|
12048 |
PHIL 133 Introduction
to Analytic Philosophy |
Robert
Martin |
. . W . F |
10:10 - 11:30 am |
OLIN 305 |
HUM |
Analytic
philosophy, growing largely from the work of Bertrand Russell and G.E. Moore at
Cambridge University in the late 1890s, has remained a vibrant force in Western
philosophy. We will study five classic
and formative texts: G. E. Moore “A Defense of Common Sense”; Bertrand Russell
“On Denoting”; A. J. Ayer Language, Truth
and Logic; J.S. Austin How to Do
Things With Words; Saul Kripke Naming
and Necessity. There are no
prerequisites.
Class size: 20
|
11787 |
PHIL 147 Introduction
to Philosophy of Mind |
James
Brudvig |
. T . Th . |
10:10 - 11:30 am |
OLIN 202 |
HUM |
Cross-listed: Mind, Brain & Behavior Ever wondered about what it is to be a
thinking thing? Ever wondered how our thoughts are related to our brains? This
course is a philosophical exploration of these topics. The problem for the
course can be stated this way: When we look at the nature of our thoughts they
always seem to be “about” something or other, and when we look at brain matter
(physical stuff) it does not seem to be “about” anything at all. We know that
thoughts and brains are related in some way, but given what appears to be their
different characters, it is hard to understand the nature of this relationship.
Through close reading of texts beginning with selections from Descartes’s Meditations and ending with contemporary
philosophical writing, we gain not only a sense of the history of the problem,
but also insight into our own nature. In addition, we will cover related topics
including free will, personal identity, immortality of the soul, and others.
This course emphasizes close reading with an eye toward thorough understanding
of the text. The formal requirements of the course are a mid-term (in-class),
final exam (take-home), and two very short papers. Class
size: 22
|
11788 |
PHIL 2044 History of
Philosophy II |
Garry
Hagberg |
. T . Th . |
3:10 -4:30 pm |
ASP 302 |
HUM |
A
course closely examining selected texts in the history of philosophy,
emphasizing historical connections and developments in the subject from the 18th
to the 20th Century. Authors include Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche,
Kierkegaard, Russell, Sartre, William James, and Wittgenstein. Like this
course’s predecessor (PHIL 203: History of Philosophy 1, which is
prerequisite), we will keep questions of philosophical methodology in mind as
we proceed through issues in ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, epistemology,
philosophy of perception, and philosophy of language. Class size: 22
|
11789 |
PHIL 216 Political
Theory |
Jay
Elliott |
M . W . . |
11:50 -1:10 pm |
RKC 115 |
HUM |
Cross-listed: Political Studies, Human Rights According to Aristotle’s Politics, “a
state is among the things that exist by nature.” In Aristotle’s view, it is natural
for human beings to live together in a political community, since it is only in
a political community that human beings are fully capable of living well. In
modern times, however, this ancient view of the state has come to seem doubtful
and even dangerous. For many modern thinkers – beginning with Thomas Hobbes in
the seventeenth century – the state is anything but natural. It is at best a
useful artifice designed to keep the peace among naturally conflicting
interests, and at worst a monstrous fraud whereby those in power oppress their
subjects in the name of the “common good”. This difference between ancient and
modern views of the state has profound implications for a series of fundamental
questions in political theory: what is a political community? How can political
authority be legitimate? Is disobedience or revolution against the existing
authorities ever justified? If so, when? This course introduces students to the
philosophical tradition of reflection on these questions through reading, discussing,
and writing about classic works of political theory from antiquity to the
present. The course is designed for sophomores and juniors who want to deepen
their interest in political philosophy and to reflect on the foundations of
their own political engagement. In addition to Aristotle and Hobbes, our
primary readings will come from Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Stuart Mill, and
John Rawls. First-year students may apply.
Class size: 22
|
11791 |
PHIL 220 Philosophy
of Science |
John-Michael
Kuczynski |
. T . Th . |
1:30 -2:50 pm |
OLIN 310 |
HUM |
Cross-listed: Science, Technology & Society In this course, we will examine the
conceptual underpinnings of science. In so doing, we will address the following
issues: (i) To what extent does the acquisition of knowledge of the causal
structure of the world depend, not just on sensory observation, but also on
knowledge of a purely conceptual, non-observational kind? (ii) What is it to
explain an event? (iii) What are laws of nature? (iv) What is the justification
for inferences from the known to what is unknown? (v) Is there a distinction
between scientific truths and non-scientific truths? (vi) What is it for one
event to cause another? (vii) What is measurement? In our attempts to make
headway on these important topics, we will read seminal works by Newton,
Leibniz, Mill, Franck, Popper, Hempel, Reichenbach, Clarence Lewis, and David
Lewis. Class size: 22
|
11782 |
PHIL
/ LIT 2209 Plato's
Writing: Dialogue and
Dialectic |
Thomas
Bartscherer |
M . W . . |
6:20 -7:40 pm |
OLIN 203 |
HUM |
Cross-listed: Classics; Philosophy Why did Plato write dialogues? Answers to
this perennial question have frequently appealed to Plato’s conception of
dialectic, although the meaning of that term in his texts is itself a matter of
considerable debate. In this course, we shall be examining Plato’s writings
from both a philosophical and a literary perspective. Our main business will be
close and careful reading of whole dialogues, paying particular attention to
the hermeneutical implications of the dialogue form—including such features as
dramatic setting, character, and the interrogative mode itself—and the
conception of dialectic as it emerges both in and through Plato’s writing.
