provide proof of your registration with the University of London. You will also receive a follow-up email to confirm that your registration has been completed. If you register offline and you require a Certificate of Registration, please contact the Registration and Learning Resources Office who will be happy to send you one (see page G.3 for contact details).
Change of details
If any of your personal details change (for example, if you are moving home or you change your name or your email address) please tell us as far in advance as possible so that we can ensure that your student record is correct. You can do this online by logging into the Student Portal and using the My Records link. Alternatively, you can write a letter or contact us through the online enquiry system (see page G.3). Please send any notification of a change to your details to the Registration and Learning Resources Office.
In brief: We will send you an email alert when the online registration process opens for your programme. In order to receive your study materials, access services from the International Programmes and to be eligible to enter for examinations, you must complete the registration process and pay the fees before the deadline. As part of the registration process you must indicate all the courses that you intend to study, even if you are continuing to study the same courses as in the previous year. You will only be offered the opportunity to enter examinations for those courses that you have selected as part of the registration process. Please allow one month between completing the registration process and contacting us to ask where your study materials are. If you have specific reasons for wishing to register offline, please contact the Registration and Learning Resources Office.
Select SRN from the drop-down menu in the Track Shipment box and then enter your SRN. Any packages currently on their way to you will be visible, as well as your past history of shipments. Please always allow at least one month between completing your registration and contacting us to ask where your study materials are. This is to allow reasonable time for us to process your fee and study course selections, pick and pack your course materials and finally for the course materials to be delivered to you. It is also worth remembering that processing time can increase during very busy periods, such as September and October, so you may need to make an allowance for this.
The following information will guide you through the examination process, from making an examination entry through to receiving your results. Remember, you do not have to take examinations each year, but if you decide to sit them they are usually held in May/June.
New codes
In 20112012, new course/module codes were introduced throughout the International Programmes. This change did not affect the syllabus or content of any of the courses/modules but was implemented as part of our commitment to develop and enhance the services that we offer you. When you register for a course/ module or complete an examination entry form, you should use the new codes. You can find them listed in Appendices A and B of the PSR or at:
immediately if you have not received your Admission Notice 10 days prior to your first examination (see page G.3 for details of how to contact us).
Examination Centres
Maintaining a good relationship with your Examination Centre is a very important part of the examination process and will ensure that the process runs smoothly for you. Firstly, you should contact one of the approved Examination Centres, which are listed online:
If you do not have access to the internet, please contact the Student Assessment Office (see page G.3). We would advise you to do this in good time as your Examination Centre will need to countersign your examination entry form before you can send it to us. The deadline for the University to receive examination entries is 1 February. Your Examination Centres local deadline will therefore be before this date, so always make sure you have submitted your examination entry form in time. The Examination Centre will charge you a fee to cover the costs of administration, invigilation and the return of your script(s) to the University by courier. This local fee should be paid directly to the Examination Centre where you sit your examinations and is in addition to the examination entry fee you pay to the University of London.
Examination Centres are all independent institutions responsible for conducting the examinations at a local level. Each Centre will individually set its own local deadline for receiving your examination entry form and will decide what local fee it will charge. It is important to note that the University has no influence over the exchange rate or the amount of the fee charged by the Examination Centres. This amount can vary significantly from country to country so please check with your Centre directly. During the examination session, all students will be examined by the same written paper examination, on the same date and at the same time. In certain circumstances, however, this may not be possible, so you should always check with the Examination Centre that you have the correct time and location of your examinations. It is important that your Examination Centre can easily contact you, so always make sure that they (as well as the Student Assessment Office in London) have your up-to-date contact information, especially if you change your address. Always check the details of your examination (for example, location, time and date) with the Centre directly and if you are unable to attend, please let them know. Students who have difficulty in making arrangements to take examinations at any of the listed Examination Centres, or who wish to take examinations in a country not listed, should write to the Student Assessment Office (see page G.3). You should note, however, that where an established Examination Centre exists you will be expected to use the facilities
provided by that Centre. The University is not able to establish an alternative Examination Centre in an area where one is already established.
The Admission Notice must be taken into every examination to provide the invigilators with proof of your identity. If you are sitting your examinations in the United Kingdom, your Admission Notice will be sent to you at your contact address approximately four weeks before the examination session commences. If you are entered to sit examinations outside the United Kingdom, your Admission Notice will be sent to your Examination Centre approximately four weeks before the examination period commences. You can then either collect the Notice from the Centre or they will forward it to you at your contact address. If you have not received your Admission Notice 10 days before the start of your examinations you must immediately contact the Student Assessment Office (see page G.3 for contact details).
and include a full medical report and/ or other supporting documentation. This information must be submitted no more than three weeks after the date of your last examination so that it can be taken into account by the Examiners. If you have difficulty obtaining your supporting evidence you should still write to the Student Assessment Office within the time specified above, but explain fully the reason why you cannot provide the supporting documentation at that time. You should also say when you expect to forward this information to the University. The University can only consider your case if you provide us with appropriate supporting evidence.
