Course Descriptions
Philosophy
PHIL 100 - Introduction to Philosophy
An introduction to philosophy through topics found in classical and contemporary philosophical writings, such as the nature of truth and knowledge, mind and body, freedom and determinism, right and wrong, and the existence of God. Course content varies from instructor to instructor. Specific course descriptions will be available in the department prior to registration.
Frequency: Every semester.
PHIL 110 - Critical Thinking
This course introduces and explores the main principles and methods of Critical Thinking: distinguishing between good and bad arguments; identifying common fallacies; developing strong and persuasive arguments; the difference between deductive and inductive reasoning; constructing logical proofs; the nature of scientific, moral, and legal reasoning; evaluating polls and statistical hypotheses; understanding probability; deciding how to act under uncertainty. Students will apply these principles and methods to numerous academic and 'everyday' contexts, including journals, the print press, blogs, political rhetoric, advertising and documentaries. We will regularly reflect upon more broadly philosophical matters related to Critical Thinking - such as the nature of truth and objectivity and the distinction between science and pseudo-science - and examine a number of intriguing philosophical paradoxes. Students will improve their skills in writing clear and compelling argumentative papers and critically analyzing the writings of others. Course work includes reading, class discussion, regular homework assignments, quizzes, and short argumentative essays.
Frequency: Every year.
PHIL 111 - Introduction to Symbolic Logic
An introduction to formal methods for evaluating deductive arguments. Topics include formal fallacies, decision procedures, translation of arguments to argument forms, and natural deduction proofs in propositional and predicate logic.
Frequency: Every year.
PHIL 121 - Introduction to Ethics
What matters in life? Is pleasure the only thing that matters? If so, whose pleasure should I pursue-just my own, my family's, or everyone's? Does suffering matter, too? What about the suffering of non-human animals? Is it okay for me to make animals suffer in order for me to enjoy the pleasure of eating their flesh? Or how about the suffering of people who are really far away from me-say, on another continent? Is it okay for me to spend money on cool stuff for myself when instead I could donate it to help people who are suffering very badly far away? If things in life other than pleasure matter too, what are they? People who oppose torture think that it's wrong to hurt one person really badly even in order to prevent a large number of people from being hurt. Are they right? Is it always wrong to treat someone as merely a means to an end? Is it in general wrong to do things to people without their consent? Why? When do people deserve to be praised or blamed for their actions? What kind of person should I be? Should I try to be happy? Or should I try to be virtuous? Is virtue its own reward? Or are we all inevitably faced with a choice between being virtuous and being happy? If we are faced with that choice, which one should we pick? In Ethics, we will talk about these questions, and others.
Frequency: Every semester.
PHIL 194 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.
PHIL 200 - Ancient and Medieval Philosophies
A study of major philosophers of ancient Greece, Rome and the medieval period, including the Pre-Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, the Stoics, Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas.
Frequency: Every year.
Cross-Listed as: CLAS 200
PHIL 201 - Modern Philosophy
A study of the 17th and 18th century philosophers, including the Empiricists, Rationalists, and Kant. The course considers issues regarding skepticism, justification, freedom of the will, personal identity, perception and the existence of God.
Frequency: Every year.
PHIL 202 - American Philosophy
Is there a distinct American worldview, or merely a confluence of intellectual traditions originating beyond and before the USA? This course explores the diverse intellectual strains that have contributed to the development of American philosophy in the last three centuries, including influences that have been somewhat neglected: the American Indian thought of Arthur Parker and Zit Kala Za (Gertie Bonnin); the puritan theology of Jonathan Edwards; the political theory of Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson; the African American philosophy of W.E.B. DuBois and Alain Locke; the transcendentalism of R. W. Emerson and H.D. Thoreau; the 'classical' pragmatism of C.S. Peirce and William James; the 'radical' pragmatism of John Dewey and Jane Adams. Special attention will be given to American conceptions of justice, freedom, democracy, religiosity, nature, pragmatism, progress and self-reliance.
Frequency: Every other year.
