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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.