In an increasingly complex and fragmented world, the need to connect the different fields of knowledge has become imperative. The Philosophy of Interdisciplinarity invites us to reflect on the reasons why knowledge has become specialized and compartmentalized, and to explore the possibilities of building bridges between them in order to avoid and reduce collateral damage. The main objective of this course is to analyze the philosophical implications of interdisciplinarity, placing special emphasis on the role of the human being as the driving force and purpose of this challenge. We will explore how the fragmentation of knowledge has affected our understanding of ourselves and the world around us, and how interdisciplinarity can contribute to a more comprehensive and human vision. A historical perspective of the different forms of knowledge and the tensions between them will allow us to detect the cultural and social roots of specialization. We will also analyze the advantages and challenges of interdisciplinarity, as well as the conceptual and methodological tools necessary to build successful interdisciplinary projects.

What is the human being? This question points to the essence of man, so this course is dedicated to studying human life and faculties, both sensitive (with a corporeal base) and rational (intelligence and will); to be able to develop and perfect them. To do this, we will start from the great findings of Greek anthropology (notion of the human soul and faculties), which defines the human being as a possessor on three levels (corporeal, intellectual and volitional), to the hesitations and vicissitudes of modern and contemporary anthropology, passing through medieval anthropology in which the difference and integration of essence and the personal being is made. Likewise, we will delve into these contributions, trying to relate them to the sciences, especially to economics and business, politics, law, education, communication and, in general, the professional fields in which the participants of this master's degree are found, so that by accessing the knowledge of those radical principles of every human being, they elevate the richness of their work experience to the level of theory or anthropological knowledge that applies the heuristic method, together with analysis and the systemic approach, to approach the integral knowledge of the essence of the human being, to be able to understand its great complexity, as well as to try to perfect its human essence and that of those around it, developing all its human dimensions.

Philosophical anthropology is the philosophical study of the human being. This discipline seeks to understand what it means to be human and explores fundamental questions about the nature, essence, and purpose of human existence. It arises as an attempt to answer questions about the human being through reason and logic in collaboration with empirical science, rather than mythological descriptions of the human being. It reflects on topics such as freedom, spirituality, the nature of the person, the essence of life, and the meaning of existence. It analyzes the human being's capacity for knowledge, the nature of reason, and the possibility of reaching the truth. It studies the human being as subject and object simultaneously, considering individual and social aspects. It has roots in the tradition of Western thought that date back almost 2,500 years. Philosophical anthropology seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of the human being, synthesizing knowledge from various scientific disciplines and philosophical reflections to address the fundamental questions of human existence.

This course seeks a comprehensive exposition of the various dimensions of freedom, of the main problems it presents and of its various theories throughout history. Of note is the voluntarist and rationalist understanding of freedom and especially the proposal of a transcendental freedom. 1.First, an analytical synthesis of the main philosophical approaches to freedom in Western thought, and the conflict between ancient and modern thought, is presented. With this, it is sought to identify the scope, limitations and aporias that realism faces at our “historical height”, in the face of the understanding of freedom. 2.Secondly, the distinction between freedom of manifestation and action and a metalogic of freedom is explained. 3.Finally, the question of the person as growing freedom is introduced.

Philosophical Psychology is a discipline that invites a deep reflection on the nature of the human mind, exploring questions of reflection between philosophers and scientists for centuries. The main objective of this course is to analyze the theories and perspectives that have tried to account for such complex phenomena as life, sensations, consciousness or subjectivity. Here we will examine the different conceptions of the human soul and its relationship with the body. Likewise, we will explore the scientific status of psychology and the epistemological implications of studying the psychic. Is the mind a substance distinct from the body or is it an emergent product of biological processes? How can we reconcile the subjectivity of conscious experience with the objectivity of scientific research? What is the relationship of the psychic world with human intimacy? These are some of the questions that we will address throughout the course. At the end, students will have developed a solid conceptual framework to understand the complexity of the human mind and will be able to give a basic foundation to psychological knowledge and to a certain degree its implementation.

The course will allow us to delve into the foundations of psychology, questioning the assumptions that underlie our research and practices. By analyzing the philosophical roots of our disciplines, we can better understand the limitations and possibilities of psychology as a science. In addition, this discipline invites us to reflect on the nature of human experience, exploring questions such as the meaning of life and freedom from an anthropological approach.

