Course Descriptions, Fall 2009

For specific sections, times, places and availability, check MySlice.
Click here for a complete list of undergraduate philosophy offerings.

PHI 107 - Theories of Knowledge & Reality

16 Separate Sections

Philosophy 107 is an introductory course in philosophy. Though we will not address all major fields within philosophy, we will be addressing four important sets of questions, which will give students a taste of what philosophical thinking is all about. The four areas we will be studying are:

(i) The Existence of God: What arguments can be given to demonstrate his existence or to demonstrate his non-existence? We will critically evaluate these arguments through the use of logical and conceptual analysis, which are traditional philosophical methods of critical appraisal.

(ii) The Mind-Body Problem: Is there a distinction to be made between minds and brains? Do minds exist? What types of relations hold between minds and bodies? Are we simply physical organisms without a mind or a soul (i.e. brains with chemical and electrical operations fully explained by physical laws)?

(iii) Knowledge and Skepticism: What are the conditions that must be met for a belief to count as knowledge? Can these conditions be met? What justifies our knowledge claims about (a) the existence of the external world, (b) about cause and effect relations and (c) about the existence of other minds?

(iv) Free Will and Determinism: Do we have free will or is our behavior determined by forces we do not control? Can we have free will and be determined? What does it mean to have free will or to be determined?

Our study of the four areas mentioned above will focus on metaphysical and epistemological questions; but, if time allows, we may be able to discuss other related fields (e.g. Are we morally responsible for our acts if we do not have free will and are determined to behave in certain ways?).

PHI 191 - Ethics and Value Theory

Instructor: Laurence Thomas
TTH - 12:30 - 1:25

The course takes up a number of topical social issues such as abortion, homosexuality, and friendship. The moral theories of Kant and Bishop Butler are also discussed. The course aims to get members of the class to think critically about moral issues. The class is conducted in an engaging fashion with all students being invited to participate. Course requirements include: the best 3 out of 5 quizzes; a six-page essay; and a final examination.

PHI 197 - Human Nature

Instructor: André Gallois
MW - 9:30 - 10:25

The aim of this course is to explore what it means to be human as well as the similarities and differences between humans and non-human animals. We will examine various contemporary attempts to explain human nature with the help of biology and evolutionary theory.

PHI 200.1 - History of Modern Philosophy

Instructor: Frederick Beiser
TTh - 2:15 - 3:35

This course will be a survey of early modern philosophy from Montaigne to Hume. We will examine some of the main writings of Montaigne, Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza, Bacon, Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley and Hume. The main themes of the course will be the conflict between religion and science, faith and knowledge, in the early modern epoch.

The requirements for the course will be four short essays, and grades will be based on the essays and participation in class discussion. Students are advised that the readings for this course are often difficult, and that the reading list will be as long as it is strenuous.

PHI 200.2/PSC 125 - Political Theory

Instructor: Laurence Thomas
TTh - 2:00 - 3:20

The course examines some of the major political theories in history, as well as one or two topical issues. The major political theorist will be J. S. Mill and Karl Marx, the major topical issues will be religious freedom and equality in the context of gender and ethnic identity. Requirements: Attendance and the best 3 out of 5 two-page essays (approx. 600 words each), and a final essay of 5 pages (approx. 1250 words).

PHI 251 - Logic

Insructor: Kevan Edwards
TTh - 2:00 - 2:55

We would like to be able to identify situations where we have good reasons to accepts a conclusion. Deductively valid arguments are a special case where accepting the premises of an argument forces us to accept its conclusion on pain of logical inconsistency. In this class, we will begin a systematic study of deductive reasoning. We will learn how to show that arguments are valid or invalid, and we will study a number of related logical concepts (such as inconsistency, logical equivalence, and logical truth). We will also look at various aspects of the relationship between formal logic and the study of linguistic structure.

An underlying goal of this course is to develop analytical tools. As well as coming to a better understandign of logical concepts, students will develop an ability to deal with abstraction--to see what is shared by various concrete examples that differ in their particular subject matter. Familiarity with logical concepts and comfort dealing with abstraction can do much to increase one's ability to articulate and critically evaluate arguments, both inside and outside the philosophy classroom.

PHI 307 - Ancient Philosophy

Instructor: John Robertson
TTH - 11:00 - 12:20

We will be surveying the origins of philosophy and science in the Greek world down to the late fourth century B.C.E. This was a period of astonishing intellectual creativity that saw the invention or substantial refinement of lyric poetry, drama, logic, mathematics (including the first deductive system, Euclid's Elements) natural science including especially medicine. It was also a time of great cultural and political ferment in the Greek city states, coinciding with the rise of Athens from a small champion of democracy to an imperial power and, by the end of the fifth century, its defeat by Sparta.

The material we will be looking at traces the history of the rise of skepticism and relativism in this milieu and the responses of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle to these intellectual and social forces.

The amount of reading required is moderately heavy. Some of this is pretty hard going, however, and without attending lectures you will find some of it almost unintelligible. If for some reason you think you won't be able to attend consistently, I strongly recommend that you take a different course. I may, if I think it will be helpful, after the add/drop period take attendance and impose a stiff penalty for more than three absences.

Requirements: We will have two one-hour in class essay exams, a comprehensive final exam, and a few (not more than three) short (about five page) writing assignments. The weight of these assignments in the final grade will be 15%,15%, 40% and 30% respectively.

PHI 311 - The Rationalists

Instructor: Kara Richardson
MW - 5:15 - 6:35

Human nature, human knowledge, substance, God, causality and freedom in the 17th century rationalist tradition. Authors will include Descartes, Malebranche, Spinoza and Leibniz.

