BA Philosophy

What does the programme cover?

The BA in Philosophy offers a rigorous introduction to a range of central philosophical topics, and also allows you flexibility to choose strands of philosophy which interest you.

In Year 1, all Philosophy students take the same compulsory core modules. Knowledge and Reality, Introduction to Value and the History of Greek Philosophy introduce you to the central concerns and early history of Philosophy. Reason and Argument introduces you to formal and informal logic, while Philosophical Texts engages you in close reading of classic texts in small seminars.

In each of years 2 and 3 there is just one compulsory core module, plus a dissertation in year 3 on a topic of your choice. This leaves you scope to choose the remaining five modules from a wide range of subjects reflecting the expertise of the faculty. You must include choices from distinct option groups, to make sure there is a good overall balance of breadth and depth. Even so, the range of choice is wide – including key philosophical writers and ideas of  different periods (such as Hellenistic, Medieval; Wittgenstein; Nineteenth-Century German Philosophy) or issues which have concerned Philosophers through the ages and still do (such as Political Philosophy; Aesthetics; the Concept of God; Marxism; Love, Sex, Death and God), or approaches to philosophical thought (such as Metaphysics; Epistemology; or Philosophy of Science).

Your dissertation is a piece of individual work on a topic chosen by you and approved by your supervisor.