Curriculum

13F FSP Faculty Director: Professor Jim Moor

Course Description: Both free will and responsibility are crucial concepts in how we understand ethics, law, and human behavior. In recent decades these two familiar notions have come under pressure from advances in science and technology. Results from brain science and cognitive science raise questions about free will – whether, for example, we are as free in and aware of our decision-making as we usually believe. Results from technology raise questions about responsibility. Given that only computers can process huge amounts of data rapidly, are we becoming less responsible or even irresponsible in letting computers make decisions, especially those that must be made quickly such as those in the stock market or on the field of battle?

14F FSP Faculty Director: Professor Kenny Walden

Course Description: From novels, films, and television to painting, sculpture, and symphonies, the influence of art on our character, our values, and how we see the world is pervasive. This raises a number of important philosophical questions at the intersection of ethics and the philosophy of art. Do both moral properties like goodness and aesthetic properties like beauty only exist "in the eye of the beholder", or are one or both of them more objective? Can we learn things about what is good and right, or how to be better people from reading great literature or seeing important paintings? How might the moral character of a work of art affect its aesthetic merit; is Birth of a Nation a worse film because of its racism? Edinburgh offers a wealth of world-class art, and taking advantage of this resource will be an important part of the class.