Mitigating circumstances
If you think your examination performance was adversely affected by illness or other adequate cause, either during or directly before the examination session, then you must contact the Student Assessment Office straightaway (see page G.3)
Further questions?
If, after reading this handbook and the PSR, you still have queries in connection with your examinations, please contact the Student Assessment Office who will be happy to help. Please see page G.3 for details of how to contact us. In brief:
Please be aware that you can only make a representation on administrative grounds. Rechecks cannot be considered on academic grounds, as each script is marked independently by two Examiners and the confirmed result is then determined by an Examination Board. The decision of that Board is final. Therefore, if you make a request for an administrative recheck, your script will not be re-examined or re-marked by the Examiners. A thorough administrative investigation will, however, be undertaken.
The examination entry process will move towards becoming fully online in 20122013. Advance examination timetables will be made available approximately six months before the examination session. You will receive your Admission Notice approximately three to four weeks before your examinations. You should check the Portal/ VLE and website regularly for information on developments. You will not be able to make an examination entry until you have completed the initial/ continuing registration task and paid all related fees.
You may be able to apply for accreditation of prior learning (APL: also known as credit transfer or exemption at other institutions) if you have covered a similar syllabus to the same level as part of a previous qualification. To be eligible to apply for discretionary APL you must prove that you have already passed examinations that equate in level, content and standard to a particular foundationlevel course(s) that forms part of your programme. If you are awarded APL you do not have to take that particular course as part of your programme. You must make a formal application for APL by sending a letter of written application to the Admissions Office (see page G.3 for details of how to contact us). Most students do this at the time that they apply for the programme but, as a registered student, you may apply at any time provided that you have not already made an examination entry for that particular course. If you fail an examination you may not, at a later stage, apply for APL for that course. All applications for discretionary APL will be considered individually and are awarded at the Universitys discretion. An APL application fee will be charged to cover the processing of this request. This fee is nonrefundable even if your APL application is unsuccessful.
All regulations relating to APL for your programme can be found in your PSR. Please always refer to this before you apply for APL, as some programmes will not accept APL applications or will only accept applications for particular courses. Furthermore, you should note that APL is usually only permitted for a set number of courses (depending on the programme). Some programmes offer automatic APL to students who have already studied a particular course with a specified institution or professional body. This information is listed in the PSR. However, you must still complete an application for automatic APL. In brief: If you are awarded APL for a particular course, you do not have to take that course as part of your programme. You will need to satisfy certain criteria to be eligible to apply for APL. These criteria are given in your PSR. Not all programmes offer APL. You must make a formal application for all APL. You must pay an application fee for discretionary APL application requests. The APL application fee is nonrefundable.
Transfers
Applications to transfer are considered on an individual basis. If your application is approved, in certain circumstances, you may be awarded credit(s) on the new programme on the basis of your studies on the old programme. However, the award of credit(s) is also considered individually and remains at the discretion of the University. If you make an application to transfer after you have made an examination entry on your current programme, your transfer application will not be considered until after the publication of the result of your examination.
Transferring to an International Programmes postgraduate programme Transferring to another International Programmes undergraduate programme
If you would like to transfer to another undergraduate programme offered through the International Programmes you should firstly check the relevant prospectus (available on our website at www. londoninternational.ac.uk) to see if you satisfy the entrance requirements for that programme. If you meet the necessary entrance requirements you can apply to transfer. Applications to transfer must be made in writing to the Registration and Learning Resources Office (see page G.3). When making an application you must give your full name, student number, correspondence address, the programme for which you are currently registered and the programme to which you wish to transfer. If you would like to apply for a Masters degree, Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate through the International Programmes you will have to cancel your existing registration and submit a fresh application.
concerned. If you need confirmation of your results as part of the transfer process, please refer to page G.27 .
For consideration of a place from October in a particular year, the UCAS opening date for the receipt of applications is mid-September in the previous year and the deadline is usually 15 January of the year of study. You should, however, check the website for confirmation of these dates and note that certain programmes may have alternative dates. The British Council will have further information and application forms for UCAS.
2. Personal statements are a vital part of the UCAS application. Not all universities invite applicants for interviews, so this is your opportunity to express yourself. Read through the
Transcripts
The Transcripts Office is also able to provide former students with additional copies of transcripts, and can supply current students with transcripts detailing their studies to date. A fee is charged for this service. In order to request a transcript you will need to fill out an application form from the website:
Please note that your transcripts will show all attempts at examinations whether passed, failed or retired.
