MA in Philosophy by Research

The Course Director The course is led by the renowned philosopher, Professor Sir Roger Scruton, FBA, FRSL.Professor Scruton is a Fellow of the Humanities Research Institute and Course Director of the MA in Philosophy. He is a writer, philosopher and public commentator, specialising in aesthetics with particular attention to music and architecture.He engages in contemporary political and cultural debates from the standpoint of a conservative thinker and is well known as a powerful polemicist. He has written widely in the press on political and cultural issues.He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a fellow of the British Academy.Professor Scruton is the author of over forty books, including "The Ring of Truth" (2016), "Fools Frauds and Firebrands" (2015), "The Soul of the World" (2014), "Notes from Underground" (2014), "How to Be a Conservative" (2014)," Our Church" (2012)," " "How to Think Seriously about the Planet: The Case for an Environmental Conservatism" (2012)," Beauty" (2009)",The Aesthetics of Music" (1997)," The Philosopher on Dover Beach" (1990), "Sexual Desire" (1986)," The Meaning of Conservatism" (1980) and" Art and Imagination" (1974).2016-17 SeminarsThe series of seminars takes place between October 2016 and June 2017. Please note that all seminars take place on Thursday evenings, beginning at 18:30. They will be held at the Reform Club, 104 Pall Mall, London, SW1Y 5EW (see: information for visitors and directions).Autumn TermThursday 6 October 2016: Sir Roger Scruton. General Introduction: What is philosophy?
This introductory seminar surveys the similarities and differences between analytical philosophy, phenomenology, existentialism, and other schools. Thursday 27 October 2016: Sir Roger Scruton. Reason and freedom, mind and brain.
How do we understand recent advances in neuroscience, and where does the concept of mind fit into the science of human behaviour? This vital topic is at the centre of many contemporary discussions, and is one that leads to familiar confusions that have immediate impact on our lives.Thursday 24 November 2016: Sir Roger Scruton. Persons and the human world.
What distinguishes humanity from the rest of nature? How do we understand one another and how do we build from that understanding the shared world that includes us? We will consider some striking suggestions from Wittgenstein, Lévinas, and Kant. Roger Scruton’s book, "The Face of God "is relevant here.Wednesday 7 December 2016: Sir Roger Scruton. Ethics.
What are the grounds of moral judgment, and how should we understand the conflict between deontological and consequential ways of reasoning?
What is the ground of moral judgment in a world from which the gods have departed? Among the works considered is Nietzsche, "The Genealogy of Morals". Thursday 15 December 2016: Sir Roger Scruton. Sex.
What exactly is sexual desire and why is it the subject of moral anxiety? What does philosophy have to say about the agenda-driven approach to our sexual behaviour? Sex is the feature of the human condition which seems most closely to unite us to the other animals, but which, properly understood, divides us from them completely. Roger Scruton has written a large book on the intentionality of sexual experience ("Sexual Desire", 1986), but the gist of it can be obtained from his answer to Plato’s "Symposium", called "Phryne’s Symposium", and contained in "Xanthippic Dialogues." We will read these two symposia, and compare their visions.
Winter Term Thursday 12 January 2017: Sir Roger Scruton. Art, culture and faking it.
This is one of the areas in which philosophy is much needed, and yet seemingly chased from the discussion by attention-seeking frauds. Or is that a prejudiced and subjective remark? Discuss. Roger Scruton’s short book on "Beauty" is relevant here, as is his film "Why Beauty Matters", for BBC 2, which can be found in pirated form on YouTube. See also ‘The Great Swindle’ "Aeon Magazine, "17 December 2012"." Thursday 9 February 2017: Professor Jane Heal, FBA, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Cambridge, on the bequest of modern logic.
The work of Frege and Russell changed not only logic as it was previously understood, but also both mathematics and philosophy. It also laid the foundations for analytical philosophy. It is important to grasp some of the leading ideas put forward in Frege’s work, and Jane Heal, Professor of Philosophy in Cambridge, will conduct the seminar. We will read Frege’s essay ‘On Sense and Reference’.Thursday 9 March 2017: Raymond Tallis, Emeritus Professor of Geriatric Medicine, University of Manchester, on Evolution and ‘Darwinitis’.
With or without God, we have to face up to the evolved nature of the human condition. Ray Tallis, neurosurgeon, poet, philosopher and public commentator will introduce his sceptical approach to the contemporary use of evolutionary theory and neuroscience.Thursday 30 March 2017: Professor Simon Blackburn, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, on God.
How to maintain a proper measure of humanity and sophistication in the face of the slanging matches around this theme? This is an opportunity to discuss the place of the sacred in the experience of modern people. Can we dispense with that idea, or some equivalent, and if so how do we make sense of the world?Spring TermWednesday 3 May 2017: Professor Sebastian Gardner, University College London, on existentialism and its legacy.
What remains now of the great movement of ideas that was launched by Heidegger and Sartre, and why are their writings still relevant to the existential and ethical problems that confront us today? Sebastian Gardner, Professor of Philosophy at UCL, and leading authority on Sartre, will introduce the topic."
"Thursday 18 May 2017: Professor Anthony O’Hear, Director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy and a Professor at the University of Buckingham, on justice.
What is the relation between the justice that is pursued through the courts and the ‘social justice’ promised by so many politicians? Again an area where philosophical clarity is desperately needed. An introduction to Rawls and his critics, and an attempt to confront the pitfalls of a social doctrine that breaks free from the concepts of right, duty and desert."
" Thursday 8 June 2017: Professor Robert Grant, Senior Research Fellow, University of Glasgow, on democracy, law and the state.
What does philosophy have to say about the critical problems now confronting us, and how do we reason towards a solution? An opportunity to look at the legacy of Heidegger and also to explore some of the fallacies and paradoxes of collective choice."
"All students are invited to attend the guest seminars and dinners that follow.2017-18 seminar programmeThe provisional seminar schedule for 2017-18 is as follows (please note the dates may be subject to slight change), all taking place at the Reform Club (104 Pall Mall, London, SW1Y 5EW (see: information for visitors and directions):

• 5 October 2017
• 26 October
• 23 November
• 7 December
• 14 or 21 December
• 11 January 2018
• 1 February
• 1 March
• 5 April
• 3 May
• 17 or 24 May
• 7 June

Each guest speaker seminar begins at 18:30 and is followed by a dinner (also at the Reform Club), at 20:00, with the guest speaker. The cost of all post-seminar dinners is included in the tuition fees.The speakers and topics covered are likely to be similar to those included in the 2016-17 programme, as per the details above.For further details contact: