BA Modules

This is the list of BA modules running in the academic year 2025/26.

Click on the titles below to see more information, including a module description and a provisional syllabus. Module leader email addresses can be found via the staff pages. For times and locations please use the UCL common timetable, which will be updated in early September with seminar group allocations. Modules may be subject to change before the start of session.

Information for continuing UCL students about when and how to select modules can be found on the Module Registration Page.

Modules are organised into three broad areas: Group A, Theoretical Philosophy; Group B, Normative Philosophy; Group C, History of Philosophy.

First Year Modules (FHEQ Level 4) - Term 1

PHIL0001 Ancient Greek Philosophy (C)

Module Leader: Simona Aimar
Level: 4
Term: 1
Area: C
Assessment: In-class Test (15%); Coursework, 800 Words (25%); Essay, 1500 Words (60%)

Description: This module deals with some important metaphysical, epistemological and ethical questions by looking to philosophers from the ancient Greek tradition. Questions we will address include:

What is philosophy and how should we approach doing it?
What principles should we adhere to when dealing with philosophical texts?
What characteristics are we entitled to attribute to a deity?
Can you step into the same river twice?
Is it impossible to talk or think about something if it doesn’t exist?
Can we ever investigate anything? If so, how do we go about it?
What is the difference between knowledge and true belief?
To what extent are we responsible for our actions?

The schedule is as follows:

Week 1: The Milesians (Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes)

Week 2: Xenophanes on the Divine and Knowledge

Week 3: Heraclitus and Parmenides on Opposition

Week 4: Zeno on Motion

Week 5: Plato’s Meno I: Definition

Week 6: Plato’s Meno II: Meno’s Paradox

Week 7: Plato’s Meno III: Knowledge and Belief

Week 8: Aristotle I: The Function Argument (in the Nicomachean Ethics)

Week 9: Aristotle II: Choice, Praise and Blame (in the Nicomachean Ethics)

Week 10: Aristotle III: Fatalism (in De Interpretatione)

PHIL0005 Introduction to Logic 1 (A)

Module Leader: Andreas Ditter
Level: 4
Term: 1
Area: A
Assessment: In-person Writtem Exam, 1 Hour (100%)

Description: This is an elementary course in truth-functional logic. We will cover a range of topics, including symbolization, the syntax and semantics of the language of truth-functional logic, the construction of proofs, and logical properties such as consistency and entailment. You will learn how to symbolise English sentences in a formal language, analyse the structure of arguments, and construct precise arguments yourself. Our goal will be to help you become proficient in using formal methods to clarify and make precise logical relationships that are hard to understand otherwise, and to reason better, with greater clarity and precision.

PHIL0007 Introduction to Political Philosophy (B)

Module Leader: Han van Wietmarschen
Level: 4
Term: 1
Area: B
Assessment: Essay, 1500 Words (30%); Essay, 2000 Words (70%)

Description: In this module, we investigate three large sets of questions about justice and the importance of liberty and equality for a just society:
(1) Liberty: What is liberty and why is it important? Which liberties, if any, should a just society protect? Freedom of expression? Freedom from interference? Economic Liberty? Sexual liberty? Political liberty? Can these different liberties come into conflict, and if so, should some have priority over others?
(2) Equality: What is equality, is it important, and which kinds of equality, if any, should a just society ensure? Equality of opportunity? Equality of income and wealth? Political equality?
(3) Reconciliation: Can a society ensure the equality and liberty of its citizens at the same time, or are these political values inherently in conflict with one another? If they are conflicting values, which is to take priority?

We approach these questions by studying a sequence of authors including Hobbes, Locke, Wollstonecraft, Betham, Mill, Nozick and Rawls. We then look back and reflect on whether this sequence has ignored important considerations of class, gender and race, with readings from Marx and Engels, MacKinnon, and Delaney.

PHIL0007 has three main aims: (1) to make explicit the normative ideas that underlie our views about the basic institutions of our society, (2) to evaluate the adequacy of those normative ideas, (3) to try to think and argue in a systematic and reasoned way about these questions together, on a basis of mutual respect.

Teaching Delivery: There will be a weekly lecture, and weekly discussion seminars (± 17 students per group). You will be expected to study readings for each week. The module is assessed by two essays.

This module is compulsory for first year single honours philosophy students and for first year PPE students. Students from other programs and other years of study are welcome, subject to available space.

PHIL0008 Philosophical Study Skills: Reading, Understanding and Essay Writing

Module Convener: To Be Confirmed
Level: 4
Term: 1
Area: n/a
Assessment: Essay, 2000 Words (100%)

Description: Each tutorial group (maximum 4 students) is allocated to a tutor, usually an advanced PhD student, who meets weekly for an hour to discuss set texts; to improve the students’ understanding of them; to debate; and to instruct the students in essay-writing skills. Each student in the group will write some formative essays in the course of the term and may in addition be required to prepare presentations. The tutor is responsible for deciding – according to their expertise - the selection of texts to be studied, although this is done in consultation with the course convenor. See below for examples. In general, there will be a spread of different philosophical texts, possibly on a common theme, and frequently including both ‘historical’ and more contemporary texts. Assessment method 2,000-word submitted essay, due in on the first day of the following Term. It is possible to work up and submit one of the essays presented earlier in the term, in the light of feedback from the tutor.

This module is only available to Year 1 students on BA Philosophy and joint honours programmes with Philosophy.

PHIL0200 Introduction to Philosophy of Computer Science

Module Convener: Peter Fritz
Level: 4
Term: 1
Area: A
Assessment: Coursework, 1250 Words (50%); Coursework, 1250 Words (50%)

Description: This module introduces five set texts in the philosophy of computer science.

Each text is first introduced in a one-hour lecture, which is delivered by the module convenor. Students then meet for three one-hour discussion groups to explore the text. This takes place across two weeks.

For the discussion groups, students are divided into small groups allocated to a tutor, usually an advanced PhD student. The discussion aims to improve students’ understanding of the set texts, to encourage individual and group exploration of philosophical ideas, and to improve essay writing and general study skills.

Each student in the group will write some formative essays over the course of the term. In addition to comments from tutors, students will be encouraged to engage in peer-marking (in pairs) of each other’s work. Students may in addition be required to prepare brief presentations.

The set texts will be chosen by the module leader; they may vary group-by-group and year-by-year. The texts will always, however, emphasise themes at the intersection of philosophy and computer science, in areas such as logic, reasoning, information, and understanding.

This module is only available to students on the BA Philosophy and Computer Science progamme at UCL.

First Year Modules (Level 4) - Term 2

PHIL0002 Early Modern Philosophy (C)

Module Leader: To Be Confirmed
Level: 4
Term: 2
Area: C
Assessment: In-person Written Exam, 2 hours (100%)

Description: When we open our eyes and look about the world, we often assume that what we see is what we get. We assume that grass really is green, and that violets are blue, in more or less the way they visually appear to be. And similarly for the other senses. In the early modern period (roughly, the 17th and 18th centuries), European philosophers increasingly problematize this assumption. Some philosophers—such as René Descartes, Nicolas Malebranche, Robert Boyle, and John Locke—argue for a radical disconnect between the world presented by our senses and the way it really is. These figures argue that the colourful, smelly, tasty, and noisy world with which we are all familiar is a grand illusion, and that physical reality is in fact colourless, odourless, tasteless, and silent, composed of purely quantitative objects. Other philosophers—such as Margaret Cavendish and George Berkeley—try to rescue something of our naïve understanding of the world, and to save the greenness of grass and the blueness of violets, though they twist themselves into metaphysical knots in the process. This module will investigate the thorny early modern debate between these two camps. By the end of this module you will have gained knowledge of some of the key arguments and theories of early modern philosophy, developed your skills in reading, discussing, and writing critically about challenging texts—and you will be a much better position to decide whether a tree falling in a forest makes a sound.

PHIL0003 Knowledge and Reality (A)

Module Leader: Sam Carter
Level: 4
Term: 2
Area: A
Assessment: Essay, 2000 Words (100%)

Description:This module offers an introduction to topics in metaphysics and epistemology, exploring what the world is like and what we know about it.
The first half of the module will focus on how things are. We will look at questions such as:

•   What makes things the way they are?
•   How different could things have been to how they are?
•   If things had been different to how they are, what would things have been like?

The second half of the module will focus on what we know about how things are. We will look at questions such as:

•   What is it to know how things are?
•   How can we know anything about how things are?
•   What should we believe about how things are?

In the course of the module, you will be introduced to key tools for studying metaphysics and epistemology. You will also become familiar with debates to do with topics such as time, identity, modality, knowledge, and justification.

