98010

PHIL 102 Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophical Classics

Daniel Berthold

. T . Th .

9:00- 10:20 am

OLIN 201

HUM

An introduction to some of the perennial concerns of philosophy, through a survey of a variety of classic texts in the Western philosophical tradition. Themes include the nature of ethical life, the meaning and possibility of knowledge, the concept of the self, the justifiability of the state, the role of religious faith within philosophical inquiry, and the nature of philosophical method and style. Readings are from Plato, followed by three contrasting portraits of Socrates, by Aristophanes (The Clouds), Soren Kierkegaard (selections from The Concept of Irony), and Maurice Merleau-Ponty (“In Praise of Philosophy”) and from Descartes, Hobbes, Hume, Kant, and Nietzsche.

98418

PHIL 107 Informal Logic and Critical Reasoning

James Brudvig

. . W . F

12:00-1:20 pm

RKC 101

HUM

The focus of this course is informal logic, though it begins with a thorough examination of syllogistic reasoning. There are two reasons for this. First, people often reason syllogistically, so it is helpful to learn how to do it well and avoid error. Second, a primer in syllogistic logic requires close attention to fundamentals of reasoning, such as the use and meaning of quantifiers, and is, therefore, important ground to cover before engaging real world arguments that are often linguistically and logically complex. Following this introduction to the logic of the syllogism, we move to the analysis of ordinary language arguments. We start with simple arguments and learn to diagram them to see how they work logically. Next, we set out a topology of mistakes in informal arguments. Finally, in this section of the course, we attempt to identify examples in the daily press of informal fallacies. The last part of the course looks at the arguments in more sophisticated pieces of writing. Articles from law, social and environmental policy, and philosophy provide challenging examples of critical reasoning. The goal in this section is to not so much to find logical fallacies (though they happen at this high level, too), but rather to use the tools of informal and formal analysis learned previously to try to better understand (and then criticize) the arguments of their authors.

98007

PHIL 108 Introduction to Philosophy

Mary Coleman

. . W . F

10:30- 11:50 am

OLIN 201

HUM

Western philosophers address questions that most of us naturally find puzzling, such as: do we have free will?; do we know what the world around us is really like?; does God exist?; how should we treat one another? We will critically examine historical and contemporary texts that address these and other central themes of the philosophical tradition.

98901

PHIL 120 Introduction to the Philosophy Of Science

David Shein

. T . Th. .

4:00 – 5:20 pm

OLIN 203

HUM

Cross-listed: Science, Technology & Society In this course, we will attempt to come to an understanding of the nature and limits of science and scientific reasoning. Our approach will be thematic and will include the following: the demarcation problem (what distinguishes scientific theories from putatively non-scientific theories such as astrology and creationism?), the riddles of induction (what reason is there to think the future will resemble the past?), models of explanation (what makes an explanation scientific?), the underdetermination thesis (can evidence ever confirm or disconfirm a theory?), and the realism/anti-realism debate (does science tell us what the world is really like?). Authors to be read include: Carl Hempel, David Hume, Thomas Kuhn, Karl Popper, WV Quine, Alan Sokal, Bas van Fraassen, and others.

98932

PHIL 237 Symbolic Logic

Robert Martin

. T . Th .

10:30- 11:50 am

BLUM N210

MATC

An introduction to logic, requiring no prior knowledge of philosophy or mathematics. This course does not aim at communicating or justifying results about logical systems but instead aims at imparting a skill – the ability to recognize and construct correct deductions and refutations. Our text (Logic: Techniques of Formal Reasoning, 2^nd edition, by D. Kalish, R. Montague, and G. Mar.) covers the first order predicate calculus with identity and descriptive phrases; we will cover as much of that as feasible in one semester. There is software for the course, called Logic 2000, developed by Robert Martin and David Kaplan at UCLA in the 1990s and subsequently rewritten, that will assist students by providing feedback on exercises. Philosophy 237 will be offered in both fall 2008 and spring 2009. Seniors planning to fulfill the distribution requirement in “Mathematics and Computing” by taking this course should be advised that spaces for seniors each semester will be limited.

98009

PHIL 256 Environmental Ethics

Daniel Berthold

M . . . . . . W .

