PHILOSOPHY

CRN

12042

Distribution

A

Course No.

PHIL 103

Title

History of Philosophy

Professor

Garry Hagberg

Schedule

Tu Th 3:00 pm - 4:20 pm OLIN 202

Related interest: French Studies

A critical examination of the work of some major figures in the history of philosophy, emphasizing historical continuities and developments in the subject. Authors include Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Nietzsche, and Russell.

CRN

12266

Distribution

A

Course No.

PHIL 220

Title

Introduction to the Philosophy of Science

Professor

Orit Gwirceman

Schedule

Wed Fri 1:30 pm - 2:50 pm LC 208

This is a survey of the 20th century views concerning the nature of science and scientific knowledge. We will examine different views of what demarcates the natural sciences of Physics, Astronomy and Biology from other enterprises such as Astrology and Creationism. We will also examine the different views as to what makes scientific knowledge so special, and what is the nature of scientific progress in light of the history of the evolution (or revolution) of scientific theories. Furthermore we will look into some criticisms of the presupposition that science is indeed this special intellectual enterprise that aims at (and succeeds in) providing us with this special knowledge of the material world. Though no preliminary knowledge of any specific scientific theory is required, the will to familiarize oneself with some of the major events in the history of science is expected.

CRN

12267

Distribution

A

Course No.

PHIL 232

Title

Epistemology

Professor

Orit Gwirceman

Schedule

Wed Fri 11:30 am - 12:50 pm OLIN 205

Can we know anything? What is the difference between a belief (or an opinion) and knowledge? This course is meant to introduce you to the analysis of human knowledge. We will examine different theories as to what counts as knowledge; these theories might provide different answers to either the first or the second question. The readings will include the works of some of the major thinkers of our time, including some current critics of the analytic tradition.

CRN

12335

Distribution

A

Course No.

PHIL 237

Title

Symbolic Logic

Professor

Robert Martin

Schedule

Mon Wed 10:00 am - 11:20 am HEG 300

An introduction to modern logic, this course covers sentential and predicate logic (also known as propositional logic and quantification theory, respectively). The emphases are on skill in producing formal derivations and clarity on the relation between formal derivations and natural language argumentation. The course will also contain an introduction to formal semantics, including the proof of completeness for

first-order logic.

CRN

12043

Distribution

A

Course No.

PHIL 256

Title

Environmental Ethics

Professor

Daniel Berthold-Bond

Schedule

Mon Wed 10:00 am - 11:20 am OLIN 201

Cross-listed: CRES, History and Philosophy of Science

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.

CRN

12044

Distribution

A

Course No.

PHIL 350

Title

Pragmatism

Professor

Garry Hagberg

Schedule

Fr 10:30 am - 12:50 pm OLIN 201

A detailed examination of the content and methods of a number of classic works of American philosophy, emphasizing issues in epistemology. Authors include Peirce, William James, Royce, Dewey, Santayana, Mead, and more recent writers. The philosophical movements discussed include transcendentalism, pragmatism, empiricism, and realism. The investigation of these works will involve problems in the philosophy of religion, ethics, aesthetics, the philosophy of language, the philosophy of education, and social and political philosophy.

CRN

12045

Distribution

A

Course No.

PHIL 399

Title

Kierkegaard

Professor

Daniel Berthold-Bond

Schedule

Mon 1:30 pm - 3:50 pm ASP 302

An examination of a variety of Soren Kierkegaard's aesthetic, psychological, and theological texts. Investigated are the portrait of the aesthetic, ethical, and religious dimensions of existence; the critique of systematic philosophical discourse; the existentialist psychology of inwardness; the religious categories of absurdity, paradox, and offense; and the nature of language and authorship. Readings are from Either/Or, Repetition, Fear and Trembling, The Sickness Unto Death, Concluding Unscientific Postscript, Training in Christianity, and Attack Upon Christendom.

Prerequisite: previous courses in philosophy or religion.