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Continental Philosophy/ Existentialism and Humanism Module

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  • 08-01-2015 2:02pm
    #1
    jjj777
    Registered Users Posts: 10 ✭


    Hi. Just wondering if anybody can give me some insight into the Continental Philosophy/ now-named Existentialism and Humanism philosophy module.
    I've chosen it as an elective this semester but haven't studied philosophy before.

    I was especially wondering since the module takes place in the second semester, does it kind of require/ assume that you have knowledge of previous semester 1 philosophy modules? ie does it build up on them, or is it separate and?

    Also, any idea of how many essays for midterm or final or grade breakdown would be really appreciated.

    Thanks a mil.
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    #2
    boombang
    Registered Users Posts: 2,108 ✭✭✭boombang


    My less-than-relevant 2c:

    I'm not a UCD student or graduate, but I did Philosophy at TCD about 15 years ago. I took a Continental Philosophy course there and really didn't enjoy it, but I think that's down to my own personality type.

    Excuse the generalisation, but I think Continental Philosophy mostly appeals to those with a more literary appreciation of the world, where the ideas are fuzzier and more romantic. Conversely, if you have a more literal or scientific approach to life then this strand of philosophy might appeal less.


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    #3
    Marcus Antonius
    Registered Users Posts: 1,654 ✭✭✭Marcus Antonius


    jjj777 wrote: »
    Hi. Just wondering if anybody can give me some insight into the Continental Philosophy/ now-named Existentialism and Humanism philosophy module.
    I've chosen it as an elective this semester but haven't studied philosophy before.

    I was especially wondering since the module takes place in the second semester, does it kind of require/ assume that you have knowledge of previous semester 1 philosophy modules? ie does it build up on them, or is it separate and?

    Also, any idea of how many essays for midterm or final or grade breakdown would be really appreciated.

    Thanks a mil.

    May not be relevant but I'm just wondering is this a 1st year course? I did an elective on Existentialism a good few years ago now. I'm not philosophically inclined for the most part unless you count a minor dabbling in classical philosophy as part of classical studies in general. If it is the 1st year course I'm thinking of it didn't expect any prior knowledge with regards to philosophy. With that said a number of the students really struggled with it, through no fault of the lecturer who was very good. My advice would be to go to as many of the lectures as possible, get the book as soon as you can, it's a penguin compilation book of various philosophers with minor important/relevant extracts from their works. Most importantly of all make sure to turn up to all the tutorials. They are amazing for understanding the course as a whole and will ensure that you get a decent grade (as far as I can remember there was a huge 10% for just attendance). It's a good course and well worth doing but takes a good bit of effort (which wasn't what I wanted as such for a 1st year elective when I was in 2nd year). Hope that helped.

    _________________
    Marcus Antonius


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    #4
    beauty101
    Registered Users Posts: 424 ✭✭beauty101


    jjj777 wrote: »
    Hi. Just wondering if anybody can give me some insight into the Continental Philosophy/ now-named Existentialism and Humanism philosophy module.
    I've chosen it as an elective this semester but haven't studied philosophy before.

    I was especially wondering since the module takes place in the second semester, does it kind of require/ assume that you have knowledge of previous semester 1 philosophy modules? ie does it build up on them, or is it separate and?

    Also, any idea of how many essays for midterm or final or grade breakdown would be really appreciated.

    Thanks a mil.

    I did Continental philosophy in ucd last year as a 1st ur philosophy student, I had studied 2 previous philosophy modules the previous semester but I don't feel that they impacted/gave me much advantage.

    Found the course very enjoyable and interesting. An interest in philosophy would be essential but it starts at a basic level do you wouldn't need to have done a load of prior reading. I think the exam was worth 60% and the mid-semester essay 40% (or in or around that). Hope this helps


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    #5
    jjj777
    Registered Users Posts: 10 ✭jjj777


    Thanks everyone, appreciate the responses!

    @boombang I hadn't really realized the generalized divide between the continental and analytical branches of philosophy that there seems to be. Will definitely think about that, and if I'm not feeling it maybe go for a different philosophy module next year instead.


    @Marcus_Antonius Yes, it's a first year level one course. Good to know it doesn't assume prior knowledge, as one of the other philosophy modules explicitly states that they do not which confused me as to whether the others do.

    @beauty101 Do you mind me asking which other philosophy modules you studied? I'm also looking at Intro to Moral Phil and The Search for Meaning (Eastern and Western Phil), but they would have to wait for next year if I wanted to take them. I know I'd definitely love to take a philosophy elective, I'm just unsure as to what would make a good choice.


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