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Study online with Macquarie University through Open Universities Australia. Explore all degrees, subjects and short courses now.

The Bachelor of Arts (OUA) at Macquarie University is a distinctive course that equips its graduates with knowledge and skills that can be applied in any career or in further study. No other course offers as much flexibility and a wide range of study options as the Bachelor of Arts. You will be given the opportunity to turn your passion into a career while developing a strong set of core transferable skills valued by industry and the society. In consultation with industry, the Bachelor of Arts (OUA) places a strong emphasis on skills for success in the 21st century workplace. You will be taught by active researchers, leading academics and award winning teachers.

Make your degree unique and study what interests you. Analyse critically, think creatively and problem-solve at work or in everyday life. Complete foundational studies then tailor your degree with a major. Create a portfolio and build your connections.

Bachelor of Arts

Critical Thinking

Happiness, Goodness and Justice

The Philosophy of Human Nature

Thinking Ethically

Introductory Philosophy: Moral and Political Philosophy

Politics, Philosophy and Economics

Minds, Brains, and Machines: Contemporary Philosophy of Mind

Introduction to Logic

Biosciences Technology and Society

Making of the Modern Western World View

With increasing entrenchment of AI in human affairs, its scientific, moral, political, economic, and other social aspects are becoming a significant issue. For instance, there is a significant concern that machine learning algorithms contribute to the discrimination against members of oppressed groups (e.g., women, people of colour). This unit, co-designed and co-taught by relevant experts in Computing, Philosophy, and cognate disciplines, will present and discuss key theoretical, ethical, and empirical questions about the conditions of explainable, safe, fair, and responsible AI. Furthermore, it will explore scientific, ethical, political, economic, and other social implications of topical issues such as algorithmic decision making, applications of deep learning models, and robot rights. Students will be exposed to ideas such as balancing risks and responsibilities, both in the scientific and moral sense, in the context of the evolving AI technologies.

Rights, Responsibilities, and AI

This subject was previously known as PHIX137 Critical Thinking.Please note: This subject is available in Macquarie Session 3, which is an intensive semester that spans only 5 intensive teaching weeks, plus a mid-semester recess and an assessment period. Students are advised to enrol in only one or two subjects in Session 3. Students who would prefer to take the unit over 13 teaching weeks should enrol in the Session 1 or 2 offering.This subject aims to teach the fundamentals of critical thinking and reasoning. Students will learn how to construct, analyse and critically evaluate arguments; how to detect common fallacies in reasoning; and how to think logically and creatively. We teach these skills by developing practical techniques for the evaluation of reasoning, and applying them to arguments from business, law, science, politics, philosophy and the media. Critical thinking skills are invaluable across all disciplines, and will benefit students in academic contexts and in life beyond university.s

Identify methods used to structure arguments. Beware of fallacies and pseudo-arguments. Prepare for discourses on subjects including science, philosophy and law. Sharpen your approach to thinking critically and producing well-reasoned arguments.

Please note: This subject is available in Macquarie Session 3, which is an intensive semester that spans only 5 intensive teaching weeks, plus a mid-semester recess and an assessment period. Students are advised to enrol in only one or two subjects in Session 3. Students who would prefer to take the unit over 13 teaching weeks should enrol in the Session 2 offering.This subject provides an introduction to major topics in ethics, moral theory and contemporary political philosophy. The first section focuses on the nature of happiness. Is pleasure essential to happiness? Or does the pursuit of pleasure harm our chances of lasting fulfilment? Must we be virtuous in order to be happy? What is the relationship between happiness and duty? The second section explores the nature of moral goodness. Is morality based ultimately in self-interest? What is the relationship between morality and religion? Are there moral principles that everyone is bound by reason to recognise? Or is the validity of moral standards relative to specific societies and cultures? In the third section we turn to questions of applied political philosophy, focusing on questions such as: What principles should govern the distribution of economic and social resources within a society? What are the obligations of wealthy nations to those less fortunate, including immigrants and refugees? And what issues of justice are raised by climate change?

Ask questions about the nature of happiness. Address atheism and religion as you deconstruct what it means to be morally good. Question the relationship between politics and justice. Read up on philosophical arguments by Kant and Aristotle.

This subject was previously known as Social and Existential Questions.This unit introduces students to philosophical aesthetics and social philosophy by focusing on influential approaches to the relationship between art, subjectivity, and contemporary social and political challenges. In the first part, we explore theories focused on experiences of beauty and the sublime in relation to nature, artworks, and cultural artefacts, as well as approaches reflecting on the social, cultural, and ethical significance of art. How art might enable us to deal with the impacts of technology on cultural and social experience provide a further focus. In Part II we examine how contemporary social philosophy can help us think critically about issues such as the way power functions in modern society, how the ‘attention economy’ of social media creates new problems, crises in conceptions of democracy, the rise of authoritarian politics, and ways of reckoning with the historical legacies of colonialism and exploitation. Contemporary visual artworks, including cinema and television, will be used as philosophical resources throughout this unit.

