module
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
PHL2025A: Philosophical Readings 4
This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics in the work of Jürgen Habermas:
1. The critical theory of the public sphere
2. The early theory of cognitive interests as the basis of an anthropological epistemology.
3. The idea of a universal pragmatics.
4. The reconstruction of historical materialism
5. The theory of communicative action
6. The critical theory of system and lifeworld.
7. The idea of discourse ethics.
8. Habermas’s model of deliberative democracy
9. The idea of a post-metaphysical philosophy
10. The idea of a post-secular society
11. Habermas’s critique of post-modernism.
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 128 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity | 22 | 11 x 2 hour weekly seminars |
| Guided Independent Study | 44 | Reading and preparation for weekly seminar analysis and discussion on the core texts |
| Guided Independent Study | 36 | Preparation for Assigned Essays |
| Guided Independent Study | 48 | Reading materials to supplement and contextualise the core texts |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).