PHIL0004 Introduction to Logic 2 (A)

Module Leader: Andreas Ditter
Level: 4
Term: 2
Area: A
Assessment: In-person Written Exam, 2 hours (100%)

Description: This is an elementary course in first-order logic. We will cover a range of topics including symbolization, the syntax and semantics of first-order logic, the construction of proofs, and logical properties such as consistency and entailment. You will learn how to symbolize English sentences in first-order logic, analyze the structure of arguments, and construct precise arguments yourself. Our goal will be to help you become proficient in using formal methods to clarify and make precise logical relationships that are hard to understand otherwise, and to reason better, with greater clarity and precision. PHIL0005 Introduction to Logic 1 is a pre-requisite for this module.

PHIL0006 Introduction to Moral Philosophy (B)

Module Leader: Mark Kalderon
Level: 4
Term: 2
Area: B
Assessment: In-person Written Exam, 2 hours (100%)

Description: This module is an introduction to moral philosophy through a close examination of two key historical texts. Specifically, we will read selections from Hume's Treatise and Kant's Groundwork. The aim is to introduce you to themes in moral philosophy and prepare you for further study in moral philosophy as well as further study of Hume and Kant.

Indicative Topics: The module will cover the following topics:

1. The nature of moral motivation, whether it is reason or desire that moves us to act as morality requires

2. Whether moral requirements can move us to act contrary to our interests

3. Whether moral requirements are universal

4. The connection between self-knowledge and virtue

Teaching Delivery: Teaching will consist in a weekly lecture and a weekly seminar. You will be required to do the reading for each week and participate in seminar.

Second Year Modules (Level 5) - Term 1

PHIL0011 Applied Ethics (B)

Module Leader: John Vorhaus
Level: 5
Term: 1
Area: B
Assessment: Remote Online Written Exam, 2 hours (100%)

Description: This course will examine some selected topics in applied ethics.

The following topics will be covered: abortion, rape, euthanasia, non-human animals, future people, affirmative action, disability, privacy and the ethics of immigration.

Students will be expected to read at least two papers for most topics, and to participate actively in the back-up seminar. Assessment will be by an two-hour examination, in which students will be expected to answer two questions. This final paper will offer a wide range of questions to choose from, but a question on each topic is not guaranteed.

Affiliate students who are studying at UCL for the autumn term only will be assessed by one essay of 2500 words (100%).

PHIL0013 Philosophy of Mind (A)

Module Leader: Rory Madden
Level: 5
Term: 1
Area: A
Assessment: Essay, 2500 Words (100%)

Description: This module aims to introduce students to a range of problems, theories, and arguments in the philosophy of mind: the philosophical study of mental phenomena and their relation to the rest of reality. What defines the mind? How does the mind relate to the physical world? Is the mind just the brain? Can the mind affect the physical world? What is consciousness? How far does the mind extend? Which animals are conscious? Might every particle in the universe possess some consciousness?

Provisional syllabus and primary readings:

(1) What is the mind?

Bayne, Tim 2022 Philosophy of Mind Ch 1 ‘Marks of the Mental’

(2) Mind-brain identity

Smart, J.J.C 1959 ‘Sensations and brain processes’ Philosophical Review

(3) Functionalism

Putnam, Hilary 1978 ‘The Nature of Mental States’ in Block ed. Readings in the Philosophy of Psychology

(4) Mental Causation

Crane, Tim 2004 The Elements of Mind Ch 2 ‘Body’

(5) Consciousness

Nagel, Thomas 1974 ‘What is it like to be a bat?’ Philosophical Review

(6) The Knowledge Argument

Jackson, Frank 1982 ‘Epiphenomenal Qualia’ The Philosophical Quarterly

(7) Monitoring Theories of Consciousness

Rosenthal 2002 'Explaining Consciousness' in Chalmers ed. Philosophy of Mind: Classic and Contemporary Readings

(8) The Extended Mind

Clark, Andy and David Chalmers 1998 ‘The Extended Mind’ Analysis

(9) Animal Minds

Birch, Jonathan 2020 ‘The Search for Invertebrate Consciousness’ Nous

(10) Panpsychism

Goff, Philip 2017 ‘Panpsychism’ in Schneider and Velman eds. The Blackwell Companion to Consciousness, Second Edition.

PHIL0022 Philosophy of Language (A)

Module Leader: Sam Carter
Level: 5
Term: 1
Area: A
Assessment: Essay, 2500 Words (100%)

Description: We have many tools for representing the world around us. We write words, draw diagrams, paint pictures, and send smoke signals. Each allows us to communicate information in a different way. This module provides an introduction to representation in language and beyond.
The first half of the module will focus on linguistic representation, discussing how we use words and sentences to mean things. We will look at questions such as:

•   What is a language?
•   How do languages encode meaning?
•   How is linguistic representation related to thought?
•   How is linguistic representation related to communication?

The second half of the course will turn to other forms of representation. In this section, we will consider a variety of non-linguistic ways representing the world, including pictures, maps, and gestures. We will look at questions such as:

•   What is the difference between linguistic and non-linguistic representation?
•   Can linguistic and non-linguistic representation be integrated?
•   How is non-linguistic representation related to thought?
•   How is non-linguistic representation related to communication?

In the course of the module, you will be introduced to key tools for studying philosophy of language. You will also become familiar with debates to do with topics such as truth, reference, communication, and meaning.

PHIL0024 Ethics (B)

Module Leader: Giulia Cavaliere
Level: 5
Term: 1
Area: B
Assessment: Essay, 2500 Words (100%)

Description: Should we judge an action by its outcomes or the intentions of the person who acts? What obligations do we have to one another? Do we have special obligations towards the people who are close to us? Why do promises matter? What is the relationship between freedom, responsibility and punishment? What entities have full moral status and what does moral status entail? Are there such things as just wars? Is death bad and should it be avoided? What, if anything, could justify killing? Do people have a moral right to have an abortion? In this module, we will think critically about these questions and the answers that philosophers have given to them.

This module canvasses important topics in contemporary ethical theory and applied ethics. The module will also introduce students to methodological questions about what exactly we're doing when we think about moral questions and problems.

PHIL0028 Topics in Political Philosophy (B)

Module Leader: Joe Horton
Level: 5
Term: 1
Area: B
Assessment: Essay, 1300 Words (25%); Essay, 2000 Words (75%)

Description: This module investigates questions that are both central to political philosophy and of current political importance. They include: What does it take for a political system to be just? Can we support equality of opportunity without also supporting equality of outcome? How can we come to own natural resources? Does global inequality matter as much as national inequality? Is it wrong to contribute to climate change? What do we owe to future generations?

Module Aims: This module focuses on central debates in political philosophy, and it is designed to help you develop the skills needed to evaluate them. These skills include reconstructing arguments, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of arguments, and identifying the connections between debates that might initially seem unrelated. These skills are fundamental in all areas of philosophy, but they are also important in many other disciplines.

This module investigates questions that are both central to political philosophy and of current political importance. They include: What does it take for a society to be just? How can we come to own natural resources? Does global inequality matter as much as national inequality? Is it wrong to contribute to climate change? Should states recognise the institution of marriage? What do we owe to future generations?

Sample Readings:

Elizabeth Anderson, ‘What is the Point of Equality?’, Ethics 109 (1999): 287–337
G. A. Cohen, Self-Ownership, Freedom, and Equality (Cambridge University Press, 1995): Chapter 3 and Chapter 4
Andrea Sangiovanni, ‘Global Justice, Reciprocity, and the State’, Philosophy & Public Affairs 35 (2007): 3–39
Paula Casal, ‘Why Sufficiency is Not Enough’, Ethics 117 (2007): 296–326
Julia Nefsky, ‘Consumer Choice and Collective Impact’, in Anne Barnhill, Mark Budolfson, and Tyler Doggett (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Food Ethics (Oxford University Press, 2018): 267–286

PHIL0030 Topics in Aristotle (C)

Module Leader: Simona Aimar
Level: 5
Term: 1
Area: C
Assessment: Essay, 1500 Words (35%); Essay, 2200 Words (65%)

Description: This course deals with some of Aristotle’s most influential ideas. We will begin with one of his ethical works, the Nicomachean Ethics, and then move on to his metaphysics in the Categories. The rest of the term will be spent looking at Aristotle’s ideas about nature, causation, the infinite, place and self-motion in his Physics. Throughout the course, we will consider questions of interpretation, try to understand how Aristotle’s ideas fit together and engage with his views and arguments critically.

