Warning! This unit contains mature content and may not be suitable for some students. Any student under the age of 16 who would like to enrol in this unit must first complete a Parental Consent Form.
$1,950 $2,210
Your upfront cost: $0
Duration
18 weeks
Study method
100% Online
Available loans
- HECS-HELP
- FEE-HELP
Assessments
100% online
Prior study
Not required
Start dates
- 24 Jul 2023
- 11 Dec 2023
This research-intensive university in north-western Sydney offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. With over 44,000 current students, Macquarie has a strong reputation for welcoming international students and embracing flexible and convenient study options, including its partnership with Open Universities Australia.
Learn more about Macquarie.
Explore Macquarie courses.
QS Ranking 2023
14
Times Higher Education Ranking 2023
10
Need help?
Our student advisors are here to guide you with:
- Enrolling and eligibility
- Fee and loan information
- Credit and recognition for prior learning
Subject details
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Demonstrate elementary understanding of key moral and political theories.
- Evaluate, in an elementary way, contemporary social issues that concern happiness, goodness, and justice, using philosophical ideas and methods.
- Summarise and explain a philosophical text and its key features at an elementary level.
- Reflect critically on philosophical theories and arguments at an elementary level.
- Formulate and defend your own ideas with clarity and rigour, in a logical, structured argument, at an elementary level.
- Engage constructively and respectfully with the views of others, even if you disagree with them.
-
- Introduction to Practical Philosophy
- Epicureanism: Happiness as Pleasure
- Stoicism: Happiness as Self-containment
- Happiness and Character: Aristotle's Ethics
- Morality, Religion and Atheism
- The Challenge of Moral Relativism
- Egoism and Self-interest
- Kant and the Universality of Reason
- Utilitarianism
- Justice and Inequality
- Justice, Immigration and Refugees
- Climate Change
Equivalent subjects
You should not enrol in this subject if you have successfully completed any of the following subject(s) because they are considered academically equivalent:
- MAQ-PHI110 (Not currently available)
- MAQ-PHIX132-Happiness, Goodness and Justice (No longer available)
Others
If you have no prior university experience, you should complete BAR100 Academic Learning Skills or COM10006 Academic Literacies: Learning and Communication Practice before starting this subject. NCCW (pre-2020 units) PHI110, PHL132, PHIL132, PHIX132 NCCW (2020 and onwards) PHIL1032 Happiness, Goodness and Justice
Additional requirements
- Other requirements -
Students who have an Academic Standing of Suspension or Exclusion under Macquarie University's Academic Progression Policy are not permitted to enrol in OUA units offered by Macquarie University. Students with an Academic Standing of Suspension or Exclusion who have enrolled in units through OUA will be withdrawn.
Please note: This subject is available in Macquarie Semester 3, which is an intensive semester that spans only 5 intensive teaching weeks, plus a mid-semester recess and an assessment period. Students are advised to enrol in only one or two subjects in Semester 3. Students who would prefer to take the unit over 13 teaching weeks should enrol in the Semester 2 offering.
This subject provides an introduction to major topics in ethics, moral theory and contemporary political philosophy. The first section focuses on the nature of happiness. Is pleasure essential to happiness? Or does the pursuit of pleasure harm our chances of lasting fulfilment? Must we be virtuous in order to be happy? What is the relationship between happiness and duty? The second section explores the nature of moral goodness. Is morality based ultimately in self-interest? What is the relationship between morality and religion? Are there moral principles that everyone is bound by reason to recognise? Or is the validity of moral standards relative to specific societies and cultures? In the third section we turn to questions of applied political philosophy, focusing on questions such as: What principles should govern the distribution of economic and social resources within a society? What are the obligations of wealthy nations to those less fortunate, including immigrants and refugees? And what issues of justice are raised by climate change?
- Critical Essay (40%)
- Online Participation (20%)
- Weekly Quiz (20%)
- Reading-based reflective exercise (20%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).