General section 20122013 G.27
Each year, usually in March, a ceremony is held in London at which graduates from undergraduate degree and postgraduate programmes are presented to the Chancellor or Vice-Chancellor of the University of London or to the Dean of the International Programmes. Many International Programmes graduates from all over the world attend this formal ceremony, together with family or friends. The ceremony ends with a reception for graduates and their guests. This is an opportunity for them to meet staff of the International Programmes and the Lead Colleges in a more informal atmosphere.
Information about the graduation ceremony is sent to you with the notification of your results after successful completion of your degree or postgraduate programme. We recommend that you apply to attend as early as possible. Although spaces for graduates are unlimited, tickets for guests are allocated on a first come, first served basis, and there is always a high demand. If you are unable to attend the ceremony in the year following successful completion of your award, you would be most welcome, provided space is available, to attend in another year. For further information, please contact the Corporate Affairs Office (see page G.3).
The Careers C2, a service from Group, University the Careers Group of London
We are the largest higher education careers service in the country. We provide recruitment services to students and graduates from UCL, Kings College, Queen Mary, St. Marys University College, Goldsmiths, SOAS, Royal Holloway and specialist Colleges, as well as many other institutions in London and across the United Kingdom. We organise a number of national recruitment exhibitions throughout the year, providing students and graduates with opportunities to meet and network with top recruiters and institutions. They can also get CV advice and information from our expert careers advisers and attend useful presentations and workshops. Our comprehensive website provides access to a wide range of online careers resources. This includes a new, virtual careers information resource, vacancy and job opportunity listings and JobAlert a free service that delivers job notifications to you based on your preferences. Wherever youre headed, we can support your career development needs. Find out more at: C2 is a not-for-profit careers advice service for graduates and professionals at any stage of their career. C2 can inspire you not only to make a career change, it can also ensure that you make the right one be it within the same sector, the same area of expertise or something completely different. This might involve some time with a consultant, attending a couple of workshops, or we might just recommend a helpful book to start you off. We are part of The Careers Group, University of London and also run courses, seminars and recruitment and information fairs. As an International Programmes student you may be especially interested in C2s online CV advice service which allows users anywhere in the world to gain valuable advice on their CV. C2 also offers advice on issues to do with occupations and careers, the United Kingdom graduate labour market and further study and training. Find out more at:
Releasing Potential
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You can also hear first-hand from alumni and academics on our YouTube channel at:
The University of London Union (ULU) is the students union for more than 120,000 students at the 19 colleges and three research institutes of the University of London. As a student of the International Programmes, you can join ULU as an associate member at a cost of 20.00. ULU runs over 40 student-led sports clubs and societies and an extensive intercollegiate league and cup programme in which 4,000 students compete each week. ULU also campaigns on behalf of students and offers a broad range of services and facilities including a live music venue, bars and cafs. To find out more
about what ULU has to offer, take a look at the ULU Guide which can be found through the homepage:
www.ulu.co.uk
If you would like to join, you can obtain a membership card from the main ULU building in Malet Street, very close to the International Programmes administrative offices at Stewart House. Alternatively, you can join by post. For further information about how to join, visit the associate membership page of the website at:
As part of its policy, the University will make every reasonable effort to accommodate you if you have specific access requirements by: 1. making special examination arrangements
and/or 2. wherever possible, and where required as a result of a disability and/or specific accessibility issue, providing our study materials in an alternative format (e.g. large print) or another medium. Please note that, although the University will make every effort to provide your materials in the format you have requested, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. We may need to suggest an alternative format to that which you request.
Complaints procedure
The University of London International Programmes aims to provide the highest quality service to students at all times. Sometimes, however, things can go wrong and you may feel that you need to raise an issue with us. If possible, we would always prefer to resolve any concerns you have with a minimum of formality. Therefore, the first stage of our procedure is to advise you to contact the International Programmes staff/departments that are directly involved, as in many cases it may be possible for issues to be resolved quickly and easily.
If you still feel, however, that your problem has not been resolved, you should follow the further stages in our complaints procedure. This will ensure that your complaint will be directed to our Director of Corporate Performance and Quality who, acting on behalf of the Dean of the University of London International Programmes, will investigate the matter further. The full procedure can be found on our website at:
If you wish to write to us, please contact: Director of Corporate Performance and Quality University of London International Programmes Stewart House 32 Russell Square London WC1B 5DN United Kingdom Email: A&C-CPQ@london.ac.uk
Student Charter
The Student Charter aims to establish the standards of service to which we aspire. It also explains what we need from you to help us do that and to benefit more from your experience as a student. We believe that clear expectations can help to improve the quality of your study experience with us so the Student Charter lists what you can expect the University to do and also what will be expected of you as a student. The Student Charter is updated annually by considering any comments from students and is approved through the governance of the University of London International Academy: