Applied Rationality
Code: 43844 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4316227 Applied Philosophy | OB | 0 | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- David Casacuberta Sevilla
- Email:
- david.casacuberta@uab.cat
Teaching groups languages
You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject. Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2023.
Teachers
- Gerard Vilar Roca
Prerequisites
- Good reading abilities in the English language; participation in the class discussion can be done both in Spanish and English.
- Interest in philosophical and scientific debates over rationality and/or reason
- Interest in the critical discussion of classical and current texts on the class topic
- Knowledge of basic logic is necessary; knowledge of theories of probability and rational decision is helpful.
- Willingness to prepare the class discussion of one of the readings (summary of one article/book chapter plus preparation of discussion questions and/or critical evaluation of the arguments contained)
- Readings are obligatory unless noted otherwise. Don't just read the course texts passively; work actively with them and come well-prepared to classes. Three questions are always central: What's the author's main claim? What is his argument for the claim? What should we think of the argument's form and premises? Especially for your own presentation of an article/book chapter, please use these questions as guidelines.
Objectives and Contextualisation
Theories of rationality should ideally provide us with tools for a number of important tasks: We want to avoid irrationality, or aim at justifying our beliefs and decisions by certain standards. This is important for many tasks in ordinary life, such as judgments and decisions of individual and public health, wealth, and happiness. We want to be clear about whether the reasons for our beliefs and actions are valid or reasonable. Furthermore, we often have to communicate with others about our beliefs and decisions, such as in scientific, ethical, or political contexts. All this requires conceptions or even theories of reason or rationality.
But what do we mean when we say that something, or someone, is rational (or irrational)? What are the normative standards of rationality? How should a theory of rationality be built? What are its presuppositions, its potentials and limits? What role does science play in it? In the answers to such questions, different thinkers have introduced a bewildering variety of distinctions - such as theoretical versus practical, instrumental versus non-instrumental, formal versus content-based, or optimizing versus "bounded" concepts of rationality. The course presents a selection of classical and current debates in which such understandings of rationality or reason emerge.
Competences
- Analyze and interpret topics and problems in current contemporary philosophical research based on the interrelation between ethics, art and politics.
- Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously.
- Contribute to debates in current philosophical research making significant critical contributions, with conceptual precision and good arguments by means of public presentation.
- Relate the concepts and knowledge of the various areas of current philosophical research in relation to dependencies between science and technology, and the ethical and political implications of such dependencies.
- Search for, select and manage information autonomously, both from structured sources (data bases, bibliographies, specialized journals) and from information distributed on the web.
- Solve problems in new or little-known situations within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to the field of study.
Learning Outcomes
- Apply the theory of rationality to problem areas in regulations, aesthetics and science and technology.
- Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously.
- Know the main contemporary theories on rationality, especially its social, political, ethical and cognitive implications in scientific and technological development.
- Make a written or oral heuristic contribution to the theories of rationality.
- Search for, select and manage information autonomously, both from structured sources (data bases, bibliographies, specialized journals) and from information distributed on the web.
- Solve problems in new or little-known situations within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to the field of study.
Content
The subject will have 3 different blocks, although all will be directly linked to the notion of rationality:
1- The idea of rational consensus
a. The old idea of logos as the common thing
b. The scientific community as an ideal of rational consensus
c. The problematization of the concept of science and its repercussion in the conception of the rationality, its nature and its limits
2- Rational consensus, discursive ethics and deliberative democracy
a. Multiculturalism and interculturality
b. Is it possible to aspire to a rational consensus in the practical dimension of reason?
3- Rationality and autonomy: on the old ideal of autarky
a. The philosophical ideal of a life guided by reason
b. The radical crisis of reason as a guide to life
c. Downward causation, self technologies and spiritual exercises. Towards a revival of the rational ideal of life?
d. The relationship between rationality and spirituality
Methodology
The module is structured into 10 sessions of 3.5 hours each. The sessions alternate between lecturing and seminar discussion of basic course readings. In the tutorials, professors will supervise the preparation of a written paper of 10-15 pages related to some topic treated in the module.
- Autonomous. They will not change regardless of whether the teaching is face-to-face or virtual.
- Directed (theoretical classes and classroom practices). They must be able to adapt, if necessary, in whatever percentage, to virtual teaching, through the various existing systems (Teams, narrated powerpoints, videos, podcasts, etc.), as has been done in the period. of confinement.
- Supervision. To the extent that they are tutored by the teacher, face-to-face can easily be converted into virtuality. In the event that the student requires supervision of the follow-up, or of a specific job, supervision will be offered within the health measures, either during office hours or electronically by prior appointment
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Class discussion | 17.5 | 0.7 | 1, 6, 4, 5, 7, 2 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Supervision | 22.5 | 0.9 | 1, 6, 7, 2, 3 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Autonomous study | 110 | 4.4 | 1, 6, 4, 5, 7, 2, 3 |
Assessment
In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.
Plagiarism:
In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
Single assessment: essay (50%) and final exam (50%).
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development of a written essay | 50% | 0 | 0 | 1, 6, 4, 5, 7, 2, 3 |
| Oral presentation | 50% | 0 | 0 | 1, 6, 4, 5, 7, 2, 3 |
Bibliography
Software
None