The theory of knowledge is a central subject: both for the study of philosophy, and for its importance in the history of thought. In the analysis of human knowledge, those that man obtains through his organism, that is, from sensibility, through his contact with other corporeal beings, are distinguished as inferior to those that he attains about himself, as a spiritual being and to know how to conduct himself; and even, finally, from that supreme knowledge that consists in recognizing oneself as a creature in search of its creator. This scale of human knowledge can certainly frame and guide the exercise of his activities and the understanding of himself that man achieves. In the organization of human knowledge it is also essential to detect the limit of our mental operations and to examine the possibility of abandoning it. Lastly, we are in the society of information and communication, but in which knowledge tends to be seen as anonymous information, stored in documents, files and on the web. It is especially interesting to note that information is not anonymous, but is generated by people, and available to them: that they possess it, use it and increase it, or disregard it. Bringing to light the person who holds the information is something necessary in our situation, and also a goal of this course.

The course Anthropology of Education has as its central purpose to explore the anthropological dimension that underlies educational work, placing the human person as the essential subject of this process. Fundamental questions are addressed such as: Who is educated? What is education for? Who educates? and How to educate? These questions guide the analysis of the central themes, which include the educability of the human being, the educational agents and the aims of education. The course's approach is based on the idea that education is more than a technical process: it is a profoundly human activity that seeks to "help grow" and develop the human being in all its dimensions. This growth encompasses not only the intellectual sphere, but also the ethical, affective and social. In this context, participants will acquire theoretical tools to analyze educational relationships from a comprehensive perspective that includes the family, school and society as interdependent agents. The relevance of this course lies in providing a deep and critical vision of the educational phenomenon, emphasizing the educator-educatee relationship and the gradual and integral character of education. Likewise, it highlights the importance of principles such as freedom, friendship and authority, well understood as pillars of the formative process.

In this course we will seek to understand the origin of life and man from besides biology from another discipline that exceeds its scope: philosophy as that discipline that studies reality by what ultimately makes it possible for beings to be as they are and not otherwise. Are inert beings the same as living beings? Are animals the same as humans? How are they different? Why? These questions are the keys to understanding life, animals, and man. To answer them, it is necessary to go beyond the answers offered by science with its scientific method. Answers that point to the observable differences between them and how they behave, among other aspects, but do not give the ultimate reason for these differences. Philosophy, however, offers answers that go beyond the material realm and help us understand these differences from other perspectives that transcend it. Philosophy gives reason for a vital principle that explains organic beings as different from inorganic beings. And it also gives reason for the existence of a spirit in man, which explains why the behavior and works of animals and man among themselves are radically different. Science and philosophy complement each other because they offer answers from different fields. And between the two, they enrich the final knowledge of their questions. Among others, why humans are going to colonize the planet Mars in a few decades and animals, despite appearing on Earth before us, have remained in a rudimentary use and manufacture of material objects.

The purpose of a philosophical methodology course is to provide a uniting link between two extremes: on the one hand, that of philosophy as a vital (intellectual) activity oriented towards wisdom, that is, to knowledge of universal causes and guided by truth; on the other, the development or production of properly philosophical products, such as articles, books and conferences, which is ordered rather to technical correctness. The course tries to establish the first within Polo's anthropology and then offer a practical framework for the preparation of the second.

This course presents the philosophy of the universe as distinct from the human being, seeking to explore its dynamism, its essence and its existential character. With this objective, classic metaphysical foundations such as hylemorphic theory, causal dynamism, the physical world, life and growth, the purpose of the universe, the propagation of light and the habit of first principles will be studied. In this way, knowledge of extramental reality and the methods that allow access to it will be developed through a dialogue of classical philosophy with some of the most recent scientific research.