Schedule:

Week 1: Conceptions of happiness in the Nicomachean Ethics

Week 2: Friendship in the Nicomachean Ethics

Week 3: Relatives in the Categories

Week 4: The four causes in the Physics

Week 5: Teleology in the Physics

Week 6: Chance in the Physics

Week 7: The infinite in the Physics

Week 8: Time in the Physics

Week 9: Place in the Physics

Week 10: Self-motion in the Physics

PHIL0195 Problems in 17th and 18th Century European Philosophy (C)

Module Leader: To Be Confirmed
Level: 5
Term: 1
Area: C
Assessment: Essay, 2500 Words (100%)

Description: In 17th and 18th century Europe, philosophers turned old ways of thinking upside down. “Man” went from being the center of the medieval cosmos to living nowhere special. Philosophers replaced the old Aristotelian world of nested spheres with an austere vision of the universe as an indifferent machine without a center. They stripped value and purpose from nature, along with color and other qualitative properties, reinterpreting many of these phenomena as mere human projections. Claims to knowledge and authority became fragile and suspect. Traditional religious beliefs came under increasing scrutiny as philosophers tried to reconcile belief in the existence of God with the manifest fact of evil in the world. Arguments for the education and equality of women picked up steam. Through these and other developments, a recognizably modern worldview was born. In this module, we will trace one or two philosophical problems—such as problems about the nature of the material world, the mind, skepticism, knowledge, God, human equality, and the problem of evil—through this period, with an eye towards the history of these problem and their lasting philosophical significance.

Second Year Modules (Level 5) - Term 2

PHIL0009 Aesthetics (B)

Module Leader: James Wilson
Level: 5
Term: 2
Area: B
Assessment: Essay, 2500 Words (100%)

Description: This module aims to provide you with an introduction to aesthetics and the philosophy of art. While aesthetics is occasionally thought as synonymous with the philosophy of art, it examines questions raised by experiences that are appreciated for their own sake in a much wider variety of contexts, including natural environments, and watching sport.

The course focuses on two main themes. First, the nature and justifiability of aesthetic judgements. Questions addressed may include: How should we reconcile the commonly held thought that taste is subjective with the equally commonly held idea that some artworks are nonetheless better than others? Is there a right or wrong way to experience the aesthetic qualities of a sunset or a starfish?

The second theme is the contemporary debates in the philosophy of art. Questions addressed may include the nature and value of art (can just anything count as art if you put it in a gallery?), the aesthetic value of forgeries, what we can learn about life from art, and why we value painful works such as tragedies.

Teaching Delivery: The module is taught by a weekly one-hour lecture, and a smaller one hour seminar. Core readings will be set for each week, and it is expected that you read these before the lecture. By the end of the module you should be able to:
• Recognise and assess a range of philosophical arguments in aesthetics and philosophy of art.
• Use examples of artworks and particular experiences to reflect on the aptness of some philosophical theories about art and aesthetic experience.
• Reflect independently on, and write reasoned responses to, some central questions in the field.

PHIL0012 Metaphysics (A)

Module Leader: Daniel Rothschild
Level: 5
Term: 2
Area: A
Assessment: Essay, 1500 Words (60%); In-person Written Exam, 2 hours (40%)

Description: Metaphysics is the study of the basic nature of reality. This module will give an introduction to contemporary metaphysics. We start with ontology, looking at different views about what things exist. We will move on to examine fundamental topics in metaphysics such as possibilities, scientific laws, and time. The overall goal of the module is to evaluate philosophical efforts to systematize scientific and everyday pictures of the world.

PHIL0014 Knowledge (A)

Module Leader: Lucy O'Brien
Level: 5
Term: 2
Area: A
Assessment: In-person Written Exam, 2 hours (100%)

Description: This module is designed to deal with a variety of topics in epistemology – the philosophical study of knowledge. The curriculum will vary from year to year. Topics include: theories of knowledge; theories of justification or warrant; scepticism; contextualism; sources of knowledge: perception, memory, introspection, testimony.

Provisional Topics:

Part I: Knowledge and Scepticism

Week 1. Nozick

Week 2. Nozick’s Critics

Week 3. Contextualism.

Week 4. Problems with Contextualism

Week 5. Knowledge First

Part II. Sources of Knowledge

Week 6. Perception

Week 7. Memory

Week 8. Testimony: Reductionism and Non-Reductionism

Week 9. Testimony and Assurance

Week 9. Introspection

PHIL0017 Topics in Greek Philosophy: Plato (C)

Module Leader: Fiona Leigh
Level: 5
Term: 2
Area: C
Assessment: Assessed Live Debate (20%); Debate Supporting Document, 500 Words (20%); Essay, 2000 Words (60%)

Description: The course, designed to take students through the central tenants of Plato’s thought, requires student participation in philosophical dialogue (reflecting Plato’s style of writing in dialogue form) in several respects. First, students will learn to discuss and debate their ideas by participating in several debates in the seminar groups after the lecture, the first being a piece of formative assessment, the second, pieces of summative assessment (worth 20% and 20% of the final mark). Second, students will vote on, and discuss, multiple-choice questions on material presented during the lectures. Finally, students are strongly encouraged to attend a meeting with the lecturer in week 9 or 10 to discuss their plans for the essay for summative assessment (worth 60% of the final mark). The course will look at a small selection of Plato’s works, with a strong focus on the Republic. The topics to be covered will be:

Week 1 – Virtue ethical moral theory in the Republic
Primary text: the Republic, books I-IV (excerpts)

Week 2 – Plato’s theory of Forms
Primary texts: the Phaedo; the Republic, books V-VII (excerpts)

Week 3 – Moral psychology in the Republic
Primary text: the Republic, books III-IV (excerpts)

Week 4 – Case study of a virtue in the Republic: Courage
Primary text: the Republic, books III-IV, VIII-IX (excerpts)

Week 5 – Was Plato a feminist?
Primary text: the Republic, book V (excerpt)

* seminar debate: Plato & feminism (formative)

Week 6 – Knowledge and belief in the Republic
Primary text: the Republic, books V (excerpt)

Week 7 – Plato’s banishment of poets from the ideal city, part 1
Primary text: the Republic, book X (excerpt)

Week 8 – Plato’s banishment of poets from the ideal city, part 2
Primary text: the Republic, book X (excerpt)

Week 9 – The ‘third man argument’ (TMA) in Plato
Primary text: the Parmenides (excerpt)

* seminar debate: Plato & art in the Republic (summative)

Week 10 – Potential solutions for the TMA in Plato
Primary text: the Sophist (excerpt)

PHIL0149 Kant (C)

Module Leader: Pavel Reichl
Level: 5
Term: 2
Area: C
Assessment: Essay, 2500 Words (100%)

Description:

The Critique of Pure Reason is among the most influential texts in the history of philosophy and has made a lasting impact not only on the way we do philosophy but on the way we see ourselves and our world.

This work arose in a landscape dominated by a contentious disagreement on the foundational problems of philosophy: questions such as ‘Are we free or determined?’ and ‘Does God exist?’ sparked lively debate, yet little progress was made toward consensus. Kant’s revolutionary insight was that before attempting to respond to such questions, we must first of all carry out a critique that would fix the bounds of reason and enable us to determine which questions we can and cannot answer. In this manner, Kant believed he had discovered ‘the key to the whole secret of metaphysics’, capable of resolving these seemingly endless and fruitless debates once and for all.

In this module, we explore Kant’s innovative epistemological framework, his account of the limits of cognition, and his resolution to the basic problems of metaphysics. Students will gain an understanding of the details of Kant's position in the first Critique, an ability to critically assess its central arguments, and an appreciation of its broader historical significance.

PHIL0181 Epistemology and Contemporary Society (B)

Module Leader: Robert Simpson
Level: 5
Term: 2
Area: B
Assessment: In-person Written Exam, 3 hours (100%)

Description: This is an intermediate-level module designed to introduce students to the burgeoning field of Applied Epistemology. We will use philosophical theories about knowledge, justification and belief-formation to explore pressing societal issues. Topics will vary from year to year, but may include:

When other well-informed people disagree with us, should this make us less confident in our beliefs?
What can epistemology tell us about online ‘echo chambers’?
What, if anything, makes conspiracy theories epistemically worse than official theories?
How should feminism affect the way we think about knowledge and belief?

Background Reading: David Coady (2012) What to Believe Now: Applying Epistemology to Contemporary Issues

PHIL0185 Protecting Dignity (B)

Module Leader: John Vorhaus
Level: 5
Term: 2
Area: B
Assessment: Remote Online Written Exam (100%)

Description: An introduction to questions in applied ethics and philosophy of law about human and animal dignity, and the prohibition on degrading treatment and punishment.

