Religion, Culture and Philosophy

Autumn Term: October 2011 - December 2011
Spring Term: January 2012 - March 2012
Summer Term: April 2012 - June 2012

Philosophy and Film
The relationship between film and philosophy is still in its infancy, with philosophical analyses of the art form confined to the last two decades of the 20th Century. The new millennium has, however, ushered in a host of new issues with the development of digital film, the revival of 3D, and associated phenomena such as videogames. This course introduces the application of philosophy to film and examines the main questions it has been used to answer. How should we understand film: is it like an illusion, like a dream, or simply a series of moving photographs? Do the concerns about photography as an art form cast doubt on the status of film? Does film stimulate an impoverished imaginative experience in the viewer? What is the relationship between film and ethics; can there be a good film with a bad moral? Does the popular notion of film being able to ‘do philosophy’ make any sense?
Rafe McGregor BA MA
Term: Autumn
Day: Monday
Start Date: 10 October 2011
Time: 7-9pm
No. of weeks: 10
Full fee: £67.00

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Facets of Faith: Later Medieval Religion
The life and culture of Medieval England were dominated by the Church. This course offers an introduction to the many aspects of religious experience in post-conquest Medieval England, looking at institutions of the Church. Sessions will cover topics including the parish church, monastic life, saints’ cults and pilgrimage. Medieval spiritual experience will also be explored, with discussions of lay devotion and mysticism. The course will also look at religious control and interaction, looking at heresy and western medieval perceptions of Judaism and Islam. We will be using a variety of medieval texts (in translation) and images of medieval religious art to delve into the experiences and influences of religion in Medieval England.
Alice Bennett BA MA MPhil
Term: Autumn
Day: Tuesday
Start Date: 11 October 2011
Time: 7-9pm
No. of weeks: 9
Full fee: £60.50

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An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind
In the first half of this course we will look at theories of what the mind is, casting light on questions such as: are the mind and body distinct? Is the mind just the brain or is it something immaterial? What is the relationship between the mind and the brain? Can the mind survive the death of the body? The second half of the course will look at the problem of other minds, artificial intelligence, free will and personal identity. We will discuss all of these issues, drawing on philosophers from the early modern period such as Descartes, Hume and Malebranche, right through to contemporary philosophers such as Dennett, Searle and Turing.
Ema Sullivan-Bissett BA MA
Term: Autumn
Day: Thursday
Start Date: 13 October 2011
Time: 7-9pm
No. of weeks: 10
Full fee: £67.00

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John Henry Newman and Modern Christianity
Newman (1801-1890) was one of the most significant and influential figures of modern church history, bequeathing a legacy that has not only profoundly affected contemporary Anglicanism and Roman Catholicism, but which has also extended to many other Christians as well. This study day will be divided into two parts. The morning session will concentrate on Newman’s Anglican career, especially his role in founding and leading the Oxford Movement; in the afternoon the focus will shift to his Roman Catholic years and his reputation as the ‘invisible father’ of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Each session will be introduced by a lecture that will seek to place Newman within his historical and ecclesiastical contexts, and will then proceed to extended discussions of his ideas contained in his writings. Extracts from these will be made available to participants in advance of the study day.
George Herring BA MA DPhil
Term: Autumn
Day: Saturday
Start Date: 22 October 2011
Time: 9.30am-4.30pm
No. of weeks: 1
Full fee: £35.00

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Spring Term: January 2012 - March 2012

 

Authenticity
In Anglo-American philosophy, the discipline of Ethics seeks to answer the question of how we should live, but continental philosophy offers an intriguing alternative in the idea of ‘authenticity’, or being true to oneself. Authentic existence is reminiscent of the Ancient Greek concern with character and excellence in the good life, which focuses on success rather than morality. This course will examine writings on authenticity from four of the most influential philosophers of the 20th Century: Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida. Beginning with Heidegger’s ‘freedom towards death’, we will consider Sartre's and Levinas’ respective critiques, and the idea of ethics as responsibility for the other. Moving on to Derrida’s philosophical project, we will analyse his re-conceptualisation of the relationship between freedom, responsibility, and death. We will conclude by looking at the deconstruction of authenticity as an ethics of authenticity, a guideline for an excellent and ethical life.
Rafe McGregor BA MA
Term: Spring
Day: Monday
Start Date: 23 January 2012
Time: 7-9pm
No. of weeks: 8
Full fee: £53.50

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An Introduction to Ethics
This course will look at both normative ethical theories and meta-ethical theories. The former set of theories attempt to answer questions such as ‘how ought we to act?’ and ‘how should we make moral judgements?’ The latter set however is concerned with questions of what goodness is, what the meaning of moral judgements is, and whether or not morality is part of the real world. Having equipped ourselves with such theories and principles we will move on to look at issues in applied ethics such as abortion, euthanasia and animal welfare. In applying theory, we will try to square our moral intuitions with general principles and come to a better understanding of what it takes to arrive at a satisfactory moral judgement.
Ema Sullivan-Bissett BA MA
Term: Spring
Day: Tuesday
Start Date: 24 January 2012
Time: 7-9pm
No. of weeks: 8
Full fee: £53.50

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Summer Term: April 2012 - June 2012

 

An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion
In this course we will look at issues concerning the nature of God, arguments for and against His existence and the relationship between faith and reason. We will be concerned with casting light on questions such as: is the concept of God coherent? Is the presence of evil in the world telling against the existence of an omnipotent and benevolent God? Does the apparent order of nature indicate the existence of a Creator? Is ‘God’ a good answer to the question ‘what’ caused the universe to exist? Should our belief in God come from faith or should we insist on evidence for His existence? We will be drawing on philosophers from the Medieval period such as St Thomas Aquinas and Anselm through to Hume in the early modern period, contemporary philosophers including Swinburne and Flew as well as those from the ‘new atheist’ movement such as Dawkins and Dennett.
Ema Sullivan-Bissett BA MA
Term: Summer
Day: Monday
Start Date: 23 April 2012
Time: 7-9pm
No. of weeks: 8
Full fee: £53.50

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Last Updated: February 10, 2012 | Iain Barr (ijb3@york.ac.uk)

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