Master 2 Philosophy

This course introduces the two great founders of Western philosophy through their complementary approaches. The first part explores Plato’s thought, focusing on the search for truth, virtue, the immortality of the soul, and the Theory of Forms, while highlighting the central role of Socrates, dialogue, and dialectical inquiry.

This course introduces some of the key elements in Aristotle's thought. 

This course introduces the philosophical foundations of ethics through a close reading of the major works of Plato and Aristotle. It begins by defining ethics as a branch of philosophy concerned with the rational search for the good, before examining the origins of ethical thought in ancient Greece. 

Legal, Philosophical and Moral dimension

Investigators have a duty to ensure subjects give not only informed, but voluntary consent?

Concerned with restoring and strengthening bonds between professionals, patients and families, not simply dealing with principles like bioethics.

There are many different definitions of Social Political Philosophy (SPP): the political can be defined as social decision making; philosophy is the most general form of inquiry that is the attempt to say what it is true and why. 

Philosophy of Religion is also known as Philosophical Theology or Philosophy of God. Other names include Natural Theology and Theodicy.

Etymologically, the word "Epistemology", from the Greek, means the science of knowledge. It is an investigation of knowledge and its problems. A synonymous term is Criteriology which again from the Greek means to distinguish or judge. It deals with testin g knowledge to find truth or detect error.

The modern epistemological problem has two aspects:

1. The opposition between science and philosophy or truth and error. We find this basically in Descartes and Kant.

2. The conflict between science and science or that of contemporary and classic physics and not an opposition between science and philosophy or truth and error.

This course offers an introduction to the nature, purpose, and development of philosophy. It explores what philosophy is, why it has remained a central intellectual discipline, and how it relates to other fields of inquiry, particularly theology. 

According to Gibelin in his Foreword to Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone, Freedom is the central theme of Kant’s philosophy. This course will introduce to Kant, centering on Freedom as a key concept to understand his philosophy, in the three spheres defined by the critical project: Metaphysics, Moral and Aesthetics.

This course will engage the question of how we are to construe the relationship that obtains between body and soul/mind. Rather than adopting a purely historical approach, beginning with Aristotle, the text begins with an exposition of three different contemporary treatments of this issue before proceeding to expound important aspects of Aristotle’s and St. Thomas Aquinas’s metaphysics of human nature.

This course is the second part to Introduction to Moral theories in Bioethics I.
The course will introduce the students to the historical beginning of bioethics, as well as some of the moral theories employed in bioethics discourse.

To show the implications of normative theories for specific moral issues or contemporary debates on particular ethical issues.

To show the implications of normative theories for specific moral issues or contemporary debates on particular ethical issues.

The norm is the idea central to the thought of Michel Foucault. It is the point from which he studies modern society. He distinguishes the norm from other forms of power.

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to epistemology, the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature, sources, justification, and limits of human knowledge. 

The main objective of this unit is to get an above all understanding of what Indian Philosophy is and in what circumstances it has developed. Though Indian Philosophy has developed in different parts of India it has many common characteristics hence the student is likely to know a few important ones. Furthermore, one should have a basic understanding of what Indian philosophy is accused of.

By Studying this particular unit one must be able to understand what is the meaning of Upaniṣad, how it was developed from Vedas and what are its main teachings and how they reach their logical culmination in the identity of the self and the Brahman. One must also be able to understand the Upaniṣadic view point of bondage and liberation along with the cosmogony and puruṣārtas.

The main objective of the conclusion is to introduce the students to the different systems of Indian Philosophy as it deals with various philosophical thoughts of several traditions originated in Indian Subcontinent.

This course seeks to introduce students to analytic philosophy. 

This course offers a structured and rigorous journey through the history of ethics, from Plato to contemporary utilitarianism, in order to highlight the diversity of possible foundations for morality. 

Political philosophy is a branch of philosophy that studies essential questions about various political issues, concepts and problems that are important to any human society. 

This course offers a systematic introduction to Metaphysics, or the Philosophy of Being, the branch of philosophy that studies being as being and investigates the ultimate causes and principles of reality. 

Important issues in legal philosophy range from abstract conceptual questions about the nature of law and legal systems, to normative questions about the relationship between law and morality, politics and other norms as well as the justification of various legal institutions. Although this course will deal with conceptual themes of philosophy of law especially in the first section, the course generally focusses on the practical and readily applicable aspects of the field.

SEM48 - Human Rights, Philosophy and Religious Studies

4th October - 29th November 2021 

presented by Isaac Mutelo

This course presents a comprehensive picture of Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason.

The history of the debate about the possibility, nature and validity of knowledge is one of the very oldest, and one about which virtually every great philosopher has had something to say. "Is knowledge possible?" is a very broad question.

E-seminar in Philosophy and Social Sciences
by Jaco Kruger
From 11th April to 6th June 2022

E-seminar in Philosophy and Law

by Isaac Mutelo

From 3rd October to 28th November 2022

The impact of science, not only on the world we inhabit, but also on the world of philosophy, is undeniable.

E-seminar in Philosophy
by Jaco Kruger
From 17th April to 12th June 2023

Explore the major philosophical currents of 20th-century Latin America, from anthropophagy to the baroque imagination. Analyze identity, culture, and history through the works of key Brazilian, Argentine, Mexican, and Cuban thinkers.

This e-seminar in Philosophy will take place from 6th October to 30th November 2025. Srećko Koralija explores the roles of leadership and followership in a world increasingly influenced by artificial intelligence and algorithmic decision-making.

Jaco Kruger provides an introduction to philosophical questions regarding the experience of home and the possibility of using this experience as an entryway to an examination of the human condition. 

This seminar will take place online from October 5 to November 29, 2026

This e-seminar in Philosophy will take place from 6th October to 30th November 2025.

This seminar will take place from 6th October to 30th November 2025. It explores the ethical implications of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics by engaging with key ethical issues and aspects, including privacy, autonomous systems, job displacement, algorithmic bias, surveillance issues, and the moral status of machines.

This seminar aims to offer students an immersion in processual metaphysics, exploring its conceptual foundations and interdisciplinary implications. The approach adopted is not limited to theoretical understanding: it also engages in critical reflection on how processual thinking can transform our views of knowledge, ethics and social relations.

This seminar will take place from March 1 to April 25, 2027.

Explore the challenges and future of democracy, including human rights, inequality, authoritarianism, and civic engagement through case studies and critical analysis.

Explore the concept of civilization and ecological civilization, its philosophical foundations, ethical implications, and the risks of civilizational collapse.

This course offers an in-depth study of Martin Heidegger’s fundamental question: What is the meaning of Being? Beginning with the classical metaphysical question — “Why is there something rather than nothing?” — we examine Heidegger’s lifelong effort to retrieve what he called philosophy’s “forgotten question”: the question of Being itself.

This seminar examines the ethical challenges raised by contemporary technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital surveillance, and data-driven systems. It explores issues of responsibility, justice, privacy, and human agency through interdisciplinary analysis and concrete case studies. Participants will develop critical tools to engage with current debates on algorithmic bias, digital rights, and the social impact of emerging technologies.

This seminar will take place from March 1 to April 25, 2027.

This seminar examines the ethical, philosophical, and social challenges raised by human enhancement technologies. Through an interdisciplinary approach combining philosophy, medicine, and technology studies, participants will explore debates on genetic engineering, neurotechnology, life extension, human dignity, and the moral limits of bioenhancement.

This Seminar will take place from October 4 to November 28, 2027.