The Concept of Will
The “will” has been a salient concept in philosophy since its very beginnings. We will critically examine it in its many contexts and discuss its meanings and significance: from Aristotle’s idea of the “weakness of the will” to medieval discussions of the will of God vs the will of humans, from Rousseau’s “general will” to […]
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Wittgenstein is one of a very select number of philosophers who transformed the subject in the twentieth century. The course follows the development from his work in the foundations of mathematics which led to the Tractatus and continues through the middle period in which he largely rejected the view of language it contains. The […]
Existentialism
Existentialism is one of the most accessible and popular branches of philosophy. Its influence has been profound in the arts and an understanding of its central concepts is important for the appreciation of many of the key political and social changes of the twentieth century. This course studies the work of several of the most […]
Philosophers of Otherness 1: Levinas, Foucault, Lacan
‘We are all responsible for everyone else – but I am more responsible than all the others’ wrote Dostoyevsky. We will explore the ideas of three major contemporary thinkers for whom the character of our existence is truly defined by our relations with others. The course will introduce the three figures by focusing on close […]
Walter Benjamin
Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) is one of the most fascinating intellectual figures of the twentieth century. Philosopher, literary critic, journalist, historian and creative writer, his writings have attracted the interest of Marxists, theologians, urbanists and artists, just to mention a few. The course will take a chronological and textual approach, starting with Benjamin’s writings from […]
Metaphors, Stories and Analogical Thinking
Scientist Stephen Jay Gould claims that “our mind works largely by metaphor and comparison, not always (or often) by relentless logic.” We will discuss the nature of thought, imagination and language use and the place of metaphors and analogical thinking in philosophical and intellectual activity. Spring Term 2017, Tuesdays, 11:00 – 13:00, ten weeks starting […]
Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger is amongst the most influential and important thinkers of the 20th Century. The first part of the course covers his magnum opus, Being and Time (1927). We then move on to consider his later writings on technology, art, and language. Spring Term 2017, Tuesdays, 19:00 – 21:00, ten weeks starting 17th January. Course […]
Art and Phenomenology
Philosophy is the study of the complexity of everyday life. Art too can be understood as grappling with the same problems. Using Western Philosophers from Immanuel Kant to Hubert Dreyfus, as well as some philosophers of the Eastern tradition, including Kakuzo and El-Bizri, we’ll examine the overlap between art and philosophy. Summer Term 2017, Mondays, […]
Pragmatism
Summer Term 2017, Mondays, 17:00 – 19:00, ten weeks starting 24th April Course Tutor: Mark Fielding Pragmatism is the uniquely American contribution to the history of philosophy. Its origins are strongly humanistic, and we first discuss the way in which this is developed in the work of C.S. Peirce, William James and John Dewey. We […]