PHIL461 PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE AND DEATH
| Course Code: | 2410461 |
| METU Credit (Theoretical-Laboratory hours/week): | 3 (3.00 - 0.00) |
| ECTS Credit: | 5.0 |
| Department: | Philosophy |
| Language of Instruction: | English |
| Level of Study: | Undergraduate |
| Course Coordinator: | Prof.Dr. MUTLU MURAT BAÇ |
| Offered Semester: | Fall and Spring Semesters. |
Course Objectives
Course Description: The main subject matter of this course will be the concept or phenomenon of death where we will be reading and evaluating principally contemporary literature.
In the first half of the course we will discuss inter alia the following: our conception of the human soul; the onto-epistemology of death; common conception of death as being “mysterious”; death and literature (the case of Elias Canetti); the contemporary approach to aging and dying in our culture; characterization of life as fabulae; and the existential-hermeneutic philosophy (specifically, Martin Heidegger’s view) regarding death as the ultimate phenomenological limit.
In the second half of the course we will focus chiefly on the notion of “harm due to dying”. We will start with a classical view presented by Epicurus (4th cent. B.C.E.) and study the contemporary reaction the his “harm argument”. We will also briefly discuss the Ancient and Spinozistic approaches to death. Another major issue we will talk about will be the concept of immortality. We will examine the notion of immortality, and then consider the pertinent analyses and philosophically evaluate its desirability.
Reading material: A course package will be available at Dereağzı Fotokopi Ciltevi. The reader contains selected articles from the following books:
Donnely, J. (ed.) Language, Metaphysics and Death. New York: Fordham University Press, 1994.
Malpas, J. and Solomon, R. C. (eds) Death and Philosophy. New York: Routledge, 1998.
Fischer, J. M. (ed.) The Metaphysics of Death. Stanford, CA: Stanford University
Press, 1993.
Bradley, B., Feldman, F., and Johansson J. (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy
of Death. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Grading: You will write two papers for this course, each 5-8 pages long. One of them will be submitted around the middle of the term and the other during the finals period. There will be no in-class exams in this course. (Notes: You will not get a passing grade if you submit only one of the required papers. Also, you will lose points substantially for late submissions. Your papers are expected to be academically adequate both content-wise and formally.)
Course Content
A study of the philosophical perspectives on vitality and demise of human beings. Conceptual and critical investigation of the meaning and significance of life and death. Ancient and Modern views on the meaning of being alive; historical accounts of the distinguishing characteristics of human life and consciousness; the meaning of life; ethical issues about abortion; conceptual analysis of dying and death; existential and phenomenological approaches to death; philosophy, literature and death; contemporary culture and the phenomenon of death.
Course Learning Outcomes
see above
Program Outcomes Matrix
| Level of Contribution | |||||
| # | Program Outcomes | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 1 | Have the knowledge and skills of research method which is a requirement in order to be successful in academic studies. | ✔ | |||
| 2 | Have the capacity for applying philosophical knowledge to scientific and social issues. | ✔ | |||
| 3 | Examine and analyze a subject matter and make philosophical interpretations on it. | ✔ | |||
| 4 | Have the skills of critical thinking, analytical approach, problem solving, multi-dimensional view, making inferences and interpretations regarding to philosophical texts and scientific facts. | ✔ | |||
| 5 | Identify the basic concepts and issues in philosophy. | ✔ | |||
| 6 | Evaluate and understand the underlying philosophical assumptions of fundamental and social sciences. | ✔ | |||
| 7 | Have capacity to make interdisciplinary readings and analysis. | ✔ | |||
| 8 | Have verbal and written presentation and effective communication skills, be open to team work and do interdisciplinary study. | ✔ | |||
| 9 | Make connections between contemporary ethical, social, cultural, esthetic and politic issues. | ✔ | |||
| 10 | Interpret the historical development of scientific and philosophical questions. | ✔ | |||
| 11 | Have knowledge about contemporary philosophical issues and their relations to other disciplines. | ✔ | |||
| 12 | Use modern information tools in order to make research in philosophy. | ✔ | |||
| 13 | Improve their professional and personal skills lifelong. | ✔ | |||
| 14 | Use information technologies effectively in domain applications in philosophy. | ✔ | |||
| 15 | Have self-confidence and develop original ideas regarding to philosophy. | ✔ | |||
| 16 | Have social and ethical responsibility regarding to contemporary issues. | ✔ | |||
| 17 | Have good knowledge of English, research method and computer skills and use these skills effectively. | ✔ | |||
| 18 | Comprehend the basic theories and issues in sub-disciplines of philosophy. | ✔ | |||
| 19 | Have an advanced knowledge in certain specific fields such as environment, technology, culture, art etc. | ✔ | |||
0: No Contribution 1: Little Contribution 2: Partial Contribution 3: Full Contribution