Philosophy & Religious Studies

In this course, Dr Iain Law (University of Birmingham) thinks about Kantian deontological ethics, one of the three main normative ethical theories alongside utilitarianism and virtue ethics. We begin in the first module by introducing the ...

In this course, Dr Iain Law (University of Birmingham) thinks about utilitarianism, one of the three major normative ethical theories alongside Kantian deontological ethics and virtue ethics. In the first module, we introduce the concept of a...

In this course, Dr Iain Law (University of Birmingham) provides a comprehensive introduction to the field of philosophy known as metaethics. In the first module, we provide an introduction to metaethics itself, including the difference between...

In this course, Dr Iain Law (University of Birmingham) thinks about virtue ethics, one of the three major normative ethical theories alongside utilitarianism and Kantian deontological ethics. We begin in the first module by providing a broad...

In this course, Dr Luke Elson (University of Reading) explores what it means to be a moral anti-realist. We begin in the first module by thinking about what moral anti-realism actually is. After that, in the second module, we outline four reasons...

Utilitarianism is the belief that the right action is the one that maximises happiness. The philosophy theory has its origins in the hedonism of Aristippus and Epicurus, though reached its most well-known form in the writings of Jeremy Bentham and...

In this course, Professor Anthony Price (Birkbeck College, London) explores Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. In the first module, we explore the central concept of eudaimonia, or happiness, in Aristotle's ethics, before turning in the second module...

War has always been a feature of human history. It is reviled as one of the great evils of which we are capable as a species, but often also commemorated and recounted as honourable and just. War raises many difficult...

In this course Dr Daniel De Haan (University of Oxford) examines Aquinas’ ethics of natural law. In the first module, we situate Aquinas’ account of natural law within his overarching theological worldview. Then, we look at Aquinas’ four kinds of...

In this course, Professor Adrian Moore (University of Oxford) explores Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals through eight key questions. In particular, we think about the fundamental difference between the three main strands of moral...

In this course Dr Daniel De Haan (University of Oxford) explores St. Thomas Aquinas’ doctrine of conscience. In the first module we introduce Aquinas’ account of practical reason, and its relevance to the doctrine of conscience. After that, we...

Published in 1887, the Genealogy of Morality is the locus classicus of Nietzsche's criticism of contemporary morality and religion. The book is divided into three essays: the first deals with the origins of Christian and contemporary secular...

In this course, Professor James Lenman (University of Sheffield) explores one of the key questions in meta-ethics: do objective moral reasons exist? After a brief discussion of what we mean when we talk about reasons, we spend the bulk of ...

In this course Dr Iain Law (University of Birmingham) takes a look at sexual ethics. In the first module, we introduce the content of traditionalist sexual ethics, before moving on to arguments in favour of, and objections to traditionalism. In...