This module offers an introduction to different conceptions of the Enlightenment, understood here as an intellectual project rather than a series of historical events. The Enlightenment, thus considered, refers to the Kantian idea of liberating the individual from his “self-incurred immaturity” by developing his capacity for critical thought. Indeed, the Enlightenment has generally been cast as a major driving force behind the technological and cultural achievements of modern Europe. The Kantian plan is not without its critics, however. This module counterposes the Romantic movement and the so-called “counter-Enlightenment” to Kant’s vision. By exploring reactionary as well as progressive responses from Nietzsche to Adorno, we challenge some of the foundational assumptions of the Enlightenment and ask where Kant’s “courage to reason” might lead us.

This module offers an introduction to European political philosophy from the antiquity to the 20th century. What is the relation between nature and state? What constitutes a just politico-economic framework, what steps can be taken to achieve an equitable allocation of resources? What are the responsibilities of a political agent? What separates democratic and non-democratic systems of governance? Are illiberal democracies and anti-democratic liberal regimes conceiveble at all? What conclusions can we draw from the past? Join us to examine these questions and more in a series of interactive discussions modelled after the formal debates of the Oxford Union. In the second half of the module, students will be given the opportunity to vote on the works they would prefer to explore further, including those by Machiavelli, Hobbes, JS Mill, Nietzsche and Rawls.

Rather than a straightforward introduction to the history of philosophy, this module adopts a metacritical outlook on the merits and limits of philosophical thought. Against the threadworn claims that philosophy is useless because it is impractical, or that speculative approaches have been supplanted by the scientific method, we consider the manifold ways in which structured reflection on man and the cosmos have improved our lives. In order to meet the cynic’s challenge, we ask questions about the nature of perception, the value of beauty, the difficulties of social existence, and the problem of expressing meaning. We discuss Nenad Miščević’s distinction between argumentative and non-argumentative philosophy, which roughly corresponds to the analytic-continental divide, and ask whether it holds merit. Finally, we investigate canonical texts at the intersection of philosophy and art.

This elective introduces students to rhetoric and dialectic from a practical, hands-on perspective. The module builds on Aristotle, Cicero and Quintilian to establish what makes a speech or an argument effective depending on its structure, delivery and context. It highlights how modern oratory is informed by classical modes of appeal, while also considering how new media and cyberculture may have changed the relationship between speaker and recipient. We start by analysing famous historical speeches such as the First Oration Against Catiline, the St Crispin's Day Speech and John F. Kennedy’s Moon Speech. Following a review of rhetorical devices and informal fallacies, students are asked to craft their own speech or weigh in on a structured debate about current topics like artificial intelligence and capital punishment.