Philosophy and Psychology - BA (Hons)

Durham University

Gain an understanding of what it is to be human by studying profound questions concerning human psychology and the nature of the human mind. Studying BA Philosophy and Psychology allows you to confront and study profound questions concerning human psychology and the nature of the human mind. There are numerous areas of overlap making these subjects particularly suitable to study alongside each other. Within philosophy you will confront questions such as ‘What does a flourishing human life look like?’ Embarking on this subject will equip you with the skills needed to think carefully and deeply about what matters in a good life, and how individual happiness is related to friendships, relationships, family, society, the political system and culture. The psychology element is designed to give you an understanding of the mind and behaviour in humans and non-human animals. You will get the chance to study people in terms of their internal mental processes, the biological mechanisms that underlie their behaviour, and the social and developmental context in which they act. You can also apply to add a placement year or a year abroad to your degree, increasing the course from three years to four. Philosophy is a new subject for many students, so in your first year you will follow a range of introductory courses, introducing the fundamental philosophical subject areas. You will also take a comparable number of introductory modules in psychology. In your second year, you will further increase your knowledge by taking four compulsory modules in philosophy and psychology. The third year includes a dissertation that allows a deep, independently driven, exploration of a topic of your choice.Course structureYear 1 modulesCore modules:Ethics and Values provides a structured introduction to moral philosophy, including applied ethics, by exploring key moral concepts and showing how they influence moral practices and theories.Knowledge and Reality introduces philosophical problems in epistemology (the study of knowledge), and metaphysics (the study of reality and ourselves).Introduction to Psychological Research introduces key research methods and statistical techniques used in psychology.Optional modules:In recent years, optional modules have included: Reading PhilosophyScience, Medicine and SocietyIntroduction to Psychology 1: Cognitive and Biological PsychologyIntroduction to Psychology 2: Developmental and Social Psychology Year 2 modulesCore modules:Philosophy of Mind provides a grounding in modern philosophical psychology and an understanding of those key concepts required for a proper characterisation of the mind, from both a first-person and a third-person perspective.Social and Developmental Psychology provides a broad knowledge and understanding of research and theory in some of the key areas of developmental psychology and examines the contribution that social psychology has made to an understanding of the relations between people and social structures involving people.Cognitive and Biological Psychology develops an understanding of theoretical, methodological and empirical approaches in cognitive and biological psychology, with particular emphasis on visual neuroscience and visual cognition.Advanced Psychological Research develops your experimental design and statistics knowledge. In this module you will also discuss psychological research in a tutorial context and develop skills in studying classic papers in psychology.