An introduction to some of the central questions of philosophy, concerning our knowledge of the external world, causation, God, mind and body, freedom, justice, and moral judgment, via analysis of classical and contemporary philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Mill, Kant, Russell, Wittgenstein and Rawls.
3 hr./wk.
An informal analysis of inference and evidence employed in everyday arguments, including study of the principles held to justify forms of argument in morality, politics, the law and aesthetics. The aim of the course is to develop critical skills in reasoning and the evaluation of arguments, and sensitivity to the distinction between substantive argument and persuasive rhetoric, through a detailed analysis of examples drawn from a wide variety of sources, including the media. Attention will be paid to some elementary but critical distinctions relating to meaning, definition, and implication.
3 hr./wk.
Students will study of the role of evidence and inference. Special emphasis is given to developing skills in reasoning and the appraisal of arguments. Arguments in the sciences, social sciences, law, and politics will be considered.
4hr/wk
Selected topics and experimental courses are offered on a variety of topics. No prerequisites.
Is knowledge one type of thing, or a number of different things? Does it make sense to integrate scientific, mathematical, humanistic and artistic knowledge? If so, how do we do that while respecting the distinctive contributions of each field? We will explore what knowledge is and how we make sense of it
3 hr./wk.
This course will survey canonical texts in four mainstream Asian philosophical traditions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. In the process, it will compare their similarities and contrast their differences, developing an appreciation of their profound influences on society, culture, and politics. Ultimately, it will show how Asian philosophies and their unique views of mind, consciousness, ethics, purpose, and the fulfillment of human potential are exerting trans-formative effects on Western arts and sciences, and upon global civilization as a whole.
3 hr./wk.
In this course students will examine philosophical aspects of race and gender, with interdisciplinary perspectives from fields that may include history, sociology, and biology. Students will use philosophical tools to examine the nature of the social world, how it affects what we think, and its ethical ramifications. In particular, students will engage with questions including: Are race and gender natural or socially created? Should we think race and gender are real or fictional? How have cultural and social forces, scientific theories, and public policies affected how we understand race and gender? How have race and gender led to oppression and privilege today and throughout American history? Students will engage with texts drawn from disciplines including philosophy and other disciplines such as history, sociology, and/or biology.
3 hr./wk.
An introduction to philosophical questions about art and our relationships with art. What is art, and how do we interact with art? What do different art forms, such as music, painting, performance, and poetry, have in common, if anything? Must art be beautiful? What does it mean to have “good taste” when it comes to art? How do we interpret art? Is art merely “subjective”? Readings will be drawn from the history of art philosophy, and also contemporary art philosophy. Students will also study artworks that support or challenge theories about art.
3 hr./wk.
What moral obligations do we have to the environment? Are our obligations to the environment just obligations to take care of resources needed by future humans? If you were the last person on earth, would you have moral reasons to care about the animals and plants that would continue after you, or would they be meaningless without human beings to use them? Is the beauty of nature morally valuable? Students will learn and apply central philosophical theories of ethics and aesthetics to propose answers to these questions, and to discuss their implications for social decisions about the environment and governmental environmental policy.
3 hr./wk.
This course is an examination of ethical issues that arise in business. Business ethics is the area of inquiry in which normative ethical theories are applied to issues that arise out of the relationships and activities surrounding the production, distribution, marketing and sale of goods and services. In this course, we will focus on ethical decision-making from both personal and policy-level perspectives. Readings will be drawn from philosophical writings, business articles, and real-life cases.
3 hr./wk.
What is justice? What does it require of us as citizens and as individuals? What is a just society, and what are the obligations of people in positions of authority? This course will introduce you to the major philosophical theories of justice and political philosophy. We will use philosophical theories to illuminate our understanding and analysis of real life cases of justice.
3 hr./wk.
What makes an action right or wrong? In this course students will engage with ethical theories and grapple with moral problems that individuals and societies are asking today. For example students may examine questions about the ethics of the death penalty, racial profiling, abortion, climate change, genetically modified food, and physician assisted suicide.
3 hr./wk.
As culture and society become increasingly automated and technologized, the distinction between persons and machines has evolved into a complex question with ethical, social, scientific and legal dimensions. Persons are becoming more integrated with machines through workplace automation and social media, and machines are becoming more like persons as robotics and AI research creates machines that aim to mirror human thought processes, behavior, and functioning. In this class, students will explore the concept of personhood as it was understood by prominent philosophers prior to the technological age and go on explore how this concept has changed since. We will discuss what this new state of affairs implies for various aspects of life and society, including a special look at the person-machine relation as depicted in science fiction and popular culture.