We explore conceptions of dignity and degradation, and examine the characteristics and any wrong inherent in degrading treatment and punishment, as imposed upon prisoners, people held in detention centres, people with dementia and other disabilities, and non-human animals.

The course includes readings in applied ethics, jurisprudence and international human rights law.

The course will include lectures on the following ten topics:

Distinctions: torture, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment
Degrading treatment and punishment
Corporal punishment and bodily searches
Kantian dignity and respect for persons: Korsgaard, Wood, Parfit, Kerstein
Contemporary accounts of dignity: Waldron, Rosen, Hill
Advocates of human dignity: Velleman, Nussbaum, Margalit
Scepticism about human dignity: Sangiovanni, Rosen, McMahan
Unawareness: the dignity of people with advanced Dementia
Dignity and disability
Non-human animals: the ethics of captivity

Final Year (Level 6) - Term 1

PHIL0025 Intermediate Logic (A)

Module Leader: Peter Fritz
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 1
Area: A
Assessment: Problem Set 1 (25%); Problem Set 2 (25%); Problem Set 3 (25%); Problem Set 4 (25%)

Description: The purpose of this module is to present basic methods and results concerning first-order logic. The emphasis is on the practical skill of formulating and proving results in and about logical systems. Students are introduced to basic set theory, enumerability and non-enumerability, cardinality, soundness and completeness, the Compactness and Löwenheim-Skolem Theorems, and inexpressibility results. As part of this, we discuss and practice informally proving abstract mathematical results, as well as formalizing such results and proofs using first-order logic.

The expected background for this module is propositional and predicate logic as it is covered in a standard introduction to formal logic. This includes familiarity with the languages of propositional and predicate logic, formalization of informal arguments in these languages, evaluating propositional formulas using truth tables, evaluating formulas of predicate logic using models, model-theoretic notions such as validity and consequence, some form of proof system, and corresponding proof-theoretic notions such as provability and consistency. A main component of the module is regular problem sets.

It is recommended that students have taken, and passed, PHIL0005 Introduction to Logic 1 and PHIL0004 Introduction to Logic 2, or equivalent before selecting PHIL0025 Intermediate Logic.

PHIL0041 Early Wittgenstein (C)

Module Leader: José Zalabardo
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 1
Area: C
Assessment: Essay, 3500 Words (100%)

Description: The purpose of this module is to present some of the central doctrines of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. The module focuses on the account offered in this book of the structure of reality and our ability to represent it in thought and language. We will also study ideas of Bertrand Russell and Gottlob Frege that are relevant for the development of Wittgenstein’s thought.

The module will enable you to understand these important ideas, overcoming the obscurity of Wittgenstein’s writing. This will contribute to your general understanding of the central philosophical issues that Wittgenstein addresses. It will also develop your ability to interpret difficult philosophical texts.

Topics covered by the module will include:

Russell’s dual-relation theory of judgment
Russell’s multiple-relation theory of judgment
Russell and Wittgenstein on forms
Wittgenstein’s picture theory
Frege on unity and unsaturatedness
Wittgenstein on the unity of the proposition
Wittgenstein on the unity of facts
Objects and expressions as common structural features
Substance and simplicity

Teaching Delivery: The module will be delivered by weekly two-hour lecture/seminars, combining presentation of material by the lecturer and general discussion of the ideas presented. You will be expected to do preparatory reading for each session.

By the end of the module:

You will have gained a deep understanding of some of the central ideas put forward by Wittgenstein in his early period.
You will be able to connect Wittgenstein’s proposals to contemporary debates in metaphysics, philosophy of language and philosophy of mind.
You will have enhanced your interpretative skills regarding difficult philosophical texts.
You will have developed your ability to grasp and discuss highly abstract philosophical issues.

Recommended Reading: In preparation for the module, we advise reading the following core texts. These can be found in the UCL Library.

Wittgenstein, Ludwig. 1974. Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. Translated by D. F. Pears and B. McGuinness. 2nd ed. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Original edition, 1961.
Zalabardo, José L. 2015. Representation and Reality in Wittgenstein's Tractatus. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

PHIL0045 Making Sense of the Senses (A)

Module Leader: Mark Kalderon
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 1
Area: A
Assessment: Essay, 3500 Words (100%)

Description: C. D. Broad offers a comparative phenomenology of vision, audition, and touch highlighting the important differences between them. We will assess Broad’s comparative phenomenology drawing upon analytic, continental, historical and psychological literature. The aim is to introduce the student to advance themes in philosophy of perception through this assessment of Broad’s comparative phenomenology. The class will be conducted as a seminar with student presentations

For relatively recent analytic discussion of these issues, the student might consult the optional reading Perception and Its Modalities edited by Dustin Stokes, Mohan Matthen, and Stephen Biggs. Oxford University Press, 2014.

PHIL0053 Philosophy of Religion (A)

Module Leader: Rory Phillips
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 1
Area: A
Assessment: Essay, 3500 Words (100%)

Please note that this module is not displaying correctly in the UCL Module Catalogue, but it will be available in 2025/26.

Description: This historically-focused module will introduce students to a range of thinkers from the European tradition who have made important contributions to the philosophy of religion. Importantly, this course will try to take seriously the importance of many authors’ theological and philosophical commitments, especially when concerning authors for whom these disciplines were inseparable, like authors of late antiquity and the medieval period. Primary texts will be the core readings for every week, supplemented by commentary and engagement from contemporary philosophers. Every week there will be a 45-minute lecture followed by an hour-long seminar. Representative thinkers and topics include: Augustine on sin and grace; Anselm on the ontological argument and the workings of salvation; Aquinas on the argument from contingency; Luther on the separation of theology from philosophy and the nature of free will; Leibniz on the actual world as best of all possible; Hume on miracles and the argument from appearance of design; Kant on the impossibility of traditional arguments for God; Schleiermacher on religion as a feeling of absolute dependence.

PHIL0057 Topics in German Idealism (C)

Module Leader: Rory Phillips
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 1
Area: C
Assessment: Essay, 3500 Words (100%)

Please note that this module is not displaying correctly in the UCL Module Catalogue, but it will be available in 2025/26.

Description: This module focuses on central issues in the writings of the German Idealists – Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel – with special attention to the ways in which they develop and transform Kant's philosophy. The module will be ordered roughly chronologically, beginning with the late work of Kant, moving through Fichte and Schelling and ending with Hegel. Representative topics include the nature of self-consciousness and the different ways (morality, nature, history) that self-consciousness is embedded, the nature of moral authority, the relationship between art, nature, and the self, the importance of history, and so on. Every week there will be selected primary texts available on Moodle, as well as supporting secondary literature. The class will be roughly a 45-minute lecture followed by an hour-long seminar. The aim of the module is to serve as an advanced introduction to the German Idealists and their chief concerns, as well as understanding how they fit into the story of philosophy after Kant. Some background knowledge of Kant is advantageous but not necessary.

PHIL0068 Metaethics (B)

Module Leader: To Be Confirmed
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 1
Area: B
Assessment: Essay, 3500 Words (100%)

Description: This module will introduce you to contemporary metaethics, a discipline which asks philosophical questions about ethics. The four questions at the centre of the course are: (i) are there truths about ethics – about what is good, bad, right, wrong, and so on? (ii) are these truths objective? (iii) are these truths part of the natural world, and (iv) how does our ethical thought and language work? You will investigate these questions by learning about the major theories defended in contemporary metaethics, and as part of this you will learn about various specific problems and questions investigated by contemporary philosophers in this area.

The module will cover the following topics, which may be subject to variation depending on developments in academic research and the interests of the class:

The five theories we will discuss are:

Moral naturalism: the view that there are ethical truths, they are objective, and part of the natural world.
Moral non-naturalism: the view that there are ethical truths, they are objective, but that they are not part of the natural world.
Constructivism: the view that there are ethical truths, but that they are not objective.
Error theory: the view that there are no ethical truths.
Expressivism: the view that ethical language and thought is not best understood as trying to represent ethical truths.

Some of the problems and questions we will investigate include:

The nature of ethical properties and facts, and their place in the world
The link between ethical judgements and motivational states like desires and intentions
The nature of our knowledge of ethical properties and facts: can we know about such things? How? Is it problematic to learn about ethical truths on the basis of what others tell us?

Teaching Delivery: This module is delivered in weekly two-hour classes, which are a mixture of lecture and discussion. Students are expected to read the compulsory reading set each week and prepare for discussion in the seminars.

