| Module Code: |
GEM1004 |
| Module Title: |
Reason and Persuasion |
| Modular Credits: |
4 |
| Exam Date: |
20-JUN-2008,PM |
| Pre-Requisite: |
Nil |
| Preclusion: |
PH1101E, PH1102, GEM1004M. Not for students majoring in PH |
| Cross-listed: |
PH1101E |
| Module Description: |
We focus on two major philosophers: Plato and Descartes. We also look at two problem areas: science and ethics. Our subtitle - reason and persuasion - indicates a thread that runs throughout, tying the bits together. We begin and end with a question: is it wrong to short-circuit people's capacity to reason by means of clever persuasion techniques? (In other words: is advertising immoral?) The rest of the semester is devoted to the nature of the thing it may or may not be wrong to short-circuit. We will ask how and why it is possible for human beings to reason about the world, i.e. do science. |
| Workload: |
2-1-0-1-6
Lecture - Discussion/Tutorial - Laboratory - Assignments - Preparatory Work (hours/week) |
| Remark: |
Nil |
|