3 hr./wk.
Science and technology influence society more with every generation, so it is important to understand their impact. The aim of this class is to provide a survey of issues arising from the interaction between science, technology and society in the last century, and allow the student to begin grappling with these topics. This course will take a special interest in applications of technology in medical treatment, genetic modification, and the expansion of human capacities (physical and mental). Some questions of particular interest will be: How may we modify human nature to make it more immune to disease and, ultimately, immune to death? What are the limits of technological innovation in expanding human perceptual capacities, memory, and learning? Does a “technologized" world promise utopia or dystopia?
3 hr./wk.
This course provides students with an introduction to the elements of logical reasoning. Basic rules and methods of assessing validity and proving arguments as they occur in natural language are introduced (such as truth tables and rules of inference). The goal of the course is to enable students to translate and evaluate arguments in natural language using the basic tools of modern logic. The focus of this course enables it to serve as an excellent form of preparation for SATs, LSATs and other standardized tests, as well as an analytic resource for further academic studies.
3 hr./wk.
This course introduces students to the basics of modern logic. Topics covered include truth-tables, the rules of inference for the propositional calculus, and introduction to quantification theory. It focuses both on rules for producing formal proofs, and for translating natural language arguments into logical notation. Primarily designed as a preparation for advanced logic (PHIL 32100: Symbolic Logic), the course would also be very useful for anyone expecting to deal extensively with complex reasoning.
3 hr./wk.
An analysis of some of the central questions of philosophy as they are represented in science fiction (and occasionally, science fact). Selections from science fiction works will range over topics such as space and time, infinity and eternity, identity, knowledge of other minds; artificial intelligence; moral dilemmas and technology; the meaning of life.
3 hr./wk.
A critical analysis of the nature and relationships between a variety of intellectual disciplines (such as the natural and social sciences, humanities and education) and of a number of contemporary, philosophical problems relating to mind, self and consciousness, and authority, rights and responsibilities. For Honors students only.
3 hr./wk.
Approval of Dean and Department Honors Supervisor required. Apply no later than December 10 in the Fall term or May 1 in the Spring term.
Credits
variable credit, but usually 3 cr./sem.
A survey of early Greek philosophy, centered on the figures of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Some attention is paid to pre-Socratic philosophers (e.g. Heraclitus, Parmenides) and to at least one current of thought after Aristotle (e.g. Stoicism, Skepticism, neo-Platonism, or early Christian theology).
Fall only
3 hr./wk.
The formulation of the subjects and methods of modern philosophy in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Rationalism: Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz. Empiricism: Locke, Berkeley, Hume. Transcendental idealism: Kant. Topics include the human mind, free will and determinism, knowledge of the external world and God.
3 hr./wk.
A survey of classic problems and contemporary theories of reality and knowledge. Includes topics such as appearance and reality; substance and accident; the relation between mind and body; causation; freedom and determinism; the relation between knowledge, belief, and certainty; skepticism, solipsism, relativism, and reliabilism.
3 hr./wk.
Analysis of the concepts employed in moral reasoning, such as good, right, duty, obligation, virtue, freedom and choice. Critical study of various theories of moral justification-such as utilitarianism, deontological ethics, virtue ethics-and of status of moral judgments-such as subjectivism, objectivism, relativism and skepticism. The relation between morality and religion, moral dilemmas, and some problems in practical ethics (abortion, famine, the environment, etc.).
3 hr./wk.
Analysis of the concepts employed in moral reasoning, such as good, right, duty, obligation, virtue, freedom and choice. Critical study of various theories of moral justification-such as utilitarianism, deontological ethics, virtue ethics, and of the status of moral judgments such as subjectivism, objectivism, relativism, and skepticism is encouraged. The relation between morality and religion, moral dilemmas, and some problems in practical ethics (for example: abortion, famine, the environment) are considered.
4 hr./w.
An analysis of the concepts and principles employed in reasoning about the social and political aspects of human life, such as social structure and function, equality and justice, property and rights, social and political obligation. A critical analysis of theories of the state of society, such as liberalism, Marxism, communitarianism, conservatism, and anarchism.
3 hr./wk.
A planned program of reading in philosophy to meet special needs of individual students, under guidance of a member of the department. Limited to upper seniors able to take a course before graduation when needed for graduate preparation. For advanced or specialized work beyond available offerings already completed. Permission of instructor required before registration.
Credits
Variable credit, but usually 3 cr./sem.