PHIL 211 - Asian Philosophies
Did Confucius really say all those things? What does it mean to call something "zen"? The popularity of mindfulness and meditation made "Eastern Philosophy" fashionable, but what exactly does that entail? This class will be an introduction to classical Chinese philosophy, focusing on Confucianism and its rivals (Daoism, Mohism, Buddhism). Many schools of thought in East Asia offered competing views on how to live a good life; we will explore these views and chart how they responded to each other. We'll also see how Chinese thoughts were received and developed by Korean and Japanese philosophers and assess ongoing influences of these philosophies in East Asia and beyond. Texts with English translations.
Frequency: Spring semester.
Cross-Listed as: ASIA 211
PHIL 212 - Philosophy of Religion
Philosophical analysis of problems in religion and theology such as arguments for the existence of God and the nature of religious knowledge. The Philosophy of Religion seeks an understanding of religion by raising philosophical questions about its underlying assumptions and implications. When we believe something it is because we think it is true and because we think we have good evidence to support our belief. In the case of religious beliefs, however, we are immediately faced with questions concerning the nature of such beliefs. What claims do they make? What would count as good evidence for a religious belief? What is the nature of religious truth? In this course we will examine the nature of religious beliefs and the ways in which philosophers in different traditions have justified or argued against such beliefs. Perhaps in response to the increasing challenge to religion from the natural sciences, twentieth century philosophers have questioned the traditional philosophical approach to religion. Some philosophers, Wittgenstein for example, question traditional interpretations of religious language and re-examine the relationship between faith and reason. Can religious life be practiced without a theology or with skepticism or agnosticism regarding theological questions? Other topics covered in the course include the attempt to introduce intelligent design into public schools as part of the science curriculum; religious pluralism; the belief in life after death; and feminist critiques of religious language.
Frequency: Alternate years.
Cross-Listed as: RELI 212 - Philosophy of Religion
PHIL 213 - Philosophy of Mind
Materialism, rather than solving the problem of mind, consciousness and intentionality, has spawned numerous philosophical perplexities. This course will examine a variety of philosophical problems associated with contemporary models of the mind (mind/body dualism; mind/brain identity theories; behaviorism; functionalism and artificial intelligence; eliminative naturalism and folk psychology; biological naturalism). The course will also look at contemporary philosophical accounts of personhood and personal identity, particularly narrative accounts of the self. Readings will typically include David Chalmers, Daniel Dennett, Owen Flanagan, Derek Parfit, Marya Schechtman, John Searle, Galen Strawson, and Kathleen Wilkes.
PHIL 215 - Philosophy of Sport
Sports and games deserve close philosophical examination since they have always played an important part in human life. We first ask what exactly sports, games and athletics are, and how they are distinct from other modes of life. Next, we consider the main arguments for and against sports. For example, does sport promote virtue and 'fair-play' or, on the contrary, aggression and egoism? It is often said that sport is an essential part of the 'well-rounded' life and a liberal arts education. But why are well-rounded lives, and liberal arts educations, good? We will explore numerous ethical and conceptual issues that arise within sports, such as cheating and 'sportsmanship', violence and injury, doping and enhancement, and gender and racial equity. And we will consider whether sports can help us gain insight into more general philosophical concepts, such as virtue, justice, health, embodiment, friendship, consciousness, absurdity, death, and beauty. Our ultimate concern will be: what is the place of sport and games in a good and meaningful human life? Is it possible that life itself is a game? Along with numerous philosophical readings, contemporary and historical, we will also discuss philosophical treatments of sports in literature and film.
Frequency: Every other year.
PHIL 216 - Reading Marx
For Marx, "private capital" is an oxymoron - a contradiction in terms, since by its very nature capital is social. And "philosophy" is really not a thing, at least not the way it's always been defined, since the world of ideas has no existence independent of the material conditions of human existence. In this course, we will try to recover the revolutionary force of these arguments with a focus on what they show us about the illusory or fantastic character of modern life. From the early critique of alienation to the late analysis of surplus value, Marx showed over and again how the so-called rational world is not as rational as it seems: specters, fetishes, deceptive appearances, "false consciousness" are just some of the features of life under capital that Marx exposes and that continue to haunt our world (just think of how we appeal to the "magic of the market," its "invisible hand" or to "creative destruction"). We will read selections from Marx's early writings on religion and alienation through the theory of ideology, of commodity fetishism, and of primitive accumulation to his late programmatic texts in tandem with texts by 20th-century thinkers who critiqued and further developed Marx's thought (Lukacs, Gramsci, Lefort, Derrida).