This module has historically been popular. If you try to register on this module, we would advise exploring additional options, just in case.

By the end of the module, you should be able to:

Understand and explain the broadest aims and questions of contemporary metaethics.
Understand and explain the most popular contemporary metaethical theories and some prominent problems and questions investigated by contemporary philosophers in this area.
Philosophically evaluate and assess these theories and the answers given to these problems and questions, and understand what kinds of considerations are relevant to this assessment.
Understand and explain how these theories and questions, and their evaluation, connect with one another and with broader philosophical issues.

Recommended Reading: In preparation for the module, we advise reading the following core texts. These can be found in the UCL Library or online through UCL Library Services:

The International Encyclopedia for Ethics, ed. Hugh LaFollette, is a great resource for short introductory articles to topics. You could start by reading the article on metaethics, written by Jonas Olson. Other good articles include those on moral naturalism, non-naturalism, non-cognitivism, quasi-realism, and error theory.
Copp, David, ed. The Oxford Handbook of Ethical Theory. Oxford University Press, 2007, chapters 1, 3, 4, 5.

PHIL0073 Feminism and Philosophy (B)

Module Leader: Giulia Cavaliere
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 1
Area: B
Assessment: Essay, 3500 Words (100%)

Description: Feminism and Philosophy focuses on central topics in feminist philosophy, including the object of feminist theory and practice and the role of the concept of “woman” therein; the relationship between women’s biological capacities and gender-based oppression; the role of markets in regulating women’s reproductive labour; the concept of gender justice and the distribution of waged and unwaged labour; feminist perspectives on autonomy, beauty norms and gender-based oppression; sex and consent.

PHIL0077 Equality (B)

Module Leader: Han van Wietmarschen
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 1
Area: B
Assessment: Essay, 3500 words (100%)

Description: In everyday moral and political arguments appeals to equality are ubiquitous. But what do these appeals amount to? In this course we will attempt to gain a deeper understanding of equality in moral and political thought.

The first part of the course will focus on the idea of moral equality. What grounds all human beings’ equal moral status? What does it even mean to say that all human beings are morally equal? Is the moral equality of all people consistent with our favourable treatment of our children, family, and friends? Are non-human animals morally equal to humans?

In the second part of the course, we will focus on the idea of political equality. Specifically, we will consider what the equal status of all citizens implies about how we should distribute power and make political decisions. Does a commitment to the equality of all citizens commit us to democratic rule? If the political decisions made in Community A significantly affect the members of Community B, should the members of Community B have a (democratic?) say in Community A’s decision? Might this commit us to some form of global democracy?

PHIL0083 Philosophy Dissertation

Module Convenor: To Be Confirmed
Level: 6
Terms: 1 and 2
Area: n/a
Assessment: Dissertation, 8000 Words (100%)

Description: The dissertation module is an optional module that can only be taken in your final year of study. The dissertation is a 8,000-word essay on a philosophical topic of your choosing, subject to the availability of a member of staff with appropriate expertise to supervise it, and approval by the Dissertation Tutor. Tuition involves four one-hour sessions of one-on-one supervision by a member of staff. The module is taken over the course of Term 1 and Term 2. The research will be self-directed, though with the guidance of your supervisor. The dissertation submission deadline is first day of Term 3 term by 4.00 pm (BST).

This module is only available to students enroled on the BA Philosophy programme, joint honours Philosophy programmes and PPE students.

PHIL0165 The Philosophy and Ethics of Climate Change (B)

Module Leader: To Be Confirmed
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 1
Area: B
Assessment: Essay, 3500 Words (100%)

Description: Climate change not only raises extremely important practical challenges, but a host of deep ethical and epistemic questions. The ethical questions you will study include the proper scope of moral concern (e.g., human centred versus biocentric views); individual and collective responsibilities to mitigate climate change; what we owe to future generations; and the permissibility of geoengineering.

You will also examine epistemic questions about the nature and status of evidence for climate change, including the epistemic status of climate change models, and which types of climate change scepticism are reasonable. Core skills focused on are those of philosophical reasoning and argumentation.

The module would be suitable for non-philosophy students with an existing interest or expertise in climate change, but such students may find it hard going at times.

PHIL0176 Meaning and Interpretation (A)

Module Leader: José Zalabardo
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 1
Area: A
Assessment: Coursework, 3600 Words (100%)

Description: On the standard conception of the place of linguistic meaning and mental content in the world, there are facts about what speakers mean by linguistic expressions and about what people believe and desire. Interpretation is the process by which we gain access to these facts—we use the evidence at our disposal to determine what people mean by what they say and the contents of their mental states. On this standard conception, facts about meaning and content are generated by connections between language and the mind, on the one hand, and the world, on the other. These facts do not depend in any way on the interpretative procedures by which we seek to discover them.

Since the last few decades of the 20th century, several philosophers have challenged this conception, arguing that facts about linguistic meaning and mental content are somehow produced by the procedures that we employ for ascribing meanings and contents. The goal of this module is to provide a general introduction to this approach. We will focus on the work of four of its main advocates: WVO Quine, Donal Davidson, Saul Kripke and Daniel Dennett.

Topics covered by the module will include:

1. Quine on the indeterminacy of translation

2. Davidson on truth, meaning and radical interpretation

3. Kripke’s interpretation of Wittgenstein’s rule-following considerations

4. Dennett on the intentional stance

By the end of the module:

1. You will have gained a deep understanding of the specific ideas put forward by the authors studied in this module.

2. You will be able to assess their proposals as well as their general approach in philosophical semantics, and to compare them to other major approaches to the subject.

3. You will have enhanced your interpretative skills regarding difficult philosophical texts.

4. You will have developed your ability to grasp and discuss highly abstract philosophical issues.

Recommended Reading: In preparation for the module, we advise reading the following core texts. These can be found in the UCL Library:

Gibson, Roger F. 1998. Radical translation and radical interpretation. https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/thematic/radical-translation-and-....
Quine, Willard Van Orman. 1960. Word and Object. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, Chapter 2.
Davidson, Donald. 1973. ""Radical Interpretation"". Dialectica 27:313-28.
Dennett, Daniel C. 1987. ""True Believers"". In The Intentional Stance. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
Kripke, Saul. 1982. Wittgenstein on Rules and Private Language. Oxford: Blackwell.

PHIL0193 Philosophy in the First Person (C)

Module Leader: Thomas Stern
Level: 6
Term: 1
Area: C
Assessment: Group Work (20%); Essay, 1500 Words (40%); Essay, 2000 Words (40%)

Description: An ‘essay’ can mean many different things, but for most philosophy students it means an assignment which aspires to imitate the aims and style of an article in a contemporary academic philosophy journal. There is, of course, another kind of philosophy essay, the kind that is usually taken to begin with Montaigne. This other philosophy essay has various characteristics, which mark it out against its academic counterpart. Most importantly, the author appears directly as an idiosyncratic character, writing in the first person, rather than an impartial, authoritative voice. Often, this kind of essay has a particular or quite specific subject, which does not appear to have the universal significance of the academic article or treatise. Montaigne wrote on cannibals, fatherly love, liars and so on, rather than the knowledge or morality. The reader is invited into an ongoing conversation, rather than told, step by step, how things are. While many of the traditional tools of philosophy are used along the way, the reader is not expected to have specialist knowledge, but rather to be an interested member of the reading public.

One aim of the course is that students will study examples of this other kind of essay, beginning with Montaigne, and including other well-known philosophical essayists from the past (Rousseau, Emerson, Adorno) and present, including recently published personal-philosophical essays. One assignment will take such an essay, and subject it to a standard, academic, philosophical analysis. What is its argument and how might that argument be criticised? What is gained and lost by choosing this particular essay form?

Another aim of the course, however, is that students will write their own personal philosophy essay. As well as studying essays, that is, students will learn about the craft and process of writing an essay like this for a contemporary magazine or journal: choosing a venue; writing a proposal; drafting the essay and responding to editorial comments.

This module is only open to final year students on Philosophy degree programmes with permission from the module leader.

PHIL0194 Post-Kantian Continental Philosophy (C)

Module Leader: Pavel Reichl
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 1
Area: C
Assessment: Essay, 3500 Words (100%)

Description: In 2025/26 this module will focus on how Post-Kantian Continental Philosophy, as it has been received in Latin America.

In this module, we will study 20th century Latin American philosophy, focussing on its historical development in critical dialogue with the European post-Kantian tradition. We will explore how key figures such as Enrique Dussel, Leopoldo Zea, or Santiago Castro-Gómez have appropriated work of philosophers including Hegel, Marx, and Levinas in their attempts to articulate an 'authentically' Latin American philosophical discourse. Our aims will be to develop an understanding of key 20th-century Latin American philosophers and to critically assess their positions on topics such as history, domination and liberation, and modernity.

