To enhance students' abilities to conduct research, including using library resources for research purposes and developing a research proposal. To prepare students for the conduct of future research in philosophy or a career outside academia. To acquaint students with philological issues raised by philosophical terminology. To enhance students’ skills in argument and formal reasoning.

(LO1) Students will be able to identify valid argument forms and detect fallacies.

(LO2) Students will be able to recognise common rhetorical devices and reconstruct professional philosophers' arguments from their prose.

(LO3) Students will be aware of factors involved in evaluating information sources.

(LO4) Students will be aware of DISCOVER and other sources of academic information.

(LO5) Students will be aware of semantic development of philosophically significant terms.

(LO6) Students will be aware of the sorts of semantic unities that underlie different traditions of philosophical thought.

(S1) Information skills - Information accessing:[Locating relevant information] [Identifying and evaluating information sources].

(S2) Communication (oral, written and visual) - Presentation skills – oral.

(S3) Confidence in dealing with matters of logic.

(S4) Students will enhance their ability to identify and reflect critically upon the issues that underlie debates.

(S5) Students will develop confidence in considering previously unfamiliar ideas and approaches.

(S6) Students will enhance their ability to marshal ideas and arguments and present them in writing.

Whole Session: Workshops

Workshops cover such topics as:

being part of the Liverpool research community;

essay writing;

understanding feedback and marks;

library skills;

developing a research project;

preparing a research proposal;

preparing a bibliography;

academic publishing;

building a research profile (including online and via social media);

professional skills (including how to make the most of such opportunities as careers workshops and ‘Insights’ sessions with professional philosophers).

Semester 1: Philosophy through Words.

Semester 2: Formal Reasoning.

Teaching Method 1 - Seminars (synchronous, either in person or online depending on COVID situation)
Description: 10 x 1 hour seminars
Attendance Recorded: Yes
Notes: 'Philosophy through Words' component

Teaching Method 2 - Workshops (synchronous delivery, either in person or online depending on COVID situation)
Description: 7 x 1 hour workshops
Attendance Recorded: Yes
Notes: see ‘Outline Syllabus’ above

Teaching Method 3 - Other
Description: Online formal reasoning element (via asynchronous support materials and 2 x 1 hour synchronous tutorials)
Attendance Recorded: No