The University of Adelaide
Course Outlines

PHIL 3018 - Existentialism

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2022

The most distinctive focus of existentialism is the nature and meaning of human existence. Existentialist philosophers raise anew the question of the meaning of existence because they find traditional answers to it inadequate. Any conception of the nature and meaning of human existence has implications for questions such as the nature of the self, the relation with others, and ethical ideals such as altruism and self-creation. The course will focus on two prominent existentialist philosophers: Friedrich Nietzsche and Jean-Paul Sartre. Both philosophers attempt to address the question of the meaning of life. The central concern of Nietzsche's philosophy is nihilism and the conditions of its overcoming. The main problem addressed by Sartre's philosophy is the absurdity of existence and its practical implications.

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  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code PHIL 3018
    Course Existentialism
    Coordinating Unit Philosophy
    Term Semester 2
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s North Terrace Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Up to 3 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange N
    Prerequisites At least 6 units of Level II undergraduate study
    Incompatible PHIL 2034
    Assessment Research essay (2000 words) 50%, Research essay (2500 words) 50%
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Dr Jordi Fernandez

    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    This course aims to
    1. Introduce students to the views of some representative philosophers and writers in the existentialist tradition: Friedrich Nietzsche, Soren Kierkegaard and Jean-Paul Sartre, most prominently.
    2. Develop an understanding of several philosophical themes in the existentialist tradition, such as the foundation of moral values, the ideals of authenticity and self-creation, and relations to others like altruism and love.
    After successfully completing this course, students should be able to
    3. Display an awareness of the main views of some representative existentialist philosophers and writers.
    4. Analyse texts from existentialist philosophers and extract the relevant arguments from them.
    5. Evaluate an argument by an existentialist philosopher (as valid, or sound).

    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)

    Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth

    Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.

    		 1

    Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving

    Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.

    		 4-5

    Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills

    Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.

    		 1-5

    Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness

    Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.

    		 1-5

    Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency

    Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.

    		 1-3

    Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence

    Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.

    		 1-5
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    • There is no textbook for the course. All readings will be made available through MyUni.
    Online Learning
    • All lectures will be pre-recorded and released through MyUni.
  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    This course is taught in lectures+workshop format:

    - Lectures are pre-recorded and will be made available through MyUni.
    - You will have the option of attending either a face-to-face workshop, or an on-line workshop through Zoom.
    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.
    2 x 1 hour lecture per week 2 hours
    3 hours revision per week (working through text, relevant online material, seminar notes) 3 hours
    3 hours lecture preparation per week 3 hours
    3 hours assessment work (completion of written tasks, essay reading and preparation, essay writing) 3 hours
    Total per week 12 hours
    This is a guide to the average number of hours per week students should spend on this course; in short, students should spend a total of (12 weeks x 12 hours per week) = 144 hours over the course of the semester.
    Learning Activities Summary
    The course will cover (some of) the views of:
    1. Soren Kierkegaard
    2. Arthur Schopenhauer
    3. Friedrich Nietzsche
    4. Jean-Paul Sartre
    As well as discussions of some common Existentialist themes by:
    1. Charles Larmore
    2. Robert Nozick
    The precise schedule of lectures and associated readings will be made available, as part of the course program, through MyUni.



    Specific Course Requirements
    None
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    Summative assessment:

    - Essay 1 (1,800-2,000 words), worth 50% of the grade. Relevant learning outcome: 1-5.
    - Essay 2 (2,300-2,500 words), worth 50% of the grade. Relevant learning outcome: 1-5.

    Formative assessment:

    Questions for discussion during tutorials. Relevant learning outcome: 1-5.
    Assessment Related Requirements
    Submission of two essays is a course requirement. The first one should be about 2,000 words long. The second one should be about 2,500 words long. You are strongly urged to attend the course workshops, though attendance is not compulsory.
    Assessment Detail

    Essay 1 is a 2000 word essay. Students will choose from a number of set topics based on material from weeks 1-6 of the course. Topics will be released in MyUni three weeks before the due date.

    Essay 2 is a 2500 word essay. Students will choose from a number of set topics based on material from weeks 7-12 of the course. Topics will be released in MyUni three weeks before the due date.
    Submission
    a) Submitting your essays

    All essays must be submitted electronically through MyUni. Please do not submit a hard copy of your essay. In this course, we will only accept electronic submission of essays through MyUni. Please remember that it is your responsibility to submit your essays correctly.

    • The first page of your essay must include your name and student ID number.
    • At the end of the submission process, please print (or take a picture of) the screen telling you that your file has been submitted. In the event of system failure, we will accept that as proof that you did submit your essay.
    • You are required to keep both a hard copy and an electronic copy of each of your essays.
    • Comments to Essay 1 will be returned electronically, approximately two weeks after the due date. If you require comments to your second essay back, please let the lecturer know by noon of the due date for Essay 2.

    b) Overdue work

    If your essay is submitted after 12pm of the due date without an extension, then your work will be considered late/overdue. Please note the following regarding late/overdue work:

    (i) Late essays will be penalized at the rate of 2 marks of the percentage mark achieved for that
    assessment component for each day that the work is overdue.
    (ii) Essays submitted more than 7 days late without an extension will not be marked.

    For the purposes of both (i) and (ii):

    (A) the number of days that the assessment task is overdue will be counted by using noon as the cut-off point (since all pieces of assessment are due at noon). Thus, an essay submitted at 12:01pm of the due date will count as being 1 day late.
    (B) 'days' will be considered calendar, and not business, days (weekends do count).

    c) Extensions

    Faculty of Arts policy states that students are eligible for extensions only on the basis of medical, compassionate or extenuating circumstances.

    E-mail communication with your course coordinator, lecturer, tutor or marker does not constitute a request for an extension. In order to be granted an extension, you must submit an application, which will be available in MyUni, together with supporting documentation before the due date.

    No other grounds for extension will be permitted. Extension requests made on other grounds, or made on/after the due date, will be declined. In particular, note that pressure of other work or sporting commitments are not accepted as grounds for extension.
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    https://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/700?dsn=policy.document;field=data;id=5082;m=view

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

    https://access.adelaide.edu.au/sa/login.asp
  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

    https://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/?dsn=policy.document;field=data;id=161;m=view
  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines

    This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.

  • Fraud Awareness

    Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.
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