PHIL0196 Paradoxes (A)

Module Leader: Andreas Ditter
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 1
Area: A
Assessment: Problem Set 1 (15%); Problem Set 2 (15%); Essay, 2500 Words (70%)

Description: This module will be focused on paradoxes. A paradox is a set of jointly inconsistent claims each of which is individually plausible. Paradoxes are not merely entertaining puzzles; they also raise serious philosophical problems. In many cases, they lead us to rethink basic assumptions about some of our most fundamental concepts, including space, time, motion, truth, knowledge, and belief. In this module, we will examine several paradoxes and the philosophical issues they raise. Along the way, students will be introduced to some central conceptual and formal tools that are relevant not only to the paradoxes but also to a wide range of other philosophical debates.

Paradoxes to be discussed may include: Zeno’s paradoxes about space, time and motion; paradoxes of infinity (the Ross-Littlewood paradox, Benardete’s paradox); the Sorites paradox; logical and semantic paradoxes (Russell’s paradox and the Liar paradox); paradoxes of rationality (Newcomb’s problem, Prisoner’s Dilemma); paradoxes of belief and knowledge (the surprise examination paradox, the preface paradox, the lottery paradox); and paradoxes of personal identity, coincidence, time travel, and modal variation.

Please note that the course combines philosophical and formal elements. A good knowledge of first-order (predicate) logic is presupposed.

PHIL0205 Science and Pseudoscience (A)

Module Leader: Clara Bradley Sorensen
Level: 6
Term: 1
Area: A
Assessment: Essay, 3000 Words (100%)

Description: Science constitutes the most successful human endeavor in cumulative acquisition of knowledge of the natural world. But we are bombarded by information guised as science, and there is more distrust in science and its experts today than ever. While some of this information is harmless, much of it is extremely costly to individuals and society. Given that we are flooded with so much misinformation, how are we supposed to make informed rational judgments?

In this module, we will consider this issue from the perspective of philosophy of science: What is the difference between science and pseudoscience? What constitutes scientific explanation? What role do values play in science? How should we form beliefs on the basis of scientific evidence? We will ask these questions not only in the abstract but also with reference to several case studies including flat earth arguments, anti-vaxxers, homeopathy, and tobacco science.

Final Year (Level 6) - Term 2

PHIL0019 Marxism (C)

Module Leader: Rory Phillips
Level: 6
Term: 2
Area: C
Assessment: Essay, 3500 Words (100%)

Description: This historically-focused module will trace the development of Marxism, focusing on key works of Marx and Engels. Much of our time will be spent seeing Marx's intellectual development. Representative topics will include the critique of religion, alienation, morality, surplus value and exploitation, and the Marxian philosophy of history (historical materialism). A range of primary texts will be assigned, including those of Marx and Engels, but also including Feuerbach and Lenin. Every week there will also be secondary literature as suggested reading. Each class will be roughly a 45-minute lecture followed by an hour-long seminar. The course is designed to enable students to understand and evaluate the core philosophical theory of Marxism, and show the beginnings of how the story unfolds throughout the 20th century. Some background knowledge of German Idealism (esp. Hegel) and classical economics (e.g. Adam Smith) is advantageous but not necessary.

PHIL0044 Aristotle's Moral Psychology (C)

Module Leaders: Fiona Leigh and Elena Cagnoli Fiecconi
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 2
Area: C
Assessment: Essay, 3500 Words (100%)

Please note that this module is not displaying correctly in the UCL Module Catalogue, but it will be available in 2025/26.

Description: The module focuses on Aristotle's philosophy of mind and moral psychology. After a brief introduction in the first week to the central tenets of his metaphysics and epistemology, the module will cover topics including Aristotle's views human nature and human flourishing, the kinds of cognitive capacities attributable to humans and non-human animals, the emotions, virtue ethics, the doctrine of the mean and learning to be good, weakness of the will, and vice. The central primary text will be the Nicomachean Ethics, although other texts will be consulted, notably de Anima. It is intended that students will learn to read passages from Aristotle’s works in ethics and psychology. They will develop the ability to evaluate the arguments proposed in the sources and to propose and assess different possible interpretations. They will be encouraged to reflect critically on the significance of the material. A sample syllabus, with the relevant primary texts, is as follows (selected secondary reading is also assigned each week):

Week 1

Introduction & metaphysics – overview of life and works, relation to Plato – and Aristotle’s metaphysics: hylomorphism, substance, the four causes, body and soul

Primary Text: Metaphysics, VII.1-4, 6, 10-11, 13, 15, 17; Physics II.1-9; III.1-3, VIII.6; de Anima, book 1.1, 1.4

Week 2

The soul & cognition

Primary Text: de Anima, books I-III, and (optional) de Motu Animalium, 6-11

Week 3

Phantasia & emotion

Primary Text: Rhetoric book II.1-10; de Anima, book III.3

Week 4

Understanding the ‘doctrine’ of the mean

Primary Text: Nicomachean Ethics, books II-III (especially II.1-9, III.5-12)

Week 5

The mean ‘relative to us’

Primary Text: Nicomachean Ethics, books II-III (especially II.1-9, III.5-12)

Week 6

The structure of habituation

Primary Text: Nicomachean Ethics, I.13, II.1-4

Week 7

Habituation & action

Primary Text: (the same as for week 6) Nicomachean Ethics, I.13, II.1-4

Week 8

Virtue and Akrasia (weakness of the will)

Primary Text: Nicomachean Ethics, Nicomachean Ethics, VII.1-10

Week 9

Vice and moral conflict

Primary Text: Nicomachean Ethics, III. 2-5, 10-12, VII.7-8 (already read in week 8), IX.4

Week 10

Vice as a unified psychological state

Primary Text: (mostly the same as for week 9) Nicomachean Ethics, III. 2-5, 10-2, VII.7-8, IX.4

PHIL0046 Advanced Class in the Philosophy of Mind (A)

Module Leader: Daniel Rothschild
Level: 6
Term: 2
Area: A
Assessment: Essay, 3500 Words (100%)

Description: Recent developments in artificial intelligence have been so startling that many believe computer scientists have uncovered and reproduced some of the basic mechanisms behind human intelligence. This module will look to evaluate this claim in the light of what cognitive scientists have discovered about the human mind in recent decades. The module does not presuppose any knowledge of artificial intelligence or computer science, but many technical topics will be approached, and students will be expected to engage with difficult texts in computer science and cognitive science. (About three quarters of the reading will be in computer science and/or cognitive science and one quarter in philosophy.)

PHIL0052 Regulation of Intimacy (B)

Module Leader: To Be Confirmed
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 2
Area: B
Assessment: In-person Written Exam, 3 hours (100%)

Description: This optional course will be taught in seminar format, with one weekly two-hour meeting. It is designed to introduce students to some central questions in political and moral philosophy. The topic of the course is the politics of sex. It focuses on general ethical concerns raised by state regulation of intimate relations e.g. in marriage or prostitution. Should some things not be for sale? Is consent the key to legitimate interaction? What is involved in one person ‘objectifying’ another? Are there circumstances in which paternalism is permissible or even required?

Readings include Anderson, Herman, Langton, Nussbaum, Pallikkathayil, Parfit, O’Neill, Satz, Saul, Scanlon, Scruton, Shiffrin, Thomson, Wedgwood.

This course is intended for students with a range of specializations, but some background knowledge in philosophy (normally a minimum of two philosophy courses passed before taking this module). The course is not suitable for conversion students.

PHIL0067 Free Speech and Theories of Autonomy (B)

Module Leader: Robert Simpson
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 2
Area: B
Assessment: In-person Written Exam, 3 hours (100%)

Description: This module investigates two complementary topics: (1) theories of autonomy, as they have been developed by philosophers writing about ethics and the self, and (2) defences of free speech, as they have been developed (and criticised) by legal and political theorists. With respect to (1), we’re interested in what it means to be autonomous, how and why the process of desire-formation has a bearing on a person’s autonomy, and whether it is possible for someone to autonomous desire their own subordination. With respect to (2), we’re interested in what kind of conception of autonomy – and of the individual, as such – different theorists have invoked in seeking to defend free speech, and what kinds of theoretical justifications for free speech can be developed in light of different conceptions of autonomy. The insights into the nature of autonomy that we gain from thinking about the topics in part (1), will inform the critical inquiry that we carry out in part (2). Assessment is via a major essay, and there will usually be some kind of minor, reading-related tasks that you’re required to complete during the term. Classes are a mixture of lectures, small-group discussion, and whole group discussion. Representative examples of readings that we look at during the course are John Christman, “Autonomy and personal history” (Canadian Journal of Philosophy 21/1, 1991, pp. 1-24), and Susan Brison, “The autonomy defense of free speech” (Ethics 108/2, 1998, pp./ 312-39).