In recent decades, the University Institution has entered into crisis. Various authors question its validity and its role as an actor of social change in the current context. The objective of this unit aims to rethink the University to understand it as a field of human manifestations oriented towards a mission and with functions in order to achieve the common good. That is why -in this change of Era- the University will be one of the three factors of cohesion of social life -together with the family and the company-. By understanding the basic assumptions of the university institution -a macrosocial reality- and the breakdown it faces, we will try to find the keys and proposals for solutions to focus the identity crisis it is going through. Reflection on the mission of the university institution and its functions are crucial to understanding that it must mark an orientation, justify dedication to the cultivation of knowledge, show that work in the classroom and research are neither a repetition of the manual nor an erudite storage, but rather committing oneself to the invention of new truths capable of setting a course for history, of creatively influencing the dynamics of society. Like all human institutions, it can grow and improve, which is why it generates hope and is not absent, far from the germination of the future in the real processes of humanity. When its functions are interrelated and the work of the teaching professor -anchored in his research work and search for higher truths- is linked, it opens up to those who do not get to access that knowledge. This performance of this institution -from its intellectual leadership and effusive openness- makes it an agent of social change that is service and development.

The course consists of a systemic exploration of the ethical reality of man and specifically of human action, especially its managerial emphasis. The course explores the main problems of ethics throughout history along with the various schools and approaches. Specifically, three key elements are addressed: goods, norms and virtues. In the same way, the systemic study of management action in the context of work and organizations is of special interest to the course. This allows a comprehensive understanding of the inner growth of man and the articulation of a good life, both social and social.

This course seeks to understand the anthropological value and status of affectivity, distinguishing the so-called feelings from emotions, moods, and affects of the spirit. The method of knowledge and access to the affective world and its positive and negative dimensions for the dynamism of personal existence and social coexistence will be explored. In particular, the course seeks to incorporate philosophical knowledge into that of psychology and education in order to better understand sentimental reality.

Nowadays, acquiring a philosophical realism becomes impossible if anthropology is reduced to a mere understanding of second philosophy. If metaphysics studies the transcendental, anthropology must also be a study of the transcendental considering that human transcendentals are not metaphysical transcendentals. The human being is not the being that metaphysics deals with: it is different, it is «another» being. There is a very radical difference: it is essential to distinguish anthropology from metaphysics and correlatively distinguish the essence of man from nature, from substances, from the real in the universe, from what physics deals with. Physics and metaphysics on the one hand and on the other, in relation, the theory of the human essence and study of personal transcendentals. Achieving this study is the challenge of this course. Modern philosophy detects for the first time, philosophically, the theme of human subjectivity, which is better called a person. However, modernity detects it in an insufficient way: hence its collapse and, as a consequence, the somewhat precarious situation in which philosophy finds itself today. It is convenient to recognize that the intention of modern philosophy looks at a broad theme; but to achieve it, it resorts to categories that the Greeks already discovered. The Greeks discovered that being is the foundation; the moderns have claimed that freedom is the foundation. Certainly today it is necessary to do metaphysics recovering and advancing along the lines of classical metaphysics. But we must also avoid endorsing the categories of classical metaphysics to the personal being, because anthropological transcendentals are different. Therefore, the core of study of this course will be the exploration of the four transcendentals of the personal being: coexistence, freedom, personal intelligence and love.

The course seeks to establish the anthropological keys that articulate economic and business activity. Through an exploration of the diverse anthropological models and the history of organizations, the essence and meaning of the economy will be understood. Along with these realities, the relationship that the economy and business have with family, work, social organization, capital and the State will be studied. The economy here is understood as a highly interdisciplinary reality that manifests the inner human wealth, therefore its relationship with knowledge, directive action and organizational culture is very relevant to understand it in its proper place. Similarly, the relationship between business and humanism becomes strategic for this course in order to put the person at the center of organizations.

This advanced graduate-level course in Philosophy addresses a unique topic on a rotating basis in order to keep the programme at the forefront of scholarly research. Every year the academic staff member will approve of a new topic to be covered. The bibliography will contain not less than 8 peer-reviewed articles or scholarly publications reflecting the current topic.

Current Topic Structuralism and phenomenology are the two great competing philosophical movements of the twentieth century starting with Saussure and Husserl. Both begin with different assumptions: one takes the givens of immediate experience; the other casts it aside in favor of the hidden structures of thought. One begins with thinking as consciousness; the other with thought as language. A few phenomenologists have tried to bridge the difference. Some like Sartre have stuck to their principles. One of the most problematic consequences of structuralism is how to explain the emergence of the subject. The most problematic consequence of phenomenology is how to explain the existence of other people.

