Protecting Dignity: Degradation, Captivity and the Vulnerable (PHIL0185)

Key information

Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Teaching department: Philosophy
Credit value: 15

Restrictions: N/A
Timetable

Alternative credit options

There are no alternative credit options available for this module.

Description

An introduction to questions in applied ethics and philosophy of law about human and animal dignity, and the prohibition on degrading treatment and punishment.

We explore conceptions of dignity and degradation, and examine the characteristics and any wrong inherent in degrading treatment and punishment, as imposed upon prisoners, people held in detention centres, people with dementia and other disabilities, and non-human animals.

The course includes readings in applied ethics, jurisprudence and international human rights law.

The course will include lectures on the following ten topics:

Distinctions: torture, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment
Degrading treatment and punishment
Corporal punishment and bodily searches
Kantian dignity and respect for persons: Korsgaard, Wood, Parfit, Kerstein
Contemporary accounts of dignity: Waldron, Rosen, Hill
Advocates of human dignity: Velleman, Nussbaum, Margalit
Scepticism about human dignity: Sangiovanni, Rosen, McMahan
Unawareness: the dignity of people with advanced Dementia
Dignity and disability
Non-human animals: the ethics of captivity

Philosophy Area B

Module deliveries for 2024/25 academic year

Intended teaching term: Term 2 听听听 Undergraduate (FHEQ Level 5)

Teaching and assessment

Mode of study: In person
Methods of assessment: 100% Fixed-time remote activity
Mark scheme: Numeric Marks

Other information

Number of students on module in previous year: 32
Module leader: Professor John Vorhaus
Who to contact for more information: philosophy@ucl.ac.uk

Last updated

This module description was last updated on 8th April 2024.

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Important information

The catalogue has been updated with key information about the modules that will run during the 2024/25 academic session. Current and prospective students can browse through the catalogue to consider possible module choices for the coming year.

Please note,听information in the catalogue is听subject to change as teaching and assessment arrangements for 2024/25 may need to be adjusted in line with the University's Feedback and Assessment principles and operating model.

Centrally managed exam durations will be provided on students' individual exam timetables. Arrangements for locally managed exams and in-class activity will be confirmed by the teaching department for the module.

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