Philosophy

COURSES OFFERED

The following postgraduate courses are available:

• Graduate Diploma in Arts
  
• Master of Arts (Applied Ethics)
  
• Honours Master of Arts by Research
  
• Doctor of Philosophy
  

CURRENT RESEARCH AREAS

The following areas of research are available to candidates undertaking the Honours Master of Arts degree by research and the Doctor of Philosophy degree:

Ethics
The theory of responsibility; moral absolutism; rights theory; virtues and vices; moral reasoning; consequentialism; autonomy; issues in moral psychology, eg weakness and strength of will, moral motivation; metaethics, eg truth, relativism and objectivity in ethics.

Applied Ethics
Bioethics, including feminist bioethics; legal ethics; ethics in public policy; environmental ethics.

Philosophy of Law
Legal and political obligation; natural law theory; issues of criminal liability and responsibility.

Political Philosophy
Liberalism; theories of property; citizenship; privacy issues; consent theory; self-determination; theories of justice; issues in feminist political theory.

Theory of Knowledge
Knowledge and theories of justification; theories of perception; self-knowledge and first-person authority.

Metaphysics
Personal identity theory; identity; realism and irrealism; primary and secondary qualities; Kantian and neo-Kantian metaphysics.

Philosophy of Language
Theories of content, interpretation and communication; theories of truth; speech-act theory; theories of vagueness and ambiguity.

Logic
Logics of indeterminacy and indefiniteness; deviant logics.

Philosophy of Mind and Action
Theories of the mind; theories of intention and agency; accounts of motivation; issues in philosophical psychology, eg self-deception, propositional attitudes and akrasia, irrationality and the divided mind.

Philosophy of Emotion
The nature and epistemology of emotions; reason and passion; emotions and morality.

GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN ARTS
The purpose of the Graduate Diploma in Arts is to provide, in a recognised University course, a means for graduates with limited acquaintance with logic and philosophy to acquire competence in these subjects at a reasonably advanced level. The Graduate Diploma shall be subject to the University Course Rules for the award of Graduate Diplomas together with the following conditions.

Candidates are required to complete subjects totalling 48 credit points from those listed in the General or the Arts Schedules under 'Philosophy'. Of these at least 24 must be from 300-level subjects and the remainder from 200-level subjects.

A candidate may not include in his or her graduate diploma program any course component which substantially duplicates a subject or part of a subject previously passed by the candidate as part of any degree or diploma already held or previously attempted.

The selection of courses and the program of study shall be approved by the Head of the Program.

A full-time candidate shall normally complete the diploma in one academic year, a part-time candidate in no less than two and no more than three academic years.

Admission to candidature for the Graduate Diploma is on the recommendation of the Head of the Philosophy Program who shall assess the applicant's aptitude for sustained philosophical study at a reasonably advanced level.

MASTER OF ARTS Applied Ethics
The Master of Arts (Applied Ethics) aims to provide professionals and others who have a general interest in applied ethics with a philosophical education in one or more areas of applied ethics. Applied areas on offer in 2000 (subject to enrolments) are: Bioethics, Ethical Issues in Research, Applied Ethics Topics and Environmental Ethics.

It has become increasingly obvious with the proliferation of ethics committees and the demand for public accountability that health care professionals, public policy makers, lawyers, public servants, business people, scientists, researchers, and so on, are required to make well-reasoned, informed judgements about issues that are essentially ethical. Such judgements require philosophical expertise - one needs to be able to recognize the factual and evaluative complexity of the issues, to recognize evaluative issues as evaluative, critically to evaluate competing ethical claims, and to reason to a conclusion soundly. Yet the development of such expertise is typically not included in the professional training of people who are called to act as ethical decision-makers. The Master of Arts (Applied Ethics) helps make good this lack.

It would be expected that students undertaking the course would benefit at least in the following ways. First, they would sharpen their critical reasoning skills. Second, they would gain a good grounding in ethical theory and a comprehensive understanding of the specific issues in their chosen applied area. Third, they would enhance their ability to make difficult, ethically sensitive decisions.

The Master of Arts (Applied Ethics) is a course in applied philosophy, in which ethical theory, as studied in a core subject (PHIL955 - Theoretical Ethics) is applied to various areas of practical concern. The course may be co-taught by members of the Philosophy Program and lecturers from the Faculties of Law and Health and Behavioural Sciences.

Candidature is open to holders of a Bachelor's degree (pass or honours) in any field or others who satisfy the Board of Research and Postgraduate Studies of comparable professional standing or attainments. The Degree is available by Coursework and Minor Thesis.

Candidates shall successfully complete a program of 48 credit points, normally comprising a minor thesis (24 credit points) in applied ethics, together with the two 8 credit point core subjects and one 8 credit point elective. Candidates who have done the undergraduate subject PHIL206, or equivalent, are required to take one core subject PHIL955 and two electives. Candidates who have done the undergraduate subject PHIL251/301, or equivalent, are required to take one core subject PHIL935 and two electives.

Core

HONOURS MASTER OF ARTS by Research

The purpose of the Honours Master of Arts by research is to enable suitably qualified graduates to make a significant independent contribution to Philosophy. Graduates who hold an Honours Bachelor degree (with a minimum of Honours Class II, Division 2) or equivalent may, if recommended for candidature, undertake PHIL999 Major Thesis (48 credit points). All other candidates must, if recommended for admission, normally complete PHIL913 Advanced Philosophical Topics (48 credit points) with an average grade of distinction or better prior to enrolling in PHIL999.

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

For this degree, candidates enrol in the subject PHIL999 Major Thesis.