PY404-5-AU-CO:
Narrativity, Truth and Flourishing
2022/23
Philosophy
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 5
Current
Thursday 06 October 2022
Friday 16 December 2022
15
12 September 2022
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
BA QV25 Philosophy and Literature,
BA QV26 Philosophy and Literature (Including Placement Year),
BA VQ52 Philosophy and Literature (Including Foundation Year),
BA VQ58 Philosophy and Literature (Including Foundation Year and Year Abroad),
BA VQ5F Philosophy and Literature (Including Year Abroad),
BA V5L5 Philosophy, Ethics and Sustainability,
BA V5L6 Philosophy, Ethics and Sustainability (Including Foundation Year),
BA V5L7 Philosophy, Ethics and Sustainability (Including Placement Year),
BA V5L8 Philosophy, Ethics and Sustainability (Including Year Abroad)
Should we think of human lives as narratives or as somehow narrative-like? Should we be trying to make our lives into a good story? Is the self some kind of fiction? Philosophers sometimes think of human selfhood as having a narrative form or structure. In this module, we will take our point of departure from a widely-discussed paper by Galen Strawson in which he launches an all-out attack on narrative theories of the self. Describing himself as an 'Episodic', Strawson rejects both the descriptive and the normative parts of the view that human lives are narratives or narrative-like. Drawing on Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, MacIntyre, Ricouer and others, we will examine how convincingly the 'narrativists' are able to respond to Strawson's critique.
The aims of the module are:
1. enable students to undertake a close assessment of the philosophical issues surrounding narrative theories of the self;
2. with the help of secondary sources, to undertake a close reading of selected primary texts bearing on this issue;
3. to develop the ability to produce argumentatively precise and robust critical analysis of philosophical and literary texts and ideas.
By the end of the module students should be able to:
1. articulate and critically evaluate various views concerning philosophy and literature, selfhood and human flourishing;
2. engage in their own critical reflections on these topics.
By the end of the module, students should also have acquired a set of transferable skills, and in particular be able to:
1. define the task in which they are engaged and exclude what is irrelevant
2. seek and organise the most relevant discussions and sources of information
3. process a large volume of diverse and sometimes conflicting arguments
4. compare and evaluate different arguments and assess the limitations of their own position or procedure
5. write and present verbally a succinct and precise account of positions, arguments, and their presuppositions and implications
6. be sensitive to the positions of others and communicate their own views in ways that are accessible to them
7. think 'laterally' and creatively - see interesting connections and possibilities and present these clearly rather than as vague hunches
8. maintain intellectual flexibility and revise their own position if shown wrong
9. think critically and constructively.
Erasmus/IP students must have already taken an introductory module in Philosophy at their home institution.
1 x two-hour seminar and 1 x one-hour presentation and discussion each week and a Reading Week.
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Moodle Quiz Total (Best 2 of 3) |
|
25% |
| Coursework |
Essay Plan (2 pages) |
|
25% |
| Coursework |
Essay (2000 words) |
|
50% |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Dr Daniel Watts, email: dpwatts@essex.ac.uk.
phiquery@essex.ac.uk
Yes
Yes
Yes
Dr Josiah Saunders
Durham University
Associate Professor
Available via Moodle
Of 27 hours, 27 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.
Philosophy
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