By the end of this course, researchers will be expected to be able to understand the difference between these two movements and their continued influence in philosophy today. The old dualism between subject and object has morphed into one between thought and language. Can thought be the property of a subject? Or must thought be described as belonging to language itself? The whole problem of the individual and the collective is at stake. Even politics is involved. If we cannot bridge this gap, how can we explain collective action? And if there is no individual who thinks, what becomes of human agency? These are a few of the questions this course will address.

This advanced graduate-level course in Philosophy addresses a unique philosophical figure on a rotating basis in order to keep the programme at the forefront of scholarly research and to reflect the faculty’s research expertise. Every year the academic staff member in charge of the course will approve of a new philosopher to be examined. The bibliography will contain not less than 8 peer-reviewed articles or scholarly publications reflecting the current topic.

This is an advanced course in which students will engage with the ideas of the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze. His philosophy of immanence will be carefully analyzed such as his notion of the supposed power of the soul to control and to organize bodies. As explained, to make oneself a “body without organs,” in Deleuze’s terms, is to replace the faculty of judgment with an immanent method of comparing powers

The Philosophy Dissertation contains both a research planning phase, ‘The Research Plan’, and a research execution phase ‘The Dissertation’.

The Research Plan

The Research Plan for the Philosophy Dissertation prepares students to embark upon a substantial, sustained, unified piece of research at the MQF 7 level. The module is taught by the proposed dissertation supervisor as a form of preparation specific to the dissertation and the requirements of its subject matter. This module is not a general introduction to research or research methodologies, but a practical preparation for students embarking upon the dissertation for the MA in Philosophy. Although these skills are highly transferable to other research domains, it remains the case that the purpose of the module is scoped to the needs of the specific dissertation for which it prepares the student. This module marks the end of the taught portion of the degree and the transition to the research portion. It is expected that the topic of research, which is refined during the planning phase, will have arisen out of one of the taught modules’ essays. The planning phase provides a highly structured plan for embarking upon independent research in the subsequent dissertation and more broadly at the MQF 7 level. In order to provide context for the submission of the ‘Research Plan’ (which is the purpose of this phase of the module), the student will gain a proficient knowledge of relevant research methods and planning. Thus in connection with the core learning outcomes resulting from the research plan, the student will additionally gain a proficient understanding of the wider context of research methods and evaluate the fittingness of the chosen method. In this phase a student must: The dissertation supervisor finally prepares the student for external examination of the proposed dissertation. At the end of the Research Plan is submitted as a portfolio containing six elements: The Research Plan provides students with a clear framework to guide their research question, a structure into which they can fit their scholarly research, and a pathway to the completion of the dissertation. During the module, students meet with their supervisor twice per month. The student’s attention is directed to the literature on the topic of the proposed dissertation, and thus methodological research guidance, beyond the oral instruction of the student’s supervisor, will be provided within the domain of study specific to the student’s dissertation. This will vary considerably, depending upon the topic of the dissertation, and it forms a natural component of the literature survey. (Thus it is neither appropriate nor possible to list here the bibliographic references that will be needed by the student. We have, however, provided valuable works of general research guidance and reference, and works to aid the student in evaluating the best research method for the dissertation.)

Dissertation writing

Upon completion and approval of the ‘Research Plan’, students will have a well-defined research topic, a clear structure to organise their proposed research, a firm grasp of the relevant literature, and a practical timeline in which to conduct their research. In the dissertation module, the aims of the methodology module are fulfilled and a 20,000-word dissertation is written. The dissertation will constitute a substantial, original, independent piece of research, which is clearly articulated in relation to the primary evidence and secondary literature, and which is organised in relation to the plan first envisaged in the methodology module. Regular supervision meetings keep the student on course with the timeline agreed in the methodology module. Supervisory meetings concentrate on a pre-submitted piece of research in a pattern that continues until the first draft of the dissertation is complete. Although students may request twice-weekly meetings during the first 2 weeks of the dissertation, it is expected (and students typically prefer) not to meet more than twice per month thereafter. This allows the students time to develop their independent research and writing. After the completion of the first draft, meetings focus on the harmonisation of the parts, adjustments to the overall argument, and the supervisor seeks to ensure that the student guides the dissertation with a single, coherent line of enquiry. Dissertations are often shortened down to 20,000 words at this stage in order to focus the argument. The final meetings with the student focus on polishing the editorial aspects of the dissertation, and helping the student prepare for the examination.