PREM0009-1

Duration

6h REM

Number of credits

Lecturer

Arnaud Dewalque

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the second semester

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

These sessions are intended for students who were unable to pass the PHIL0019-1 course during the January session. They aim to help them prepare for the next assessment by:

reviewing certain key points from the theoretical course material
re-practicing practical work (reading and explaining the assigned text)

Content of PHIL0019-1: The mandate of philosophy is to describe the world. To put it with the american philosopher Wilfrid Sellars, philosophers aim to "understand how things in the broadest possible sense of the term hang together in the broadest possible sense of the term" (Sellars 1963, 1). This course is designed as an initiation to contemporary philosophy. It is divided into six thematic modules. (1) Perception: what is perception and how does it provide you with information on the world? (2) World: what are the various types of 'things' or entities that make up reality? (2) Mind: what distinguishes a mental state, such as the belief that it is raining, from a physical state or process, such as digestion? And how to account for the fact that some of your mental states are conscious or subjectively "felt"? (3) Language: what are the various classes of sentences and speech acts by means of which you can communicate with others? (4) Action: what is the difference between an event that happens to you, such as sneezing, and an action that you do, such as raising your hand to attract someone else's attention? (5) Value: how to discriminate actions that are good from those that are bad? And how to distinguish actions that are "good" from those that are bad"? (6) Experience: how to describe your lived experiences? And how to capture the meaningful character of the way things appear to you in your everyday life?

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

By the end of these additional sessions, students should be able to meet the objectives of the PHIL0019-1 course, namely to:

present the answers some philosophers have offered to the issues studied during class.
clearly explain, using examples, the arguments in favour of a particular philosophical position covered in class.
place authors studied during class into their contemporary philosophical setting.
explain the meaning of a few major philosophical concepts.

Particular attention will be given to the correct use of terminology.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

None. However, it is mandatory to have attended the PHIL0019-1 course taught during the first semester.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Remediation sessions are organised in the second term (February-May). It is advisable to contact the student tutor in advance, indicating the subject areas requiring particular attention.

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Blended learning

Additional information:

First term. Face-to-face is the default teaching mode. In case the course could not take place on site, we will switch to remote teaching mode.

Course materials and recommended or required readings

Platform(s) used for course materials:
- MyULiège

Further information:

Part 1: Training (students in philosophy), compulsory reading:

Thomas Nagel, What Does It All Mean? A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1987.

Part 2: Theory (all students)

A bundle with excerpts from classical philosophical texts and bibliographic references will be made available under the "course support" tab.

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

written exam ( open-ended questions ) AND oral exam

Additional information:

Evaluation components:

- Students in philosophy: final grade = attendance (compulsory, non-graded, 0%) + written exam (30%) + oral exam (70%)

- Other students: final grade = attendance (compulsory, non-graded, 0%) + oral exam (100%)

Written examination (students in philosophy only):

Written exam. Philosophy students are asked to explicate one of the chapters of the set book by highlighting its main argumentative elements (theses, arguments, examples, etc.). Assessment criteria are (i) the relevance of the proposed explication, (ii) the clarity and logical articulation of ideas, and (iii) language quality (correct spelling, syntax, style).

Oral examination (all students):

Oral exam with a short preparation time. The oral exam will take the form of a short interview during which students should demonstrate their knowledge of the subject matter covered in class. Students will also be expected to clearly explain, using examples, the various sides of a philosophical problem or the meaning of a concept studied during the year. The exam is made up of three questions which are selected at random:

Question 1: explaining a philosophical problem in detail (10/20 = 50% of the final grade)

Question 2: explaining a philosophical notion (3/20 = 15%)

Question 3: explaining a philosophical notion (3/20 = 15%)

Skills: clarity and structure of replies; mastering of the presented content (4/20 = 20%)

Work placement(s)

Organisational remarks and main changes to the course

Schedule: see below, under the head of 'Online Items/course materials'.

Contacts

Student tutor: Mia Harcq (Mia.Harcq@student.uliege.be)

Prof. Arnaud Dewalque
Department of Philosophy
7, place du 20-août, Building A1/2nd floor
B-4000 Liège
Phone 0032 (4) 366 55 92

Remediation for the course PHIL0019 Introduction to contemporary philosophy