Module manager: Will Gamester
Email: W.Gamester@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
This module is not approved as a discovery module
In this module, you will be introduced to some of the major metaethical theories, issues, and debates running through the 20th century up to the present, and you will develop your philosophical and analytic skills in assessing them. At the most basic level, metaethics concerns whether moral realism or some such rival as moral relativism or error theory is true. In this area, philosophers address such "metaethical" questions as: - What do moral terms like "good" and "morally right", and judgements using them, mean? - Do moral terms and judgements refer to moral properties, and if so, what are these properties like? - Are any moral judgements true, and if so, are they true objectively, in virtue of moral properties that exist in the world? - If there are objective moral truths, how can we know what they are? - Do moral sentences express desire-like states rather than ordinary beliefs? To answer these sorts of questions, you will draw upon many areas of philosophy such as metaphysics, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, epistemology, and ethics. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
The aims of this module are to enable you to describe some of the key concerns, concepts and theories in contemporary metaethics, understand why morality has appeared so mysterious to philosophers, evaluate prior attempts to solve metaethical problems, and present and argue for your own views on important metaethical issues.
These objectives will be fulfilled through:
- Lectures introducing you to key problems, theories and arguments.
- Seminar preparation and participation where you will critically analyse relevant literature with your peers, supporting you to develop and defend your stance on issues in metaethics.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1) Critically analyse some of the central theories, disagreements, and problems in metaethics.
2) Insightfully and charitably evaluate central texts in metaethics.
3) Apply theoretical analysis from metaethics to examples of moral practice.
4) Develop and defend your own stance on issues in metaethics.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
5) Communicate ideas and understanding clearly and concisely, using appropriate academic language (Academic and Work Ready skill)
6) Undertake independent research to identify, evaluate and synthesise relevant material to support knowledge and analysis of topics (Academic, Work-Ready, Digital skill)
Topics to be covered may typically include:
- Meaning, truth and knowledge in ethics
- The nature of moral judgement
- The nature of normativity
- Non-cognitivism, cognitivism, eliminativism, projectivism
- Realism, anti-realism, skepticism and antiskepticism
- Relativism and antirelativism
- Moral psychology
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 14 | 1 | 14 |
| Seminars | 9 | 1 | 9 |
| Private study hours | 177 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 23 | ||
| 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: essay plan, literature review or exposition of an argument.
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 for them.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay | 100 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Resit will have the same format. Students will select a different essay question from the list provided.
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
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