Readings from Plato will include Euthyphro, Euthydemus, Phaedrus,
Republic, and Symposium,
among others. We will also read some of Plato’s predecessors in the
Greek tradition—both philosophical and literary—and examples of modern critical
approaches to Plato. The focus will be on the primary texts, and all readings
will be in English. Class size: 22
|
11792 |
PHIL 255 Medical
Ethics |
Daniel
Berthold |
M . W . . |
10:10 - 11:30 am |
ASP 302 |
HUM |
Cross-listed:
Global & Int’l Studies; Human Rights, Science, Technology & Society Through a reading of both theoretical
literature and case studies, we will examine a range of topics in contemporary debates
over medical ethics: issues of genetics, reproduction, death and dying, medical
research and experimentation, involuntary psychiatric hospitalization and
treatment, informed consent, confidentiality, and paternalism. On the
theoretical side, we will look at competing ethical positions philosophers have
proposed as models for understanding and resolving issues of medical ethics and
study basic concepts with which all such theories grapple (autonomy,
nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice). On the practical side, we will examine
the ways these theories and concepts are applied to actual cases and consider
the conflict between philosophical-ethical reasoning and social, religious, and
legal concerns. Class size: 22
|
11790 |
PHIL 266 Philosophy
of / at War |
Ruth
Zisman |
. T . Th . |
11:50 -1:10 pm |
ASP 302 |
HUM |
Cross-listed: Global & Int’l Studies, Human Rights The pre-Socratic philosopher, Heraclitus,
wrote: “War is the father of all, king of all. Some it makes Gods, some it
makes men. Some it makes slaves, some free…We must realize that war is
universal, strife is justice, and that all things come to being and pass away
through strife.” War has always been and will always be a subject of
philosophic inquiry. Throughout history, philosophers have found themselves
asking: What is war? What is it to be ‘at war’? To what extent can ‘peace’ be
understood as the antithesis to ‘war’? Under what circumstances can war be
considered just and/or morally justified? In what ways does war become knowable
and thinkable to us? Lastly, in what ways does Philosophy, insofar as it is
polemical and explosive, position itself as ‘at war’ or warlike in nature? This
course will attempt to explore these questions—both their formulations and
answers throughout the history of philosophy—by considering texts from the
following thinkers: Heraclitus, Plato, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Clausewitz, Hegel,
Kant, Nietzsche, Freud, Benjamin, Foucault, Deleuze, Derrida, Virilio, Agamben,
Zizek, Butler, Ronell. Class size: 22
|
11794 |
PHIL 302 Philosophy
Research Seminar |
Garry
Hagberg |
M . . . . |
1:30 -3:50 pm |
HEG 300 |
HUM |
An
intensive advanced seminar required of all philosophy majors in their junior year.
A problem in contemporary philosophy is carefully selected, exactingly defined,
and thoroughly researched; an essay or article is written addressing the
problem, going through numerous revisions as a result of class responses,
faculty guidance, and further research; the article is formally presented to
the seminar, followed by discussion and debate; and the article in its
completed form is submitted to an undergraduate or professional journal of
philosophy or to an undergraduate conference in philosophy. The seminar
integrates the teaching and practice of writing into the study of the subject
matter of the seminar. Emphasis will be placed on the art of research; the
development, composition, organization, and revision of analytical prose; the
use of evidence to support an argument; strategies of interpretation and
analysis of texts; and the mechanics and art of style and documentation. This
course is required of all junior Philosophy majors. Class
size: 15
|
11793 |
PHIL 334 Virtues and
Vices |
Jay
Elliott |
. T . . . |
1:30 -3:50 pm |
OLIN 307 |
HUM |
In
her landmark 1958 essay “Modern Moral Philosophy”, G. E. M. Anscombe argued
that the central concepts of modern moral thought – in particular, the concept
of moral “obligation” – ought to be abandoned, on the grounds that they have
come to be used without any clear sense. Anscombe suggested that one starting
point for revitalizing the subject of moral philosophy might be to return
instead to the ancient tradition of thinking about ethics in terms of specific
virtues and vices, such as justice and injustice. At the same time, Anscombe
warned that we could not properly recover this ancient tradition unless we
first develop an adequate understanding of “what type of characteristic a
virtue is”. In the decades since Anscombe wrote, virtue ethics has become one
of the most lively and controversial movements within contemporary ethical
theory. Much obscurity and disagreement remains, however, about what exactly a
virtue is and what is distinctive about a “virtue” approach to moral
philosophy. In this advanced seminar, students will have the opportunity to
examine the diverse forms of contemporary virtue theory in detail and to
develop independent research projects related to the themes and problems of
virtue ethics. In addition to Anscombe’s writings, we will focus on works by
other central figures in contemporary virtue theory, including Philippa Foot,
Iris Murdoch, Alasdair MacIntyre, John McDowell, and Bernard Williams. Class size: 15
|
11795 |
PHIL 375 The
Philosophy of Nietzsche |
Daniel
Berthold |
. . W . . |
1:30 -3:50 pm |
OLIN 308 |
HUM |
Cross-listed:
German Studies We will study
Nietzsche’s Birth of Tragedy, Gay Science, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, and Beyond
Good and Evil, focusing on such themes as epistemological perspectivalism,
literary experimentalism, philosophy (and life) as art, the critique of
tradition, the diagnosis of modernity as cultural nihilism, the recovery of the
body, the central role of the unconscious, and the concepts of the will to
power, the revaluation of values, the overman, and the death of god.
Complementing this study will be an exploration of various interpretations of
Nietzsche from a range of academic disciplines: literary theory,
psychoanalysis, feminist theory, and political theory. Prerequisite: a previous
course in philosophy and permission of the instructor. Class size: 15