Frequency: Alternate years.
Cross-Listed as: GERM 316
PHIL 218 - Philosophy of Race and Gender
This class addresses conceptual and ethical questions at the foundation of the study of sexism, racism, heterosexism, and transphobia. Many of us believe, for example, that race and gender are both socially constructed. But what exactly is social construction? Would there be room for races and genders in a perfectly just society, or are races and genders intrinsically oppressive categories that should be eliminated? Nowadays we are taught to distinguish gender from sex. But what is sex? Is sex socially constructed, like gender, or is it a strictly biological phenomenon? Population geneticists have recently argued that, surprisingly, race is biological after all. Are their arguments convincing, or flawed? How can thinking carefully about gender and sex problematize our ordinary understanding of sexual orientation? In our unjust society, when if ever does it make sense to respond to racial injustice with affirmative action? Is sex-selective abortion immoral? If you think it is, can you still be pro-choice? What should we think about affirmative action? We will address these questions, and others, by drawing on recent work at the intersection of philosophy, social science, and biology. Authors to be studied include Elizabeth Anderson, Anthony Appiah, Sally Haslanger, Kate Manne, Debra Satz, Tommie Shelby, Quayshawn Spencer, and Laurence Thomas.
Frequency: Alternate years.
Cross-Listed as: WGSS 218
PHIL 220 - Bioethics
Bioethics deals with a variety of ethical issues arising in the context of medical care and biomedical research. These issues include informed consent, euthanasia, reproductive rights, confidentiality, and the distribution of health care resources. The course uses ethical theory to shed light on issues in medicine, and issues in medicine to illuminate ethical theory.
Frequency: Alternate years.
PHIL 221 - Environmental Ethics
Emerging in the 1970s, the field of environmental ethics began by sparking a rich line of philosophical inquiry largely focused on the moral status of the natural world and the non-human entities within it. What reasons do we have to give moral consideration to the environment? And what do we mean when we say we have a moral duty toward the environment? Do we have moral duties to individuals within a species, or to species themselves, or to ecosystems, or to...? This course will invite you to reflect on key philosophical works that engage these and related questions. You will also have the opportunity to think about significant emerging topics in environmental ethics. Depending on the semester, these may include the debate over the ethics of wilderness preservation; the challenges of expanding environmental ethics to address issues of global climate change and resource sustainability; environmental rights; and environmental justice.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
Cross-Listed as: ENVI 221
PHIL 224 - Philosophy of Law
An analysis of fundamental legal concepts and the problems of justifying various legal practices. Topics may include the relationship between law and morality, the distinction between the criminal and civil law, theories of constitutional and statutory interpretation, and the appropriate role of the judiciary.
Frequency: Alternate years.
PHIL 225 - Digital Ethics
This course looks at ethical questions connected with the internet as we know it today: an online environment where content is generated and shared through user activities such as blogging, media sharing, social networking, tagging, tweeting, virtual world gaming, wiki developing, and the like. We will start by considering debates over freedom of speech, privacy, surveillance, and intellectual property: issues that pre-exist the development of the Internet, but which because of it have taken on new dimensions. From here we will go on to take up some ethical questions arising from four different domains of activity on the social web: gaming, social networking, blog/wiki developing, and "hacktivism." In the third part of the course, we will consider broad questions connected to the integration of the Internet with devices other than the personal computer and mobile phone and which open the prospect of a world of integrated networked systems. What are some of the impacts of such integration on our everyday ethical relations with others and on the overall quality of our lives? How does being networked affect the meaning of being human?
Frequency: Offered alternate years.
