Studying online
There are now 2 possible online modes for units:
Units with modes Online timetabled and Online flexible are available for any student to self-enrol and study online.
Click on an offering mode for more details.
Unit Overview
- Description
Normative (or 'first-order') ethics is concerned with questions such as—Which acts are morally wrong? Which states of affairs are morally good? What character traits are virtues? By contrast, metaethics studies evaluates the semantic, epistemological and metaphysical commitments of first-order ethical discourse. Do moral sentences such as 'eating animals is wrong' express propositions that are capable of being true or false? If so, are any such propositions actually true? Does their truth depend upon subjective factors, such as our attitudes or conventions, or are these truths 'stance-independent'? If the latter, how can we come to know these truths? Can moral truths be discovered using empirical methods such as direct observation and inference to the best explanation? Do we know them by way of a prior intuition, instead? Suppose we find that there are no moral truths at all. In that case, how can we make sense of our first-order moral discourse? Is it a mere fiction that some acts are wrong? If so, should we keep the fiction? Or should we just discard our moral vocabulary altogether? These are the central questions addressed in the unit.
- Credit
- 6 points
- Offering
Availability Location Mode Not available in 2025 UWA (Perth) Face to face - Details for undergraduate courses
- Honours option in Philosophy; Philosophy, Politics and Economics [Bachelor of Arts (Honours)]
- Outcomes
Students are able to (1) strengthen generic intellectual skills such as analysing and critically assessing arguments, constructing and expressing arguments of one's own, and constructing and expressing explanations of phenomena; (2) demonstrate their knowledge of the core philosophical problems that arise in connection with the nature and existence of moral facts, the meanings of key terms in our moral vocabulary, and the nature and possibility of moral knowledge; (3) demonstrate their understanding of the most influential contemporary metaethical theories such as moral realism, ethical naturalism, ethical non-naturalism, constructivism, expressivism and nihilism; and (4) critically address a series of fundamental questions regarding the metaphysics and epistemology of moral facts/truths.
- Assessment
Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) an essay; (2) participation; and (3) test. Further information is available in the unit outline.
To pass this unit, a student must: (a) achieve an overall mark of 50 per cent or higher for the unit; and (b) achieve the requisite requirements(s) or a mark of 50 per cent or greater, whichever is higher and specified in the unit outline, for the participation component.
Student may be offered supplementary assessment in this unit if they meet the eligibility criteria.
- Unit Coordinator(s)
- Assistant Professor Michael Rubin
- Unit rules
- Prerequisites
- sufficient units in the relevant major at the specified standard for entry to the honours specialisation
- Contact hours
- seminars: 1 x 2-hour seminars per week for 10 weeks
- The availability of units in Semester 1, 2, etc. was correct at the time of publication but may be subject to change.
- All students are responsible for identifying when they need assistance to improve their academic learning, research, English language and numeracy skills; seeking out the services and resources available to help them; and applying what they learn. Students are encouraged to register for free online support through GETSmart; to help themselves to the extensive range of resources on UWA's STUDYSmarter website; and to participate in WRITESmart and (ma+hs)Smart drop-ins and workshops.
- Visit the Essential Textbooks website to see if any textbooks are required for this Unit. The website is updated regularly so content may change. Students are recommended to purchase Essential Textbooks, but a limited number of copies of all Essential Textbooks are held in the Library in print, and as an ebook where possible. Recommended readings for the unit can be accessed in Unit Readings directly through the Learning Management System (LMS).
- Contact hours provide an indication of the type and extent of in-class activities this unit may contain. The total amount of student work (including contact hours, assessment time, and self-study) will approximate 150 hours per 6 credit points.
Face to face
Predominantly face-to-face. On campus attendance required to complete this unit. May have accompanying resources online.
Online flexible
100% Online Unit. NO campus face-to-face attendance is required to complete this unit. All study requirements are online only. Unit is asynchronous delivery, with NO requirement for students to participate online at specific times.
Online timetabled
100% Online Unit. NO campus face-to-face attendance is required to complete this unit. All study requirements are online only. Unit includes some synchronous components, with a requirement for students to participate online at specific times.
Online Restricted
Not available for self-enrolment. Students access this mode by contacting their student office through AskUWA. 100% Online Unit.
NO campus face-to-face attendance. All study and assessment requirements are online only. Unit includes some timetabled activities, with a requirement for students to participate online at specific times. In exceptional cases (noted in the Handbook) students may be required to participate in face-to-face laboratory classes when a return to UWA’s Crawley campus becomes possible in order to be awarded a final grade.
External
No attendance or regular contact is required, and all study requirements are completed either via correspondence and/or online submission.
Off-campus
Regular attendance is not required, but student attends the institution face to face on an agreed schedule for purposes of supervision and/or instruction.
Multi-mode
Multiple modes of delivery. Unit includes a mix of online and on-campus study requirements. On campus attendance for some activities is required to complete this unit.