Special and experimental courses offered on a variety of topics. Consult Department for offerings and prerequisites.
Credits
variable credit, but usually 3 cr./sem.
3
4 hours
This course extends the work of PHIL 20200. The focus is on rigorously formulated systems of propositional and predicate logic, with emphasis on theorem-proving and the formalization of natural-language reasoning. Attention will be paid to the theory of relations, definite descriptions, the translation of elementary arithmetical concepts into logic and proofs of the deductive completeness of various systems of logic.
3 hr./wk.
A critical survey of philosophical theories of scientific explanation and development. The course will focus on topics such as inductive and hypothetico-deductive accounts of scientific method; confirmation and falsification of scientific theories; the logic of scientific explanation; theories and models; the structure of scientific revolutions.
3 hr./wk.
Examination of some classical and contemporary problems relating to our concepts and theories of mind, and of psychological phenomena such as intelligence, rationality, and emotion. Topics are likely to include theories of the relation between mind and brain (varieties of dualism and materialism); self-knowledge and knowledge of other minds; psychopathology; artificial intelligence; and personal identity.
3 hr./wk.
Examination of the relationship between thought, language and the world. The course will cover topics such as meaning, truth, reference, synonymity, necessity, names and descriptions, logical form, and pragmatics.
3 hr./wk.
The philosophical study of art, and of our judgment of art, through classical readings and contemporary developments. Includes topics such as representation, taste, artist intention, and mechanization. Special attention is paid to the problem of trying to speak generally about art in the face of the differences among specific arts.
3 hr./wk.
A critical analysis of some central concepts employed in legal reasoning and judgment, such as justice, crime, evidence, responsibility, legal and civil rights, punishment, civil disobedience, and constitutional interpretation. Examination of major theories of law such as natural law theory, legal positivism and social realism, and of the relation between the law and morality.
3 hr./wk.
Critical analysis of the question: What is religion? in light of the variety of religious beliefs and practices. Examination of different approaches to religion, including faith, rational argument, sensory experience, mystical and religious experience. Exploration of the relation between faith and reason, and between morality and religion.
3 hr./wk.
Critical analysis of the concept of the social as it is employed in classical and contemporary social scientific theories of social action, social structure, social collectivity and social explanation. Attention will be paid to topics such holism and individualism; social and psychological explanation; structural and functional explanation; rationality assumptions; understanding alien societies; theories and values in social science; and the autonomy of historical understanding.
3 hr./wk.
A survey of some classical and contemporary problems in both speculative and analytical philosophy of history. The course focuses on topics such as general theories of history (Vico, Kant, Herder, Hegel, Marx, Toynbee); varieties of historical explanation; objectivity in history; concepts of causation in history; methodology; history as an autonomous discipline.
3 hr./wk.
Philosophy was born as a practical guide to living a life worth living. This course examines a number of Greco-Roman philosophies (including Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Aristotelianism) that can be valuable today just as they were two millennia ago. Practical philosophy, then and now, is not an oxymoron.
3 hr./wk.
What is free will? Do we have it? If not, then what are the implications for justice, morality, and the meaning of life? Other issues discussed include: determinism, laws of nature, fate, divine foreknowledge, quantum indeterminacy, agent causation vs. event causation, moral responsibility, blame, praise, vengeance, and punishment.
3 hr./wk.
Addresses philosophical issues raised by computers and other machines capable of performing tasks indicative of intelligence (e.g. multiplication, logical reasoning, playing chess, learning a language). The course will focus on topics such as the Turing test; strong and weak AI; concepts of representation, memory and understanding; the frame problem; symbolic versus connectionist approaches to cognitive processing.
3 hr./wk.
Addresses philosophical issues relating to film, such as the status of film as art object; the role of the audience in the constitution of the film object; realism and surrealism in film; and particular film genres such as comedy and cinema noire.
3 hr./wk.
Addresses philosophical questions raised by our employment of the concepts of space and time in science and metaphysical thinking. The course will focus on topics such as individuation and spatio-temporal continuity; unities of space and time; substantial and relational theories of space; asymmetries of time; the theory of relativity; infinity and eternity.
3 hr./wk.
A non-mathematical introduction to game theory, decision theory, and rational choice theory, and philosophical issues relating to probability theory and utility theory. Includes examination of problems and paradoxes such as the Prisoner's Dilemma, Newcomb's problem and Cohen-Kelly queuing paradox.
3 hr./wk.
