Introduction to the department

Here's a brief introduction to the Religious Studies and Philosophy department at Bilborough College, Nottingham

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Ethical Theories

Just reorganised the blog to make it easier to find you way around. All of the materials on ethical theories (Utilitarianism, Kantian ethics etc) are now on one page - ethical theories.

Tolerance and Ted Ed

Over the next few weeks I will put up some resources to help you revise the tolerance section of the AQA Philosophy course. I'll make a few simple videos to help you remember what we did in class. They'll be based on the notes you have already. Have a look at all the videos on the new tolerance page

I'm also exploring the Ted Ed website which is a nice way of adding some questions and discussion points to these videos.

Explore the lessons on TedEd.

o2 Learning

I have upload a lesson on Virtue Ethics to the o2 learn website. It was filmed on sunny spring day in Nottingham...Thanks to Jasmin and Shizad for help with the voice overs and Paul for his potrayal of the 'man at the bus stop'.

Introducing Virtue Ethics

Ethical Theories talks

I have now uploaded talks introducing several key ethical theories inlcuding Kantian Ethics, Utilitarianism, Virtue Theory, Natural Law and Situation Ethics. If you have trouble playing the files please press F5 to refresh the page.

For students studying OCR Religious Studies - Religious Ethics all of these theories are relevant for A2 students and all except Virtue Theory are relevant for AS students.

For students studying AQA Philosophy the talks on Kantian Ethics and Virtue Theory are useful for the AS theme of 'Why Should I be Moral?'. The talks on Kantian Ethics, Virtue Theory and Utilitarianism are also useful for A2 students of Moral Philosophy.

I was struck when making these talks how easy it is for ethics to become something merely theoretical. At times in Ethics classes, moral problems can be discussed as if they are simply logical problems. Perhaps the revival of interest in Virtue Theory is one attempt to address this difficulty. I will reflect on this more...

Introducing Ethical Theories

I have already uploaded talks on Utilitarianism and Virtue Theory. Material on Kantian Ethics, Natural Law and Situation Ethics will follow in due course.If you have trouble loading the talks please refresh the page or listen directly at Audioboo.

I hope the talks will also be interesting to others who want a general introduction to Ethical Theory. For more detailed videos and talks aimed at undergraduates see Michael Sandel's excellent course Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?

Guided Mindfulness Meditation for College Students

With students facing difficult times – the ending of Education Maintenance Allowance, an increase in University Fees and an uncertain job market – it is more important than ever to help them find balance within the ups and downs of life. Students at Bilborough College, Nottingham will have the chance to learn Mindfulness, a method recognised by the NHS, to help feel ok within an uncertain world.

Mindfulness can be used to promote general well-being and is also used within the NHS as a treatment for stress and depression. The Mental Health Foundation recently supported it with their bemindful campaign.

Bilborough College students are learning about Mindfulness Meditation as part of their tutorial programme. Here is a video which introduces the practice. There is also a guided meditaiton available as both a video and an audio file

An introduction to Mindfulness
                  

A Guided Meditation

Download this meditation as an MP3