Philosophy Degree

andrew369

Hey I am in 6th year at the moment and am very interested in taking a course in philosophy. UCD seems to have a good course and was wondering if there any people in it who could say what they think of it, things like works loads, hours etc. And also what the balance is between analytic and continental philosophy, as the courses I have seen in Trinity and NUIM seem to be too heavy on analytic for my liking. Thanks, any help would be great

Soriel

Hi Andrew!

I don't know if you're interested in Single Subject Major or as part of a arts degree but I'll let you know about the modules that were/are available to first years this year and how I found them etc!

1. Intro to Moral Phil
Unsure what you mean by analytical. Essentially Cowley chooses a broad subject every year and runs with it. This year was Responsibility and Justice. There were 2 articles to read a week, to be discussed at the weekly lectures, e.g. Responsibility for Healthcare, Parenting Licences, Complicity, Causeless Complicity, Affirmative Action etc. If you want to have a look at any of the articles ask
The module was based on critical assessment of an argument presented. Personally I like this kind of Philosophy. It's very personal, but requires a lot of cop, and ability to argue. Cowley is a brilliant lecturer, and really engaging. 66% of the module credit is essay-based, the subject of which you choose yourself from a huge list, and the exam is 34%.
Work load is very manageable. It does require reading, but you can choose essays topic that actually engages you which makes them a lot more bearable.

Search for Meaning (Eastern/Western comparative phil)
This module is split between two lecturers, one of whom takes Western, one who takes Eastern. Western is Plato/Socrates/Descartes/Sartre based, requires reading every fortnight (look at Meno, Apology, or Existentialism is a Humanism for an idea of the reading, you'll find everything on the web). Managable, easy enough if you show up and are interested, which you seem to be.
Eastern is tough, because it's essentially a good lecturer discussing Taoism, COnfucianism etc. as though they're all totally familiar concepts (imagine you've never heard of Christianity, and you're asked to write an essay about the disciples. It's tough) If you're interested enough you will make up the time/information on your own, and it's doable. Unfortunately I didn't have the same interest in Eastern as Western, but still passed comfortably based on the work I put into Western.

Th third module available openly is Problems of Phil... This clashed with some of my law lectures so it wasn't an option for me, and I have no opinion on it.

General Phil in UCD impressions
The lecturers are interesting, engaging, people who genuinely have a love of their subject.
Tutors mark tough, but that's the same everywhere.
'Reading' does not mean skimming. If you're skimming, you may as well not be reading it. It can be intense, it can be tough, but it's almost always fascinating.
Hours- I'm a Law with Phil student so altogether my hours are about 14 in lectures/tutorials, and I'd say another 3/4 a week reading/researching/writing essays etc.

Good luck!