PHIL0078 Formal Epistemology (A)

Module Leader: Clara Bradley Sorensen
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 2
Area: A
Assessment: Exercise Set 1 (15%); Exercise Set 2 (15%); Essay, 2500 Words (70%)

Description: This module will introduce the probabilistic representation of belief and its connection to rationality, evidence, and decision-making. Some of the questions that will be covered include: What are degrees of belief? What are the constraints on degrees of belief, and why should we believe that these constraints are rationally required? How are degrees of belief related to action? Can probabilistic reasoning help to solve problems of induction and confirmation?

While there are no formal prerequisites, the module presupposes that students have an understanding of introductory logic and will be required as part of the module to do basic mathematical proofs.

The primary texts for this module are:

Titelbaum, Michael (2022), Fundamentals of Bayesian Epistemology Volumes I and II.

Provisional Syllabus:

Week 1: Full vs. partial belief

Week 2: Axioms and rules of probability

Week 3: Conditionalization

Week 4: Priors and interpretations of probability

Week 5: Confirmation and induction

Week 6: Decision theory I

Week 7: Decision theory II

Week 8: Dutch book arguments and representation theorems

Week 9: Accuracy arguments

Week 10: Further problems for bayesianism

PHIL0079 Advanced Topics on Moral Philosophy: Responsibility, Luck and Excuses (B)

Module Leader: Ulrike Heuer
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 2
Area: B
Assessment: Essay, 3500 Words (100%)

Description: We will explore theories of responsibility, in particular their explanations of its grounds, its scope and its limits. We will also discuss some fundamental skeptical challenges to the practice of holding ourselves and others responsible. In light of these general considerations, we will then examine more specific topics, such as responsibility for attitudes, moral luck, blameworthiness, excuses and collective responsibility. The aim of the module is to develop an understanding of the nature of responsibility, and the resources and problems of contemporary approaches. Introductory readings:

R. Jay Wallace, Responsibility and the Moral Sentiments, Cambridge (Mass.): Harvard University Press 1996.
Susan Wolf, Freedom Within Reason, Oxford: Oxford University Press 1990.
Daniel Statman (ed), Moral Luck, SUNY Press 1993.

PHIL0083 Philosophy Disstertation

Module Convenor: To Be Confirmed
Level: 6
Terms: 1 and 2
Area: n/a
Assessment: Dissertation, 8000 Words (100%)

This module is only available to students enroled on the BA Philosophy programme, joint honours Philosophy programmes and PPE students.

PHIL0084 Guided Research Module

Module Convenor: Joe Horton
Level: 6
Term: 2
Area: n/a
Assessment: Please see below

Description: This module enables undergraduate students to take a graduate-only module. This module aims to provide students with an understanding of an area of current philosophical research and to offer them the opportunity of engaging in the methodology of philosophical research practiced in leading research universities in the world. The student should gain experience of the method of study and instruction expected of a graduate student in the first years of a research degree.

Intended Learning Outcomes: The student will produce a significant piece of writing in the relevant research area. The student will gain an understanding of the key issues in that area of the discipline, and will encounter some of the core classical readings and/or some of the most important recent literature on the topic. They will gain an understanding of research methods in philosophy.

Module Structure: Students who meet the eligibility criteria outlined below may, subject to space and with approval of the Departmental Tutor and the module leader, select either PHIL0208 Later Wittgenstein or PHIL0209 Justice & Inequality: Rawls’s Theory of Justice & its Critics, which are both Level 7 Graduate modules, as their Guided Research Module.

Tuition: Students will attend all seminars for the module that they select. In recognition of the fact that graduate-level courses are more demanding than undergraduate courses, undergraduates taking the Guided Research Module will receive additional support in the form of three tutorials (i.e. small group meetings) with the leader of the graduate module.

Assessment: Students will complete a summative essay of the same length as the graduate students (4,500 words) due for submission on the first day of the term following the term in which the module is taken.

Eligibility and Selection: To be eligible for the Guided Research Module students must have a weighted average of at least 65 in all of the modules they have taken in their first and second year (modules taken in the second year are weighted three times as heavily as first year modules). A maximum of two undergraduate students may take each of the modules listed above (this may be fewer if the module is oversubscribed, since graduate students will be given priority). In the event that more than two undergraduates with a weighted average of 65 or above apply to take the same graduate module (or more than one if there’s only space for one undergraduate on the module), then the students with the highest weighted averages will be selected.

PHIL0129 Worlds, Sentences and Measures (A)

Module Leader: Peter Fritz
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 2
Area: A
Assessment: Problem Sets (70%); In-person Written Exam, 2 hours (30%)

Description: This module gives an introduction to some of the formal tools most often used in contemporary philosophy, focusing in particular on modal logic. Modal logic concerns the logic of intensional notions such as necessity and possibility, obligation and permission, knowledge and belief, tense and other temporal constructions. Studying such logics is particularly interesting for philosophers since such intensional notions are central for many philosophical debates, e.g., in metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and the philosophy of language.

PHIL0160 Philosophy of Space and Time (A)

Module Leader: Clara Bradley Sorensen
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 2
Area: A
Assessment: Essay, 3500 Words (100%)

Description: This module covers topics in the epistemology and metaphysics of space and time: How does one gain empirical access to spacetime? What is the relationship between motion and spacetime? Is spacetime substantival or relational? Is geometry conventional? We will look at these topics through a historical lens, starting with views about space and time in Ancient Greece and ending with Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.

There are no formal prerequisites for this module. Students without mathematics or physics backgrounds can thrive in this module, however, you should be prepared to spend some time learning new mathematics and physics.

The primary texts for this module are:

Huggett, Nick (1999), Space From Zeno to Einstein.
Maudlin, Tim (2012), Philosophy of Physics: Space and Time

Provisional Syllabus:

Week 1: Zeno’s paradoxes
Week 2: The Aristotelian conception
Week 3: Descartes’ physics
Week 4: Newtonian physics
Week 5: The Leibniz-Clarke debate
Week 6: Substantivalism vs. relationalism: modern approaches
Week 7: Ether theories to special relativity
Week 8: Special relativity II
Week 9: Conventionalism about geometry
Week 10: General Relativity

PHIL0184 Philosophy of Arithmetic and Incompleteness (A)

Module Leader: Tim Button
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 2
Area: A
Assessment: Worksheet 1 (15%); Worksheet 2 (15%); Worksheet 3 (20%); Essay, 2000 Words (50%)

Description: Arithmetic is the branch of mathematics which studies the natural numbers — i.e. the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, and so on — and operations on the numbers — like addition and multiplication. This course explores the features that make arithmetic distinctive, and pose unique philosophical challenges. The path through the course is as follows.

Arithmetic is infinitary, abstract, a priori and apodictic, necessary, completely general, and scientifically indispensable. You will start by surveying these features, and encounter the general idea of a formal theory of arithmetic.
A common sentiment is that, in mathematics, consistency suffices for existence. You will explore this idea, understanding what it means to describe a theory as "consistent", and how one might establish consistency. This will lead into into a discussion of Hilbert's programme, which aimed to provide proofs that (various) mathematical theories are consistent. Famously, this programme floundered when Gödel discovered his incompleteness theorems.
You will learn about the technical details behind the incompleteness theorems, including such concepts as: (computable) enumerability, representability, the arithmetization of syntax, Tarski's Diagonal Lemma, Gödel sentences, and consistency sentences.
Armed with this technical knowledge, you will assess the philosophical significance of these results, both for Hilbert's programme and for other philosophical positions.To finish the course, you will consider other approaches to the philosophy of arithmetic, and how they deal with the phenomenon of incompleteness.

The course will be based entirely weekly lectures, backed up with classes. Each lecture/class will have compulsory readings.

Please note that the course combines philosophical and formal elements! Although it is not a formal prerequisite, the course will presuppose introductory logic (at the level of first year Introduction to Logic 1 & 2); at the very least, you will need to be comfortable with how first-order logic works. The course will not presuppose any particular prior knowledge of mathematics; only that you know how to count, and can make sense of expressions like ‘x2 + 3x + 2 = 0’ (even if you cannot quite remember how to solve it). Still, if the very idea of looking at an expression like that fills you with horror, this module is not for you. Half of your final grade will be based on your performance in problem sets, which will help to reinforce your understanding of the technical details behind the incompleteness theorems.