Art, Aesthetics, and Social Philosophy

This unit offers a philosophical exploration of complex and often controversial topics related to sex, relationships, ‘race’, and the body and the way in which we encounter and grapple with these concepts and experiences across the human life span. Students will engage with pressing issues in reproductive ethics, consent, abortion, and the philosophy of the family, as well as cultural appropriation and the nature and reality of &#39;race&#39; and whether our practices of racial classification are justified. Further bioethical questions will be explored surrounding the use of human subjects in research, the commodification of the body, organ donation, and voluntary assisted dying. Through close engagement with philosophical texts as well as contemporary case studies, and developing the skills of rigorous philosophical analysis and discussion, students will achieve a deeper understanding of the complex issues and challenges we face as individuals, communities, and societies trying to live well alongside each other.

Philosophy and Ethics of Sex, "Race", and the Body

This subject introduces students to a selection of the most pressing ethical questions and concerns raised by current and recent developments in the so-called &#39;biotech revolution&#39;, especially in the sphere of genetic technology. The first section of the unit provides an introduction to ethical reasoning, to issues of social justice and to the relationship between social values, scientific enquiry and research ethics in the context of biotechnology. The second section focuses on the ethics of gene technology in the spheres of human medicine and reproduction, including: genetic screening/testing; gene editig and therapies; genetic enhancement; and human reproductive cloning. In the third section we explore the impact of biotechnologies on other aspects of human, non-human animal and environmental welfare including: genetic engineering of plants and animals (GMOs); biofortification of food; bio-prospecting; and commercial exploitation of human genetic material. The unit is an ethics unit, not a science unit, and prior scientific knowledge is not required.

Bioethics and Biotechnology

This subject was previously known as PHI230, PHIX201 Business and Professional Ethics. Please note: This subject is available in Macquarie Session 3, which is an intensive semester that spans only 5 intensive teaching weeks, plus a mid-semester recess and an assessment period. Students are advised to enrol in only one or two subjects in Session 3. Students who would prefer to take the unit over 13 teaching weeks should enrol in the Session 1 offering. This unit investigates some of main ethical issues that arise in professional life and from the activities of businesses and corporations. The unit explores the nature and value of work as well as its role in personal identity and social organisation. We also consider the obligations and responsibilities that come with professional work and the management of businesses. We examine the nature of corporations and their responsibilities to individual workers and consumers, stakeholders, groups such as women and minorities, and the environment.

Break down the ethical considerations that can stem from business activities. Firm up your view on a business' social responsibilities. Unpack codes of conduct and whistleblowing. Question the ability of corporations to influence government policies.

Ethics, Business and Work

This unit explores some of the major traditions in Philosophical and Scientific thinking about Consciousness and the Self. The unit introduces core questions concerning what consciousness is: What can we know about consciousness through scientific enquiry? How can a physical system, such as the brain, be conscious? How do we situate consciousness in a social and cultural context? The unit also introduces philosophical and scientific thinking about the self and introduces questions including: Is there really such a thing as a Self? Is the self narratively constructed? What is the relationship between the self and others?

Consciousness and Self

This subject was previously known as PHI320, PHIX357 Theories of Justice.What is justice? What is fairness? This unit explores these important questions by examining leading philosophical theories of justice, including John Rawls&#39;s influential model, as well as the main political approaches that are associated with them, such as liberalism, libertarianism, republicanism, and socialism. We assess the capacity of these theories and approaches to respond to pressing social justice issues. We focus on issues of inequality and diversity in society by asking: what degree of inequality, if any, can be justified? We also examine broader questions around social and retributive justice, such as: How can we justify punishing those who violate justice? What are the obligations of democratic citizenship? Is our society and its political institutions racist, sexist, or unfairly biased against cultural minorities? What do we owe the poor in other countries? And is our treatment of animals and the environment a matter of justice?

Weigh up competing philosophical theories about justice and its role in society. Begin with John Rawls' bedrock theory of justice. Spearhead discussions about equality, multiculturalism and gender. Interrogate the obligations of democratic citizens.

Theories of Justice

This unit provides students with the opportunity to engage with cutting edge areas of research in contemporary Philosophy and Ethics. Topics and readings will be carefully curated by leading researchers in the department. You will have the opportunity to enhance your skills of argument and critical reflection as you are guided through these exciting areas of research. Topics might include: The Philosophy of Race; Work and the Good Life; Pragmatism; Embodied Cognition; Virtue Theory; Artificial intelligence; Film and Philosophy; Contemporary Critical Theory; Ethical Issues in the use of AI and Machine Learning; Animal Ethics; Ethics of Emerging Technologies including in Healthcare; Contemporary Challenges in Research Ethics; Climate Change and Environmental Ethics.  Information about current and upcoming topics will be available on the Philosophy Department’s website.

Contemporary Topics in Philosophy and Ethics

Macquarie University Philosophy Courses & Degrees | Open Universities Australia

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