Objectivity and Value

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2012:

Standard

An average of 8.5 hours each week.

None.

None.

12.5 points (one subject) of Philosophy at any level.

Students who have completed 121-202 or 674-304 (Objectivity and Value) are not permitted to enrol in this subject.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject explores the nature of value in human life. The kinds of value explored may include all or some of moral and ethical value, aesthetic value, religious value, political value, and epistemic value. Are such values capable of being objectively true or real, or are they essentially 'subjective', having no ground or warrant outside the individual, or perhaps the society or culture, who affirms them? And just how helpful, anyway, is the objective/subjective contrast for thinking about the nature of value?

Students who successfully complete this subject will

• be able to apply a range of basic philosophical concepts that have been used to explain the value-orientation of human life and activity
• have developed a deeper appreciation of what it means to be a human being living a distinctively human life
• be able to bring this appreciation to bear on their other academic studies, and also on the living of their own lives

A written assignment of 2000 words valued at 50% due mid-semester, and a 2 hour closed book written exam valued at 50% (during the end of semester examination period).

Hurdle Requirement: This subject has a minimum hurdle requirement of 75% tutorial attendance. Regular participation in tutorials is required. Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day. After 5 working days late assessment will not be marked. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

A subject reader will be available from the University Bookshop at the beginning of semester.

The coordinator may recommend further reading during the course of the semester .

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

Students who successfully complete this subject will

• have developed their powers of critical and analytical thinking, and be able to apply these powers to problems and issues in other areas of philosophy, and in other disciplines
• have acquired a greater capacity both to articulate and express their thoughts, and also to communicate them clearly and directly
• have an increased understanding of the impact of social, ethical and cultural context on many areas of human activity