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Many of those in key public decision-making positions need the philosophical and cultural sensitivities to cope with complex and interdisciplinary issues. This module provides an introduction for you to address the philosophical and cultural dimensions of dealing with pressing social and technical challenges facing the world and developing solutions. Ìý

Philosophy seeks to understand, and critically to question, ideas concerning the nature of reality, value and experience that play a pervasive role in understanding the world and ourselves. In this module, you are invited to address central questions regarding the necessary philosophical grounding to be able to characterise the various domains in culture –especially the domains of science, engineering, and politics. Ìý

We will explore answers to questions such as: What are the values that underpin our diverse cultural practices? How universal are these values? How can ‘diplomacy’ be organised between societies that have cultures emphasising different values? How can the social sciences contribute to the study of cultural differences between societies? What are the implications of these differences for ensuring appropriate contributions of science, technology and engineering to social change? Ìý

By the end of the module, you will be able to understand and critically assess ideas from philosophy of culture, which includes philosophy of science, philosophy of engineering, and political philosophy, enabling you to reflexively cope with complex and interdisciplinary issues such as climate change, pandemics or complex financial crises in a way that is appropriate and effective.Ìý