9:00- 11:20 am 9:00- 10:20 am

OLIN 107 OLIN 107

HUM

Cross-listed: Environmental Studies, Human Rights, Science, Technology & Society, Social Policy The course will explore a variety of ethical issues surrounding the relation of human beings to their environment. We will look at several far‑reaching critiques of the anthropocentric character of traditional moral paradigms by deep ecologists, ecofeminists, social ecologists, ecotheologians, and others who argue in different ways for fundamentally new accounts of the moral standing of nature and the ethical duties of humans to non‑human creatures and things. While we will concentrate on contemporary authors and debates, we will begin by looking at the precedents and origins of the contemporary scene in such nineteenth‑century writers as Henry Salt, Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, and E. P. Evans, and early twentieth‑century writers like Aldo Leopold, Joseph Wood Krutch, and Rachel Carson. Throughout our discussion of opposing theoretical constructs, we will give attention to the implications for social policy, legal practice, and political action. This is a writing intensive course. Students will spend an extra hour a week in a writing lab. The writing component will focus on helping students to develop, compose, organize, revise, and edit analytical prose; to develop the ability to identify and articulate a thesis; to construct an argument; to collect and present evidence and documentation; to interpret and analyze texts; and to become proficient in the mechanics of writing, revision, grammar, and editing. Regular short writing assignments will be required. Enrollment limited to 14.

98005

PHIL 275 The Philosophy of Nietzsche

William Griffith

M . W . .

1:30-2:50 pm

ASP 302

HUM

Cross-listed: German Studies Though not widely read in his lifetime, Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), now needs no introduction to most undergraduates. The object of very strong opinions, pro and con, as to his merits as a philosopher thinker, both from those who know his work well as well as those who know it hardly at all; viewed as brilliant, prophetic, multi-talented, highly influential, mad, a sickly hermit, a misogynist, an egomaniac, not a “true philosopher,” an unfortunate fad, or by himself as “dynamite” and “the antichrist,” he is never described as unintelligible or boring. We will read a significant selection of his major works and come to our own better-informed and undoubtedly disparate opinions. Readings include: Human All-Too-Human, The Gay Science, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Beyond Good and Evil, Toward A Genealogy of Morals, Twilight of the Idols, The Antichrist, Ecce Homo. Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor and at least sophomore status.

98004

PHIL 281 Philosophy of William James

William Griffith

. T . Th .

10:30- 11:50 am

HEG 300

HUM

William James (1842-1910) wrote and lectured on philosophy for both the emerging “profession,” and for lay persons - and he did so with unusual style and clarity. In his lifetime, while earning an international reputation, he also became arguably the most widely known philosopher in his country. The course readings include selections from the major works of one of America’s greatest philosophers: The Principles of Psychology, The Varieties of Religious Experience, Pragmatism, The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy, and Essays in Radical Empiricism. Topics include religious experience, the subject matter and nature of psychology, various ethical issues, the nature of philosophy, and the pragmatic theory of truth. Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor and at least sophomore status.

98006

PHIL 320 Philosophy of Action

Mary Coleman

. . . Th .

4:00-6:20 pm

OLIN 305

HUM

Cross-listed: Cognitive Science An action is something that is done by someone. Mere events, by contrast, are things that simply happen. In this seminar we will explore the nature of actions and agents. Our guiding questions will include: What is it for someone to act? Does acting always involve moving your body? Do you act by causing your body to move, or is your role as agent not causal? What is the nature of this you who acts? What metaphysical commitments are involved in the claim that we (sometimes) act? Do we ever act? And should questions about the nature of actions and agents be conceived of as metaphysical or linguistic or both? Our readings will include: Thomas Reid, G.E.M. Anscombe, Roderick Chisholm, Donald Davidson, Harry Frankfurt, Michael Bratman, David Velleman, and Christine Korsgaard.

98008

PHIL 389 The Philosophy and Literature of Jean-Paul Sartre

Daniel Berthold

. T . . .

1:30-3:50 pm

ASP 302

HUM

Cross-listed: French Studies, Human Rights The course readings from a variety of Sartre's philosophic texts, including Existentialism, Anti-Semite and Jew, Essays in Aesthetics, and Being and Nothingness, and a number of his novels and plays, including Nausea, The Wall, No Exit, The Respectful Prostitute, Dirty Hands, and The Devil and the Good Lord. The relation between the two genres of Sartre's writing is explored, including the extent to which the philosophic and literary productions complement each other.