Cross-Listed as: COMP 154
PHIL 226 - Animal Ethics
This course focuses on fundamental questions connected to our ethical responsibilities to nonhuman animals, as well as the philosophical debates over the principles and values involved in responding to them. What does it mean to treat animals well? Are our responsibilities toward animals grounded in recognizing that they have rights, and if so, what kinds of rights? Or, are they rooted in the welfare interests of animals, and if so, what do we need to do to meet these interests? Attention will be given to a broad scope of human-animal relations, from human-pet relations of affection and companionship to human-farm animal relations of consumption and being consumed. Ethical issues associated with the use of animals in research labs, animals in zoos, and urban wildlife will also be considered.
Frequency: Alternate years.
PHIL 294 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.
PHIL 300 - 20th Century Continental Philosophy
Close reading, reflection, and analysis of a work or works associated with a major figure or movement within the tradition of twentieth-century Continental philosophy.
Frequency: Offered alternate years.
Prerequisite(s): one course in the history of philosophy or permission of instructor.
PHIL 309 - Philosophy of Mathematics
Why does 2 + 2 equal four? Can a diagram prove a mathematical truth? Is mathematics a social construction or do mathematical facts exist independently of our knowing them? Philosophy of mathematics considers these sorts of questions in an effort to understand the logical and philosophical foundations of mathematics. Topics include mathematical truth, mathematical reality, and mathematical justifications (knowledge). Typically we focus on the history of mathematics of the past 200 years, highlighting the way philosophical debates arise in mathematics itself and shape its future.
Frequency: Alternate years.
Cross-Listed as: MATH 212
PHIL 310 - Philosophy of Science
Are quarks "real"? Does science lead to objective knowledge? Is there really a scientific method? How do we distinguish between creation "science" from evolution; or astrology from astronomy? These questions are asked in philosophy of science, which studies the fundamental processes, principles, and presuppositions of the natural sciences. The social and historical contexts of the sciences are also considered. Topics include: science vs. pseudoscience, scientific explanation, scientific revolutions, the philosophy of space and time, the theory of evolution, theories of confirmation, objectivity in science, and realism vs. relativism.
Frequency: Alternate years.
PHIL 311 - Philosophy of Language
What is language and what is it for? What makes a series of sounds into a meaningful sentence? What makes a sentence true? Why is language always changing? This course will introduce students to ways in which twentieth century philosophers have attempted to provide answers to such questions. Since the philosophy of language has been so crucial to contemporary philosophy, this course also serves as an introduction to philosophical thought from the beginning of twentieth century to the present. Topics will range from more technical problems (theories of meaning, reference and truth; synonymy and analyticity; universals and natural kinds; private languages) to broader issues examining the relationship between language and culture (language games; radical interpretation; social change). Readings typically include writings by Ludwig Wittgenstein, W.V. Quine, John Searle, Donald Davidson, Richard Rorty, Michel Foucault, and bell hooks.
Frequency: Alternate years.
Prerequisite(s): PHIL 201, or permission of instructor.
Cross-Listed as: LING 311
PHIL 313 - Advanced Symbolic Logic
A second course in symbolic logic which extends the methods of logic. A main purpose of this course is to study logic itself-to prove things about the system of logic learned in the introductory course. This course is thus largely logic about logic. Topics include second order logic and basic set theory; soundness, consistency and completeness of first order logic; incompleteness of arithmetic; Turing computability; modal logic; and intuitionistic logic.
Frequency: Alternate years.
Cross-Listed as: MATH 313
PHIL 314 - Contemporary Metaphysics
Metaphysics - the investigation of the fundamental categories of being - is as old as philosophy itself. This class is devoted to the most important and intriguing metaphysical theories and problems of contemporary philosophy. Specific topics will vary from year to year depending on student and faculty interest but will likely include: time and space, freedom and determinism, infinity, identity, causality, death, the origin and demise of the universe, abstract and fictional objects, necessity and possibility, human nature and transhumanism, and the categories of race and gender. We will also be concerned with the relationship between metaphysics and other domains within and beyond philosophy, such as literature and natural science. Classes will be seminar-style, focused on discussion of readings and student work.
Frequency: Every other year.
Prerequisite(s): A 100- or 200- level Philosophy course.
