Master 1 Philosophy
Length: 1 year (can be spread over 2 calendar years)
Preparing for degree: Master of Arts in Philosophy
Entry requirements: BA in Philosophy (or equivalent)
Year 1 of the Master of Arts in Philosophy
To deepen the study of philosophy
Year 1 of the Master of Arts in Philosophy is a second cycle (graduate, MA) program that assumes that the student has already acquired required knowledge from a first cycle (BA or equivalent) in philosophy, or its equivalent.
It allows to deepen the study of major currents of thought, through in-depth courses on the one hand, and to learn about research through interactive seminars on the other hand.
The MA 1 in Philosophy consists of seven in-depth courses, two research seminars, to be chosen from the list below.and the preparation of a research project for the MA 2.
Various philosophical themes of philosophy
The first year of Master's aims at deepening students' understanding of various philosophical themes. Students are free to constitute their own programme, and therefore have the chance to discover and explore a wide array of topics and subjects.
After the first year of Master's, students will be ready to start working on their research project.
List of Courses
Metaphysics - Part 1
Metaphysics is the study of things in their ultimate causes. As such, the specialty of metaphysics is that it seeks the final explanation or the ultimate causes of things precisely in so far as they are, in so far as they exist, or in so far as they are real. Aristotle called it “First Philosophy” or “Theology” since it leads to the first principle or the ultimate explanation of all things.
Metaphysics - Part 2
All human knowledge begins with sense experience but can terminate sometimes in the senses, or in the imagination or in the intellect alone . Accordingly we can distinguish between three levels of scientific knowledge corresponding to the three degrees of abstraction from matter which can be made by the intellect in its examination of reality.
Foundations of Ethics
Ethics, like philosophy, is in search of principles and universals. Ethics reflects on a particular human experience, namely, the experience of the good or of being good, and sets it in the context of the whole. One could also say that ethics reflects on what is the good and how our lives are oriented towards it
Introduction to critical thinking. Part II
The modern epistemological problem has two aspects:
1. The opposition between science and philosophy or truth and error. We find this basically in Descartes and Kant.
2. The conflict between science and science or that of contemporary and classic physics and not an opposition between science and philosophy or truth and error.
Kant: A philosophy of Freedom
According to Gibelin in his Foreword to Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone, Freedom is the central theme of Kant’s philosophy. This course will introduce to Kant, centering on Freedom as a key concept to understand his philosophy, in the three spheres defined by the critical project: Metaphysics, Moral and Aesthetics.
Indian Philosophy Unit I
The main objective of this unit is to get an above all understanding of what Indian Philosophy is and in what circumstances it has developed. Though Indian Philosophy has developed in different parts of India it has many common characteristics hence the student is likely to know a few important ones. Furthermore, one should have a basic understanding of what Indian philosophy is accused of.
Indian Philosophy Unit II
What is expected from the students in this Unit is that they must be able to point out the importance of Vedas in Indian Philosophy, the classification of Vedic literature and must have a proper understanding of the Samhitās, Brāhmaṇas and Āraṇyakas. However, the Upaniśads will be dealt separately. Further, one must be acquainted with a few other important teachings of Veda such as Vedic religion, how monism developed from polytheism, and a basic understanding of what ṛta, the law of karma, the theory of creation, the institution of yajña, āśramas and varṇa is.
Indian Philosophy Unit III
By Studying this particular unit one must be able to understand what is the meaning of Upaniṣad, how it was developed from Vedas and what are its main teachings and how they reach their logical culmination in the identity of the self and the Brahman. One must also be able to understand the Upaniṣadic view point of bondage and liberation along with the cosmogony and puruṣārtas.
The main objective of the conclusion is to introduce the students to the different systems of Indian Philosophy as it deals with various philosophical thoughts of several traditions originated in Indian Subcontinent.
David Hume: The Great Empiricist
This is a comprehensive and systematic course on the philosophy of David Hume – a prominent Scottish Enlightenment philosopher widely known for his influential system of philosophical empiricism, naturalism and scepticism. Based on his influential and extreme Empiricist ideas, Hume can be rightly considered as one of the most important philosophers of all time.
Introduction to philosophy of law
Important issues in legal philosophy range from abstract conceptual questions about the nature of law and legal systems, to normative questions about the relationship between law and morality, politics and other norms as well as the justification of various legal institutions. Although this course will deal with conceptual themes of philosophy of law especially in the first section, the course generally focusses on the practical and readily applicable aspects of the field.
E-Seminar : Women, justice, recognition and religion. Thinking these concepts together from Martha Nussbaum
This e-seminar in Philosophy will take place from 30 September to 24 November 2024. Dive into contemporary struggles with Maxime Allard. Justice, recognition, religion: three inseparable concepts for understanding the place of women today. Martha Nussbaum serves as our compass, with her insights that shed light and inspire action. This seminar invites you to question the mechanisms that are still blocking the recognition of women in the world.