Philosophy & Religious Studies

In this course, Professor Adrian Moore (University of Oxford) explores Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals through eight key questions. In particular, we think about the fundamental difference between the three main strands of moral...

In this course, Dr Nikk Effingham (University of Birmingham) explores the philosophy of time. We begin by thinking about whether only the present exists (Presentism) or whether the past and future also exist (Eternalism), focusing in particular on...

In this course, Professor Terrell Carver (University of Bristol) introduces the political thought of Karl Marx. In the first module, we think about the way in which Marx has been re-interpreted over the last century and make some attempt to...

In this course Dr Daniel De Haan (University of Oxford) explores St. Thomas Aquinas’ doctrine of conscience. In the first module we introduce Aquinas’ account of practical reason, and its relevance to the doctrine of conscience. After that, we...

In this course Professor Lewis Ayres (Durham University) explores St. Augustine of Hippo’s views on human nature. In the first module, we introduce Augustine’s views on the experience of human nature, as told through his major works ‘The City of...

In this course Dr Ralph Weir (University of Lincoln) explores the mind-body problem. In the first module, we think about what we mean by the mind-body problem, and consider the kind of perception involved in developing an account of the mind-body...

Published in 1887, the Genealogy of Morality is the locus classicus of Nietzsche's criticism of contemporary morality and religion. The book is divided into three essays: the first deals with the origins of Christian and contemporary secular...

In this course, Professor James Lenman (University of Sheffield) explores one of the key questions in meta-ethics: do objective moral reasons exist? After a brief discussion of what we mean when we talk about reasons, we spend the bulk of ...

In this course Dr Iain Law (University of Birmingham) takes a look at sexual ethics. In the first module, we introduce the content of traditionalist sexual ethics, before moving on to arguments in favour of, and objections to traditionalism. In...

In this course, Professor Ken Gemes (Birkbeck, University of London) explores the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. The course begins with the famous ‘death of God’ speech from ‘The Gay Science’, and focuses on what Nietzsche meant when he spoke...

In this course, Professor Chris Janaway (University of Southampton) explores the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer, focusing in particular on his World as Will and Representation. After a brief introduction to Schopenhauer’s philosophy in general...

In this course Dr James Carleton Paget (University of Cambridge) examines the identities associated with the person of Jesus. In the first module, we introduce the person of Jesus by providing some historical background, and assessing the nature...

In this course, Professor Genia Schönbaumsfeld (University of Southampton) explores the philosophy of the 19th-century Danish philosophy, Søren Kierkegaard. In the first module, we provide a brief introduction to Kierkegaard himself, before...

In this course, Dr Anna Plassart (Open University) explores the Scottish Enlightenment. In the first module, we think about the Enlightenment as a whole—why it happened when it did, its principle goals and central doctrines—before moving on in the...