The module provides an introduction to functional brain anatomy and important neurotransmitter signalling pathways. This is used as a framework on which to describe the symptoms and treatment of neuropsychiatric disoders, such as schizophrenia. The possible underlying causes of these disorders, and advances in therapy, are discussed in the light of the most recent research in these topics.
This module is to describe basic concepts in neuropharmacology e.g. on the localisation and putative function of neurotransmitter pathways in the brain, and to use this knowledge to consider different theories relating to the biochemical basis of action of psychotomimetic and psychotropic drugs. This is used as a foundation to consider the biochemical basis of major neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, depression and anxiety, and neurodevelopmental disorders e.g. autism spectrum disorders. It will progress to highlight emerging opportunities for treatment of psychiatric conditions.
Philosophical logic provides tools for the rigorous study of some of the most central notions of philosophy and of ordinary thought - for instance, necessity and possibility (modal logic), time (temporal logic), moral obligation (deontic logic), and knowledge and belief (epistemic logic). You will learn about some of these logical tools, and use them to explore the philosophical questions that they both raise and help to illuminate. For instance, is your existence necessary? What is the nature of time? Can you be obliged to do something you are unable to do? What’s the difference between knowledge and belief?
This module provides you with a critical introduction to the philosophical development of the common law through an examination of key concepts and principles within private and public law that are essential for full and critical engagement with the substance of any core module as well as with any more specialist area. The module will examine some of the central conceptual and normative notions that underpin the common law, such as the private vs. public; doctrine of precedent; coercion; desert and entitlement; justice; ownership; duties and rights; promises and agreements; causation; responsibility; community; authority; sex/gender. This list is not exhaustive and can vary slightly from year to year. By reflecting on these key concepts and principles you will gain a deeper understanding of the nature of law and be able to present innovative and persuasive legal argument as part of your studies and future legal practice.
Philosophical pessimism argues in various ways that life is negative in value, the most extreme position being that it would have been better not to have existed. It provides a challenge to many philosophical and commonsense assumptions about value. In the 17th and 18th centuries thinkers such as Bayle, Hume, and Voltaire had begun to develop pessimist views and were opposed by Leibniz’s optimism in Theodicy (1710). Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) is regarded as the most serious systematic exponent of pessimism. He focuses on the suffering and unfulfillment of desires that characterize life, and controversially interprets Christianity and Buddhism as essentially pessimistic religions. Both Schopenhauer and Buddhism, however, offer a positive solution to suffering through a transformation in consciousness. Schopenhauer’s work influenced a German school of idiosyncratic pessimists in the late 19th century. In this climate, Nietzsche took on some aspects of Schopenhauer’s philosophy in his early work, The Birth of Tragedy (1872), but in later works argued for an attitude of ‘saying Yes to life’, disputing the negative value of suffering. In contemporary philosophy, David Benatar’s anti-natalism has revived the view that existing is always worse than non-existing, arguing that we should not bring new human beings into existence.
The science of psychology and the project of artificial intelligence raise profound philosophical issues as they attempt to understand, simulate and even go beyond human thought. Some concern the kind of explanation that these ventures seek: If we understand the brain, do we understand the mind? How do psychological theories stand to neurological and sociological theories? Must psychological theories model the underlying neurology? Or might psychological theories instead rest instead on broader generalisations that are independent of such details? That they can do so might be a requirement if we are to make sense of the idea that machines might think or feel despite having no nervous system remotely like ours. Or should we instead conclude that machines could never think or feel? Other philosophical issues these projects raise are ethical: Does the status of psychology as a science require that its theories not commit us to value judgments about how we live? Is that possible even when we theorise about topics such as mental health and illness? And what new ethical dilemmas might we face as we autonomous systems become more sophisticated? This module aims to explore questions such as these.
You will complete a dissertation on a subject of your choice, subject to available supervisory expertise.
Students taking this module undertake research on a philosophical topic of their choice (subject to approval by the Department), and write a dissertation of 8,000 words on that topic.
An Individually Negotiated Topic offers you the opportunity to explore in detail some central themes in a philosophical area of your choice. The areas that can be studied vary but may include, among others, Plato, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Wittgenstein, Contemporary Aesthetics, History of Aesthetics, Ethics, Epistemology, Philosophical Logic, Philosophy of Mathematics, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Science, Feminist Philosophy.
An Individually Negotiated Topic offers students the opportunity to explore in detail some central themes in a philosophical area of their choice. The areas that can be studied may include, among others, Plato, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Wittgenstein, Contemporary Aesthetics, History of Aesthetics, Ethics, Epistemology, Philosophical Logic, Philosophy of Mathematics, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Science, Feminist Philosophy.