Critical explanation and analysis of the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein, with special focus on his controversial and influential views on language, reality and forms of life, and their implications for disciplines such as linguistics, psychology, literary criticism and feminist theory.
3 hr./wk.
A study of three authors who helped to define modernism after Hegel. The course focuses on: the philosophical critique of philosophy; the new quest for authentic individuality; reassessments of religion.
3 hr./wk.
A study of major philosophical theories of self-knowledge and personal identity, and related literary, social and psychological theories.
3 hr./wk.
Critical analysis of central concepts of Freudian and post-Freudian psychopathology and psychotherapy.
3 hr./wk.
This course will examine a range of philosophical issues that center on memory. These include traditional epistemological and metaphysical issues, as well as less well studied moral and political ones. Classic readings from Locke, Hume, Freud, Halbwachs, Russell and Ryle, as well as contemporary readings on the nature of personal and collective memory, memory and morality, and the significance of memorialization.
3 hr./wk.
Social ontology is the study of the nature the social world. This course considers questions like: Are there social entities like money, races, and genders? If there are, how are they created? Are there wholly individualistic explanations of social phenomena? How do social justice and social ontology fit together?
3 hr./wk.
This course is an introduction to philosophical and psychological theories of the nature of emotions. Classic and contemporary philosophical accounts and leading theories from psychology and biology will be discussed. Topics to be discussed include the relationship between emotion and reason, cognitive vs non-cognitive theories of the emotions, the role of emotions in morality, and emotion regulation.
3 hr./wk.
In this course we investigate the historical and philosophical foundations of quantum mechanics, considering how certain physical, metaphysical and epistemological puzzles have been tackled by physicists and philosophers alike over the last century – from Planck's 1901 suggestion that light behaves in a ‘quantized’ way, to cutting-edge research in relativistic quantum theories.
3 hr./wk.
Addresses central concepts and principles of a variety of non-Western systems and traditions in philosophy. Courses offered are likely to include (but are not restricted to) African Philosophy; Chinese Philosophy; Indian Philosophy; Islamic Philosophy; Latin- American Philosophy. Different systems and traditions will be offered in different semesters.
3 hr./wk.
Addresses central themes of American Philosophy, through the work of authors such as Edwards, Emerson, James, Pierce, Dewey, Quine, Putnam, and Rorty.
3 hr./wk.
Charts the historical evolution of the feminist approach to philosophy, and the contribution of feminists to topics in epistemology, philosophy of mind and moral, social and political philosophy.
3 hr./wk.
A study of major philosophical theories and theorists of the late nineteenth and twentieth century. The focus of this course may vary in different semesters, with emphasis placed upon either analytical, pragmatist or continental theories and theorists.
3 hr./wk.
A study of major concepts and principles of philosophical movements originating in Continental Europe, such as Pheno-menology; Existentialism; Hermeneutics; and Critical Theory.
3 hr./wk.
Critical analysis of moral issues and dilemmas as they arise in various professions and everyday situations. Courses offered are likely to include (but are not restricted to): Business Ethics; Computer Ethics; Engineering Ethics; Environmental Ethics; Medical Ethics; Psychological Ethics. Different course topics will be offered in different semesters.
3 hr./wk.
3 hours
Biomedical Ethics is a philosophical overview of leading theories, principles, and problems in the field of bioethics. Ethical theories and principles are examined to provide a theoretical structure for analysis of concrete ethical problems. The course considers the ethics of the doctor-patient relationship, including paternalism, informed consent, confidentiality, and truth telling, as well as larger systemic issues of social justice and access to health care. Topics in reproductive ethics, end-of-life ethics, and some of the newest developments in the field arising from genetics and neuroscience are also discussed. Extensive use is made of case studies.
3 hr.wk.
Intensive study of the work of major philosophers (such as Plato, Hume, Kant, Hegel). Different philosophers featured in different semesters.
3 hr./wk.
Topics selected from a variety of different areas are made the focus of intensive critical examination. Topics offered each semester will be listed by the Philosophy Department. Prerequisites stated with course descriptions. Intended primarily for philosophy majors.
2 sem. hr./wk. plus conference
Race plays an important role in how we define a diverse society and how individuals identify themselves. This course approaches race from a philosophical perspective. We consider: What is race? What is racism? Is Latinx a race? How should race be taken into accounted in the political sphere?
3 hr./wk.
Serves as an introduction to the fundamental philosophical questions surrounding the nature and aims of education. Topics include the nature of learning and teaching, the relationship between education and the values of equality and autonomy, the role of race and class in education, and higher education.
3 hr./wk.