Module manager: Ellen Clarke
Email: E.Clarke@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
| HPSC5400M | Hist & Philosophy of Biology |
| PHIL2611 | How Biology Works |
This module is not approved as a discovery module
Biology has been a rapidly expanding and evolving field in recent years. Many of its practitioners are becomingly increasingly specialised. Big-picture, synthesizing perspectives on how it is all supposed to hang together are needed more than ever. This module offers some tools to help us gain that broader perspective – to think critically about how the ways in which biology is done affects the answers that it provides, including the role played by values in shaping biological theory, and about how those answers sit alongside some of our wider views about the world and our place in it.
The module is designed to teach you how to analyse and critically assess a variety of key concepts and explanations in biological science, so that you can think critically about how biological knowledge is accumulated and what that body of knowledge has to tell us about our world and our place in it.
The objective will be fulfilled by:
> Lectures where you are introduced to core concepts, readings and arguments.
> Seminar preparation and participation where you read texts critically, analyse the arguments, discuss the material with your peers, and are encouraged to develop your own point of view.
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
1) Charitably interpret controversial arguments and texts in philosophy of biology.
2) Critically analyse some of the central problems, arguments, and theories in philosophy of biology.
3) Cogently develop and defend your own view about some of the issues studied.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
4) Communicate ideas and understanding clearly and concisely, using appropriate academic language (Academic and Work Ready skill)
5) Identify ethical questions and use ethical frameworks when analysing issues arising in real-world contexts (Work Ready, Enterprise and Sustainability skill)
6) Use appropriate primary and secondary source material to support knowledge and analysis of topics (Academic, Work Ready, Digital skill).
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 11 | 1 | 11 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 179 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 21 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Each student is invited to complete ONE piece of formative work which will receive written feedback. Students are given a choice of an essay plan, exposition of an argument, or an objection and reply. Students should read and reflect on (i) the feedback they received in previous summative assessments, (ii) the PRHS marking criteria, and (iii) the specific guidance provided on the summative assessment in this module, and identify for themselves the type of formative feedback that will be most beneficial to them.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay | 100 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team