DI5539 The Good Life and the Good Death: Theological and Practical Ethics

Academic year

2024 to 2025 Semester 2

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

30

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 11

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Availability restrictions

Available for on-campus MLitt programmes within the School of Divinity.

Planned timetable

11-2 Tuesday

This information is given as indicative. Timetable may change at short notice depending on room availability.

Module coordinator

Dr D E M Daniel

Dr D E M Daniel
This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module Staff

Dr Dafydd Daniel

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

This module explores how ethical concepts, and their practical application, relate to various (and often competing) theological and philosophical conceptions of the Good Life and the Good Death. It critically reflects on what constitutes the Good Life and the Good Death for a range of important historical and contemporary moral theologians and philosophers, and critically assesses the connections drawn between ‘Good’, ‘Life’, and ‘Death’ within a number of ethical theories. This module explores how the connections made between ‘Good’, ‘Life’, and ‘Death’ in ethical theory inform the application of those theories in practice. While the module discusses a range of theological and philosophical ethical systems and practical issues, it is particularly concerned with such concepts as: Love; Justice; Natural Law; Conscience; Virtue; Appeals to Scripture in Moral Reasoning; Personhood; and such practical issues as: Euthanasia; Abortion; ARTs; Marriage; Sexuality; Gender; Disability; War.

Assessment pattern

100% course work - 2x 4000 word essays

Re-assessment

100% written exam - 1x 3 hour exam

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

1x3 hour seminar (x11 weeks)

Scheduled learning hours

33

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

275

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the Good Life and the Good Death from the perspective of a range of theological and philosophical ethical systems.
  • 2. Explain how key moral theologians and philosophers have influenced historical and contemporary conceptions of the Good Life and the Good Death.
  • 3. Understand why conceptions of the Good Life and the Good Death inform the application of ethical theory in practice.
  • 4. Critically assess the extent to which varying theological and philosophical concerns and traditions inform conceptions of the Good Life and the Good Death within individual authors and ethical systems.
  • 5. Evaluate the consistency (or otherwise) of the application of the concept of the Good, within both ethical systems and individual ethicists, to practical issues concerning Life and Death.