FIL4010 ¨C Special Topics in Philosophy

Course content

FIL4010 is a code used when seminars are offered that are not a part of our regular courses. Content and form of teaching may vary from one semester to another. In the spring of 2025 the course will be on the following topic:

Pleasure and Pain:

The experience of pleasure and pain goes to the core of what it means to be a human being and directly shapes the quality of our lives.?In this class, we will examine the nature and value of pleasure and pain. In particular, we willl be looking at what their place in a good life is.

Are pleasure and pain sensations, feelings, representational states, or propositional attitudes? Why do we take painkillers? Is happiness just a surplus of pleasure over pain? Can we draw a qualitative difference between lower and higher pleasures-as the ancients and John Stuart Mill thought? What can addiction and depression teach us about the good life and its affective dimension? Can pleasure and pain be measured objectively or scientifically? Would a life without grief be a better life than a life with grief? Can non-human animals experience pleasure and pain in the same way in which humans can? And if so, what does this mean for our treatment of animals?

To tackle these and other questions, we will draw on the history of Western and Eastern philosophy (in particular Plato and Buddhism), contemporary analytic philosophy, and empirical psychology. We will strive to foster a dialogue where the history of philosophy, contemporary philosophy, and empirical science can?meet and inform each other.

Throughout, our approach is unapologetically Socratic: in exploring these questions, we aim not only to gain philosophical understanding but also to apply these insights in ways that might enhance our own pursuit of a good life.

Learning outcome

When you have completed the course, you will?

• have gained an in depth knowledge of a specific topic within within different philosophical fields
• be able to express yourself in an academic forsm through the writing of one or several essays?
• be able to discuss and analyse different points of view in an independent and coherent way

Admission to the course

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

Students enrolled in other Master`s Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

Requires admission to the Philosophy (master).

Teaching

10 double sessions of seminars.?

The course has the following two compulsory tuition activities:

• Weekly reading responses (you must submit these minimum 6 times)
• A draft of the first essay in the portfolio exam

All compulsory tuition activities must be completed and accepted as satisfactory in order to qualify for the final exam.

Examination

A portfolio exam which consists of two essays, one of 7-8 pages (approximately 3500-4000 words) the other one of 3-4 pages (approximately 1500-2000 words), references and footnotes not included. The portfolio is assessed as a whole.

All compulsory tuition acitivities must be completed to be able to submit the exam.

Language of examination

You must write the exam in English.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.