Last modified: 12 Oct 2026 15:46
The first part of the course will be devoted to a close reading of Bernard Suits’s delightful masterpiece on the philosophy of games, The Grasshopper. In the second part of the course, we will examine philosophical issues arising in the context of sports, including (but not limited to) winning and cheating, doping and other forms of performance enhancement, sportwashing and the ethics of being a sport fan.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | First Term | Credit Points | 30 credits (15 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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What are games? How do they differ from other activities? Is it possible to be playing games without knowing it? Could our life be simply an all-encompassing game? The first part of the course will be devoted to a close reading of Bernard Suits’s delightful masterpiece, The Grasshopper, in which a definition of the notion of ‘game’ is advanced and defended from several objections in a playful Socratic dialogue between the Grasshopper and his disciples. In the second part of the course, we will examine philosophical issues arising in the context of sports, including (but not limited to) winning and cheating, doping and other forms of performance enhancement, sportwashing and the ethics of being a sport fan.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 40 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
90-minute in-class written assessment worth 40% of the mark. |
|||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Understand | Acquire an understanding of the philosophical literature relevant to the topics |
| Conceptual | Understand | Acquire and demonstrate knowledge of the subject areas |
| Procedural | Create | Learn to frame arguments and to communicate arguments to a group of peers. |
| Procedural | Evaluate | Develop critical thinking skills |
| Reflection | Create | Develop proficiency in written and oral communication skills. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 40 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
90-minute in-class written assessment worth 40% of the mark. |
|||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Understand | Acquire an understanding of the philosophical literature relevant to the topics |
| Conceptual | Understand | Acquire and demonstrate knowledge of the subject areas |
| Procedural | Create | Learn to frame arguments and to communicate arguments to a group of peers. |
| Procedural | Evaluate | Develop critical thinking skills |
| Reflection | Create | Develop proficiency in written and oral communication skills. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 9,10,11,12,14,15,16,17 | Feedback Weeks | 9,10,11,12,14,15,16,17 | |
| Feedback |
8 in-class, 2-minute comprehension quizzes each worth 2.5% of the overall mark. |
|||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Understand | Acquire and demonstrate knowledge of the subject areas |
| Conceptual | Understand | Acquire an understanding of the philosophical literature relevant to the topics |
There are no assessments for this course.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 100 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 42 | Feedback Weeks | 45 | |
| Feedback |
Via MyAberdeen SafeAssign |
Word Count | 2500 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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|
||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Understand | Acquire an understanding of the philosophical literature relevant to the topics |
| Procedural | Create | Learn to frame arguments and to communicate arguments to a group of peers. |
| Reflection | Create | Develop proficiency in written and oral communication skills. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Acquire and demonstrate knowledge of the subject areas |
| Procedural | Evaluate | Develop critical thinking skills |
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