The Student Room Group

Philosophy-Possible uni course

Hi, I'm currently in my last year of high school and was considering studying philsophy at uni . I don't know too much about the course and was wondering if someone studying/has studied this subject would be able to tell me a little bit about it.
Thank you!
Reply 1
Original post by wonder girl
Hi, I'm currently in my last year of high school and was considering studying philsophy at uni . I don't know too much about the course and was wondering if someone studying/has studied this subject would be able to tell me a little bit about it.
Thank you!

What sorta stuff do you know?

Philosophy degrees are broadly concerned with figuring what is real, what is true, how best to live and why. The stuff you will do at some point usually covers introductory stuff like Descartes on self-knowledge (cogito ergo sum stuff), introductory Platonic dialogues, dealing with things like beauty, governance, justice etc. Epistemology, or how we know stuff, political philosophy, morality/ethics, religious philosophy and more stuff I can't remember.

Each university has a different take on how the courses are structured and what is included - this can (but doesn't always) include their staff's research specialisms. Eg. I have taught very broadly on stuff like aesthetics and art, epistemology, ontology (the nature of reality), metaphysics (space, time, identity, essences, relations etc), logic and symbolic logic, theology and Christian philosophy.. And also on my research specialism of Indian philosophy, Indian politics, early modern Indian history, Indian religions

The exact makeup will ary between institutions, but you'll usually have some modules that are compulsory (usually designed to give you the foundational knowledge from which to build on)and then you can choose some, too, based on what you think looks cool.

Do you have any ideas for departments/universities yet? they usually list their modules and course structures.
Original post by gjd800
What sorta stuff do you know?

Philosophy degrees are broadly concerned with figuring what is real, what is true, how best to live and why. The stuff you will do at some point usually covers introductory stuff like Descartes on self-knowledge (cogito ergo sum stuff), introductory Platonic dialogues, dealing with things like beauty, governance, justice etc. Epistemology, or how we know stuff, political philosophy, morality/ethics, religious philosophy and more stuff I can't remember.

Each university has a different take on how the courses are structured and what is included - this can (but doesn't always) include their staff's research specialisms. Eg. I have taught very broadly on stuff like aesthetics and art, epistemology, ontology (the nature of reality), metaphysics (space, time, identity, essences, relations etc), logic and symbolic logic, theology and Christian philosophy.. And also on my research specialism of Indian philosophy, Indian politics, early modern Indian history, Indian religions

The exact makeup will ary between institutions, but you'll usually have some modules that are compulsory (usually designed to give you the foundational knowledge from which to build on)and then you can choose some, too, based on what you think looks cool.

Do you have any ideas for departments/universities yet? they usually list their modules and course structures.

Yeah I have looked at a few courses, mostly based in Scotland with Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews being my top ones.
Reply 3
Original post by wonder girl
Yeah I have looked at a few courses, mostly based in Scotland with Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews being my top ones.

They all have good departments and would all be strong choices. Have a little look at their module lists and see what grabs you!
Original post by gjd800
They all have good departments and would all be strong choices. Have a little look at their module lists and see what grabs you!

Yeah I will do. Thank you for all your help!

Quick Reply

Latest

Trending

Trending