PHIL0188 Problems in Theoretical Ethics (B)

Module Leader: To Be Confirmed
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 2
Area: B
Assessment: Essay, 3500 Words (100%)

Description: Many current philosophical discussions, both in practical and theoretical philosophy, centre around the explanation of normativity. In this module we will focus primarily on practical normativity, starting with the crucial concept of a normative reason and then look into a number of different topics, such as:

(i) Values and reasons
(ii) Reasons for attitudes and the wrong kind of reasons
(iii) Normative powers and voluntary obligations

PHIL0192 Historical Texts in Metaphysics (C)

Module Leader: To Be Confirmed
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 2
Area: C
Assessment: Essay, 3500 Words (100%)

Description: Historical Texts in Metaphysics gives students an opportunity to study intensively and in depth one major text in metaphysics / theoretical philosophy, on the same model as 'Historical Texts in Political Philosophy' and 'Greek Philosophical Texts'. The particular text studied will vary by year. The course will presuppose a general philosophical background and some knowledge of the history of philosophy, but not specific knowledge of any one thinker, period, or school. Typically the texts chosen will have a comprehensive systematic ambition, and the focus of the course will be on the understanding, interpretation, and critical evaluation of the work. Here are some examples of Early & Late Modern works that might be selected: Spinoza's Ethics, Leibniz's New Essays, Kierkegaard's Concluding Unscientific Postscript, Heidegger's Being and Time, etc.

PHIL0203 Changing the World: The philosophy of social and Political Transformation (B)

Module Leader: Shai Agmon
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 2
Area: B
Assessment: Essay, 3500 Words (100%)

Please note that this module may not be displaying correctly in the UCL Module Catalogue, but it will be available in 2025/26.

Description: Come gather 'round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You'll be drenched to the bone If your time to you is worth savin' And you better start swimmin' Or you'll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin'

(Bob Dylan.)

This course addresses one of the most fundamental aspirations in politics: changing the world for the better. Social activists, journalists, politicians, policymakers, and social movements all share the desire to make a difference and to drive meaningful change.

However, the question of how change should be pursued is far from obvious. This course examines this normative challenge, inviting students to engage with key questions such as: When acting for change, should we aim for an ideal society or focus on what is feasible in the present? What constitutes political power, and how can we discern which changes are achievable? Should we advocate for revolution or incremental reforms? Should we pursue change through electoral politics, social movements, courts, or by altering social norms and culture? Should we aim for change as a result of intentional collective action or through the spontaneous order arising from individual actions? Should we try to change from within by making our voices heard, or by leaving the group?

Examining these philosophical debates will engage us with some of the most important and enduring problems in contemporary politics. Throughout the course, we will bridge abstract philosophical discussions with a series of concrete, real-world examples.

Pre-requisites: There are no formal prerequisites for this module, but it is a shared course for third-year undergraduates and master's students. Therefore, some background in political philosophy is assumed, such as the content covered in the first-year module, PHIL0007 Introduction to Political Philosophy. Familiarity with key concepts, theories, and debates in political philosophy will be beneficial for engaging with the course material. Teaching delivery: The course consists of 2 hours per week: a 1-hour lecture and a 1-hour seminar. The lecture will cover key concepts, and the seminar will allow for discussion and deeper analysis. You will be expected to do preparatory reading for each session and to be able to take part in seminar discussion.

By the end of the module:

You will explore and evaluate key theories of political and social transformation, engaging with normative debates on power, collective action, spontaneous social order, compromise, revolution, institutional mechanisms for change, and more.
You will be able to apply philosophical insights to contemporary political debates such as climate change, housing segregation, abortion, judicial activism, Brexit, and more.
You will be able to articulate your views and present them in an analytical, rigorous, and philosophically informed manner.
You will have developed your ability to normatively assess arguments presented in texts, case studies, and real-world scenarios, identifying logical fallacies, inconsistencies, and biases in reasoning.

PHIL0206 Philosophy and Public Affairs (B)

Module Leader: Giulia Cavaliere
Level: 6 (co-taught with graduate students)
Term: 2
Area: B
Assessment: In-Person Written Exam, 2 hours (100%)

Please note that this module may not be displaying correctly in the UCL Module Catalogue, but it will be available in 2025/26.

Description: Love, friendship, parenthood and public policy.

This module explores fundamental questions in moral and political philosophy that shape both private and public life, examining the intersection between the two.

The first half of the module focuses on intimate relationships and the role of law and public policy in regulating them. While we often consider relationships—whether between parents and children, romantic partners, or friends—to be deeply personal matters, the state frequently intervenes through legal and policy frameworks. To what extent should it be allowed to do so? What are the limits of permissible interference in private relationships? While such regulations can promote well-being and social flourishing, they can also come into tension with other important values. Drawing on scholarship in moral and political philosophy, this module provides students with analytical tools to assess these trade-offs and critically evaluate different policy approaches.

The second half of the module turns to the philosophy of love broadly constructed, with an emphasis on moral and political aspects of relationships such as romantic love, sex, friendship, and parenthood. How do love and morality intersect? What obligations, if any, arise from friendships or romantic commitments? What are justified reasons for ending a relationship? Are there ethical objections to polyamory? As contemporary relationship structures evolve—through new parenting models, non-traditional partnerships, and alternative friendship arrangements—this module examines the philosophical implications of these shifts. Students will engage with both conceptual questions about the nature of these relationships and normative discussions concerning the rights, duties, and interests of those involved.

By the end of the module, students will have developed a deeper understanding of the philosophical foundations of private and public life. Through interactive, discussion-based seminars, they will also sharpen their critical thinking, practical reasoning, and argumentative skills, equipping them to engage thoughtfully with pressing ethical and political issues.

In addition BA Philosophy and Philosophy joint honours students may take the following modules as Philosophy modules (i.e. do not count as a module from another department). Acceptance on these modules is at the discretion of the teaching department and the Philosophy Department cannot guarantee availability.

Module Code	Module Title	Philosophy Area	FHEQ Level	Teaching Term 2025/26	Teaching Department
CLAS0025	The Dialogues of Plato	C	6	2	Greek & Latin
CLAS0036	Stoics, Epicureans and Sceptics	C	6	Not Taught 2025/26	Greek & Latin
CLAS0173	Moral Education in Ancient Greek Philosophical Sources	C	6	Not Taught 2025/26	Greek & Latin
ECON0027	Game Theory	A	6	2	Economics
ESPS0016	German Political and Social Thought		6	1	EISPS
ESPS0020	Nietzsche	C	5	2	EISPS
ESPS0022	Why Democracy?		5	1	EISPS
ESPS0044	Ethics and Society	B	5	1	EISPS
HPSC0004	Philosophy of Science 1	A	4	2	STS
HPSC0014	Philosophy of Science 2	A	5	1	STS
HPSC0033	Special Topics in History and Philosophy of Science	A	6	1	STS
HPSC0109	Philosophy of Medicine	A	6	1	STS
MATH0050	Logic	A	6	2	Mathematics
POLS0030	The Ethics of Crime and Punishment	B	6	1	Political Science
POLS0078	The Ethics of War and Violence	B	6	Not Taught 2025/26	Political Science
POLS0095	Property, Inequality and Ideology	B	6	Not Taught 2025/26	Political Science
POLS0097	History of Political Thought	B	6	2	Political Science
POLS0100	Global Justice	B	6	2	Political Science
POLS0103	Historical Injustice and the Politics of Decolonisation	B	6	Not Taught 2025/26	Political Science

Information for UCL students from other departments

The following modules can only be taken by students studying Philosophy degrees (Single and Joint Honours): PHIL0008: Philosophy Tutorials, PHIL0083 Dissertation and PHIL0084 Guided Research Module.

Registration for all modules is via Portico. Some modules are very popular and it is not always possible to offer a space to everyone on their desired modules. In Philosophy, modules are assigned according to the priority groups detailed below. Within each group, modules are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis according to sign-ups on Portico. A limited number of spaces on Philosophy modules are held for affiliate registration in September and January.

1)	Students studying BA Philosophy and joint honours degrees such as BA Philosophy and Economics, BA Philosophy and History of Art, BA French and Philosophy, and Philosophy Affiliate Students
2)	Students studying on programmes related to Philosophy, such as PPE and programmes in EISPS.
3)	Students studying on the BASc and programmes within Greek & Latin and History of Art.
4)	Students studying on other programmes and incoming intercollegiate students