This module introduces students to philosophical approaches in understanding organisations and their management. The module will consist of three interrelated themes. The first will comprise the attempt to familiarise students with the essential problems at the heart of philosophical debate and expose them to different ways of dealing with them. The second theme will be organised around contemporary schools of thought and thinkers (e.g. logical positivism and Foucault), and founding intellectual fathers of economic thought (e.g. Marx). During these sessions we will be preoccupied with utilising various philosophical lenses in order to make sense of organisational phenomena, gain a better grasp of the intellectual origins of our extant understandings, and critically reflect upon taken-for-granted views about managing. The final theme will concentrate more sharply on organisational settings by studying how advances in organisational theory have afforded important philosophical insights into organisations and (the possibility of) their management.
Can there be a proof that God exists? Or might phenomena such as suffering serve to show that an omniscient, omnipotent and omnibenevolent being cannot exist? Such questions are central to the philosophy of religion; attempting to answer them leads us to reflect on such topics as the character of religious belief, its relation with science and morality, the place of reason in religion, and the meaning of religious language. Giving some attention to religious ideas and conceptions of religion beyond those developed in the Abrahamic traditions, this module will explore some of those questions and the issues they raise. It is possible to undertake this module successfully without having completed the first year module, Faith and Reason. However, this module can be seen as building on that one. The subject matter of the second year module will be more advanced and will be explored in greater depth.
We build our world on scientific knowledge, in fact we stake our lives on it. Every time we board a train, send an email or take a medical drug we reaffirm our trust in the products of science. But what, if anything, gives science the authority it seems to have? Is there a particular method that is distinctive of science? Can we distinguish science from pseudo-science? And how do the sciences generate and confirm theories from limited series of particular observations? Should we believe that the best-supported scientific theories and models are true, or should we merely accept that they 'work'? And what should our attitudes towards unobservable entities be? Finally, can science be a wholly neutral and objective mode of investigating reality? Or is it distorted by the values and interests of individual scientists and the societies they live in? And does that mean that its results must be understood in relation to the social, historical and ideological context in which it is carried out? The aim of this module is to introduce you to some of the basic problems, concepts and positions in the philosophy of science, and to encourage reflection on the power, and also the limitations, of scientific methods of thinking.
In this module you will explore some major philosophical questions related to sex, sexuality and gender. We will consider general questions about the nature of sex, sexuality and gender: What makes an act sexual? What is a sexual orientation? What is gender? We will connect general theories to concrete issues in the ethics of sex, sexuality and gender, discussing issues such as whether monogamy is permissible, legal protection of sexual orientation and the role of gender in public and private life.
This module will look at the dominant traditions in the philosophy of social science and how these have shaped substantive research within the study of the social sciences.
By the end of this module you will be familiar with digital photogrammetry in archaeology and the visualisation of photogrammetric datasets. You will also have a basic grounding in key methods in photogrammetry and be able to create accurate and detailed datasets. Working in small teams, you will learn how to successfully acquire still and video imagery and create digital models. In addition to this you will become experienced in both designing and implementing photogrammetric methodological solutions to archaeological research questions and evaluating their impact on recording and interpretation. Throughout the module you will learn to critique your application of photogrammetry and identify key elements of digital recording techniques. Furthermore, you will extend your knowledge concerning the state-of-the-art methods of data visualisation. You will be acquainted with the creation and analysis of orthomosaics and digital elevation models. You will learn how to both create line drawings and cross-sections and combine photogrammetric datasets with new geospatial data, such as GPS and LiDAR data. As a translator between photogrammetry and archaeology you will also produce clear reports explaining and evaluating surveying and processing methodologies in specific contexts.
- To introduce basic concepts governing optical waveguides, fibres, lasers and optical amplification. - To foster a physical and quantitative understanding of key photonic devices. - To foster an understanding of the use of photonics in sensing and communications applications.
The course is devoted to carrying out a series of experiments from the area of photonics and related technologies. The experiments have been selected to underpin and illustrate some fundamental concepts in laser and fibre science and offer an opportunity to develop the correct use of key experimental techniques. After the lab part of the course is completed, a conference will be held where the students will give presentations on one of the experiments carried out. Note this is a course only for MSc students.
The main radiation mechanisms dominating astrophysical processes are discussed and examples are given of the situations in which they are most important. We show how the physical conditions, e.g. the temperature, density and magnetic field strength, can be determined from the emitted radiation in astrophysical situations, such as stars, galaxies and the nuclei of active galaxies. Detection techniques across the electromagnetic spectrum are investigated. The course is fundamental to our interpretation of astrophysical data and so is vital for all astronomers. However it is very much a physics course and so is also of use to students who are not taking astrophysics degrees. This aims to connect taught physics with the beginnings of astronomical research. The content requires a strong mathematical foundation.