PHIL 315 - Contemporary Epistemology
Epistemology is the philosophical study of knowledge, belief, and rationality. The historical focus of epistemology has been questions about human knowledge. What is knowledge? How do we acquire knowledge? Do we have any knowledge at all, or do nightmarish "skeptical" possibilities (like Descartes' demon and /The Matrix/) show that we know little or nothing? Epistemologists are also interested in broader questions about the nature of belief and mental representation in general. What is it to believe something? What does it take for my beliefs to be rational, or reasonable? Can I choose what to believe, or is belief somehow involuntary? How does our commonsense notion of belief relate to the idea of subjective probability or graded belief common in cognitive science and the decision sciences? A final set of important questions apply epistemological thinking to specific topics. Can religious beliefs ever be rational? Do phenomena like implicit bias and stereotype threat undermine rational belief? How should we understand epistemological standards in the law, such as the idea of proving something "beyond a reasonable doubt"? Can reasonable people disagree about difficult moral, political, and religious questions, or must we ultimately say that one side of such disputes irrational? In this course we consider how contemporary philosophers have tried to answer these questions, and others.
Frequency: Alternate years.
Prerequisite(s): Any 100- or 200- level Philosophy course.
PHIL 316 - Metaethics
Thinking systematically about right and wrong often leads to meta-questions--questions about what ethics itself is. What makes a person's life worth living? Why should I be ethical? Can we convince bad people to be good? Is ethics objective? What does it even mean to ask whether ethics is objective? This class concerns those questions, and others.
Frequency: Alternate years.
Prerequisite(s): PHIL 121
PHIL 321 - Contemporary Social and Political Philosophy
This course will focus on some central topics in contemporary Anglo-American (or "analytic") social and political philosophy. Likely topics would include an examination of John Rawls's theory of justice and the work of critics of that theory, the value of equality, and issues about global justice.
Frequency: Every other year.
Prerequisite(s): A 100- or 200- level Philosophy course.
Cross-Listed as: POLI 268
PHIL 394 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.
PHIL 488 - Seminar: Topics
A study of some movement, philosopher or problem in the tradition of Western philosophy. Primarily for juniors or seniors majoring, or doing significant work, in philosophy.
Frequency: Offered on an occasional basis.
Prerequisite(s): permission of instructor.
PHIL 489 - Senior Seminar
A capstone experience in philosophy for senior majors. Each participant in the seminar will be expected to write an essay reflective of scholarly standards within the discipline on a question of their own choosing, within a collaborative and supportive environment. Participants in the seminar will help one another develop their capstone papers and prepare to present them publicly at the end of the semester. Readings may be assigned as appropriate with regard to student-identified topics.
Frequency: Every fall.
Prerequisite(s): Philosophy major and senior status, or permission of instructor.
PHIL 494 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.
PHIL 601 - Tutorial
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair.
PHIL 602 - Tutorial
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair.
PHIL 603 - Tutorial
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair.
PHIL 604 - Tutorial
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair.
PHIL 611 - Independent Project
The number of independent studies to be applied toward the major or core will be determined in consultation with the department.
Frequency: Every semester.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair.
PHIL 612 - Independent Project
The number of independent studies to be applied toward the major or core will be determined in consultation with the department.
Frequency: Every semester.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair.
PHIL 613 - Independent Project
The number of independent studies to be applied toward the major or core will be determined in consultation with the department.
Frequency: Every semester.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair.
PHIL 614 - Independent Project
The number of independent studies to be applied toward the major or core will be determined in consultation with the department.
Frequency: Every semester.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair.
PHIL 621 - Internship
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office.
PHIL 622 - Internship
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office.
PHIL 623 - Internship
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office.
PHIL 624 - Internship
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office.
PHIL 631 - Preceptorship
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs.
PHIL 632 - Preceptorship
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs.
PHIL 633 - Preceptorship
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs.
PHIL 634 - Preceptorship
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs.
PHIL 641 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the seniors honors project.
Frequency: Every semester.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair.
PHIL 642 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the seniors honors project.
Frequency: Every semester.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair.
PHIL 643 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the seniors honors project.
Frequency: Every semester.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair.
PHIL 644 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the seniors honors project.
Frequency: Every semester.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair.