Program Overview

How are our minds related to our bodies? Do we really have free will? What is knowledge (as distinct from merely true belief) and what can we really know – about the world around us, about other people, or about ourselves? How can we be confident we know what is right and wrong, just and unjust? And what would it take to live a morally good life? You have just been posed some typical philosophical questions, and if you seriously want to search for the answers then this is the course for you. Our degree course will challenge you to develop a strong set of critical, imaginative and informed reasoning skills, and deepen your understanding of the nature of the human mind, of language, of morality and politics, of art, of science, and of logic. We offer breadth and variety in this course. Some modules focus on particular historical figures, allowing students to really get to grips with one famous philosopher’s ideas – and how subsequent generations have argued over those ideas. Thinkers whom we study in depth include Aristotle, Descartes, Kant, Mill, Marx, Wittgenstein, and Heidegger. Other modules focus on specific philosophical topics, such as the theory of knowledge; logic; metaphysics; philosophy of mind; moral philosophy; philosophy of science; environmental ethics; and many more. During your study at Stirling you will be introduced to the key issues in a wide range of topics within philosophy in your first two years. Then it is largely up to you which areas you wish to focus on – and you will be able, on the basis of what you have learned so far, to make informed choices among the range of higher-level modules available. If, for example, questions about the fundamental nature of reality really interest you, then you might choose modules such as Relativism and Reality or Materialism and Idealism, to name but two. If questions about how we should treat others (including animals and the planet itself), and whether there can be any objective answers to such questions, are what interest you, modules such as Meta-Ethics or Environmental Ethics or Politics, Law, and Society, and others will suit your interests nicely. Or, if you find questions about rationality, logic, and how to think philosophically are especially stimulating, you can choose to take modules on the nature of knowledge; the nature of language; philosophical paradoxes; and so on. The choice is up to you!