Applied Philosophy

MA course, Applied Philosophy, Spring 2025

Phenomenology.

Medical humanities

The focus of the first part of the course will be on philosophy of healthcare and the medical humanities. If one is to offer care that will be perceived as helpful and meaningful by the patient and increase compliance, it is important – especially in the case of more chronic illnesses – to not simply focus on isolated symptoms. Genuinely patient-centered care requires an understanding of how the patient is experiencing and coping with the situation. What does it mean to live with schizophrenia, cerebral palsy, or mastectomy? How does it affect the self-, world-, and other-experience of the patient? Can ideas from phenomenology make a difference? After a general discussion of what it means to apply phenomenology, we will look at phenomenological concepts such as lived experience, empathy, embodiment and lifeworld, and read recent texts that discuss how such notions can productively be used in clinical research and practice (by nurses, physicians and psychiatrists).

Practical Philosophy.

Care Ethics and Relational Autonomy: The Case of End-of-Life Care

Among the issues stemming from the consideration of healthcare relationships – difficulties related to confidentiality, honesty and deceit, paternalism, etc. – the re-examination of the very idea of personal autonomy have played a central role in recent philosophical debates. In the context of Care Ethics, an alternative notion of “relational autonomy” has been developed, usually in connection with a reflection upon the phenomena of vulnerability and interdependence. In the practical-philosophical section of the course, we propose to recapitulate the main lines of the debate and to discuss the relevance and applicability of these notions in the area of healthcare ethics. Particular attention will be paid to a series of moral challenges related to the practice of end-of-life care.

History of Philosophy.

Environmental Virtue Ethics

One problem in the current environmental crisis concerns motivation: There is a gap between what we know we ought to do and what we actually do. Part of the reason behind this knowledge gap has to do with motivation, or lack of motivation, among those agents whose actions affect the environment directly or indirectly. Over the two last decades, environmental virtue ethics (EVE) has emerged in North America as an effort to resolve this problem. It draws on Aristotle’s moral psychology and argues that his ethics is a theoretical resource that can serve to build adequate theories about motivation and character formation. We combine readings of relevant passages from Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics with readings of key texts in contemporary EVE written by Thomas Hill, Philip Cafaro, Ronald Sandler, Martha Nussbaum, Rosalind Hursthouse, Karen Jordan and others.

Exams. In the 2022 Philosophy Curriculum, the second term involves portfolio exams. Below are explained the two ways in which such a portfolio exam can be passed: either as ordinary participation (A) or as a participation with a teaching or presentation assignment (B).

A. Ordinary course participation Part 1: Questions are asked in all three parts of the course, with the student answering questions in two different parts. The student submits two assignments of 2-4 standard pages answering questions asked in two of the three parts of the course. The course responsible sets three deadlines for submission (the last one must be at least 14 days before the last class). If a student meets these deadlines, he or she will receive written feedback on his or her assignments. Both assignments are part of the final product, which is evaluated as a whole.

Part 2: No later than 14 days before the last class, the student must submit a syllabus for the final examination paper to the examiner. This must be approved by the examiner for the student to pass the exam. Part 3: The student may submit a preliminary version of the final written exam paper of maximum 8 standard pages for written or oral feedback from the examiner, according to agreement between the student and the examiner. This must be done at least 14 days before the deadline for the final submission. The student loses the right to feedback if the deadline is not met, but it is not compulsory to hand in the provisional version. Part 4: Final exam: The student submits the final written exam paper (freely chosen topic within the theme of the course), as well as the final versions of the assignments. The total products must be 16-20 standard pages (including the two first assignments, but excluding bibliography).

B. Course participation with teaching or dissemination assignment Part 1: A teaching assignment consists of 2-6 hours of teaching with an external partner; a dissemination assignment consists of 5-15 hours of work with an external partner. An external partner is, for example, a secondary school, a college, an NGO, a public or private company or organisation. If a teaching or dissemination assignment is carried out, a form must be used indicating the external partner and providing evidence that the assignment took place between 1 February and 20 May. The agreement with an external partner must be sent to the course responsible by 15 April (please use the form). Part 2: The student sends a debriefing to the course responsible at the latest in the last week of the course. In the case of a teaching assignment, a debrief consists of 1/2-1 page description of the teaching assignment, the literature or theory reviewed, and brief pedagogical reflection. In the case of a dissemination assignment, a debriefing consists of 1/2-1 page description of the dissemination task, as well as a short reflection on the competences used. Part 3: The student may submit a preliminary version of the final written exam paper of maximum 8 standard pages for written or oral feedback from the examiner, according to agreement between the student and the examiner. This must be done at least 14 days before the deadline for the final submission. The student loses the right to feedback if the deadline is not met, but it is not compulsory to hand in the provisional version. Part 4: The student submits a written exam paper of 11-15 standard pages (excluding bibliography)

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