PHI 321 - 20th Century Theories

Instructor: José Benardete
MWF - 12:45 - 1:40

This course will provide an introduction to the history of 20th century philosophy, focusing especially on the contemporary Anglo-American 'analytic' tradition. Analytic philosophers address many of the same questions that concern philosophers in other traditions, such as: What is the world really like? What, if anything, do we know about the world? What is the relation between our language and the world? What distinguishes the analytic tradition is its use of certain tools, including formal logic, its focus on language, and its style of analysis. By studying how analytic philosophers have grappled with the philosophical questions mentioned above, we will learn what is distinctive about this tradition. Along the way, we will read works by Frege, Russell, Moore, Wittgenstein, Ayer, Carnap, and others.

PHI 325 - Existentialism

Instructor: Edward Mooney
TTH - 11:00 - 12:20

We examine several classic texts of existentialism from Kierkegaard and Nietzsche to Heidegger, Sartre, Camus and Henry Bugbee. We also consider Iris Murdoch's critique of existentialism. We'll stress the role of passions and emotions and self-assertion in the constitution of the worlds we inhabit, and consider the threat of nihilism that shadows existential thought.

PHI 363 - Ethics & International Relations

Instructor: David Morgan
MW - 12:45 - 2:05

This course examines the fundamental question of ethics and international relations. Among the topics addressed: raison d'etat; the just war tradition; humanitarian intervention; terrorism; torture; fair trade; foreign aid; immigration; human rights; nationalism; and climate change.

PHI 377 - Philosophy of Psychology

Instructor: Robert Van Gulick
MW - 2:15 - 3:35

The aim of this course is to explore theoretical questions about the discipline of psychology as well as about the human mind in general. Does psychology seek to answer different questions from philosophy of mind? Do they describe the mind differently? Importantly, why do we need philosophy of mind, if there is psychology?

PHI 391 - History of Ethics

Instructor: Michael Stocker
TTh - 2:00 - 3:20

A study of some of the major ethical works on pleasure and desire.

PHI 400.2 - Medieval Philosophy

Instructor: Kara Richardson
MW - 3:45 - 5:05

We'll focus primarily on the Islamic Philosopher Ibn Sina (A vicenna) and his impact on the West via Aquinas. Topics will include the essence/existence distinction, substance, necessary/possible being, God and causality. We may also discuss human nature (dualism vs. hylemorphism) and human knowledge.

PHI 400.3 - Human Rights

Instructor: Kenneth Baynes
TTh - 2:00 - 3:20

This course will explore various questions connected with the recent emergence of the "human rights regime": the vast normative and institutional network organized around international rights. How are human rights to be determined? Are they connected to the tradition of natural rights? Are they 'universal' or can they vary among cultures and societies? What rights should be counted as human rights and why? What is their function (e.g., minimal conditions or maximal aspirations)? These questions will be explored in connection with some specific human rights debates (such as the right to be free from poverty, the right against torture, and the right to self-determination and/or democracy). Grades will be based on class participation, several short response papers, and a longer term paper.

PHI 400.4 - Space, Time & Material Objects

Instructor: Joshual Spencer
MWF - 10:35 - 11:30

There are many seeming similarities between space and time. For example, just as space is extended, time also seems to be extended. There are also many similarities between the way material objects are related to space and the way they are related to time. Just as objects occupy space, they also seem to occupy time. But, there are similar problems in the philosophy of space and in the philosophy of time as well. Do space and time really exist or are there merely spatial and temporal relations between objects? How do objects vary in their intrinsic nature across space and time? We might think that some of these problems show us that there are important differences between space and time. For example, perhaps the way objects occupy space is different from the way they occupy time. Perhaps the way objects pass through space is different than the way they pass through time. In this course, we will be investigating the similarities and differences between space and time. We will touch on issues of composition, persistence motion during our investigations. By the end of the semester, students should understand some of the fundamental similarities and differences of space and time.

PHI 401 - Seminar for Philosophy Majors

Instructor: Mark Heller
TTh - 12:30 - 1:50

Is it up to me whether I teach this course? Or is it determined? Or could both of those be true together? Would the absence of determinism help, or would that just turn my actions into chance events? This course explores the concept of free will, asking: what is it, can we have any, and why should we care? Assignments will include class presentations and a term paper.

PHI 417/PSC 382 - Contemporary Political Philosophy

Instructor: Kenneth Baynes
TTH - 11:00 - 12:20

This course offers an advanced survey of contemporary liberal theory and its principal rivals. We will consider libertarian (Nozick) and liberal egalitarian conceptions (Rawls), as well as communitarian, feminist, and radical/Marxist alternatives. Attention will also be given to issues of citizenship, multiculturalism and equality in a democratic society.

PHI 435/REL 435/JSP 435 - Modern Judaic Thought

Instructor: Zachary Braiterman
T - 3:30 - 6:15

In this class, we will examine the encounter with Emancipation, Enlightenment, and Romanticism that lies at the origins of modern Jewish thought. Starting with Spinoza‚s Theologico-Political Treatise, Mendelssohn’s, What is Enlightenment?, and Jerusalem, the course will include Herman Cohen’s monumental The Religion of Reason. The course will conclude by considering the challenges posed by three twentieth century liberal thinkers to the liberal tradition in which they stand. Along the way, we will examine the work of historians and ideologues, like the historian Heinrich Graetz, Abraham Geiger (one of the most important thinkers behind the emergence of Reform Judaism), and the modern-orthodox S.R. Hirsch. Particular emphasis will revolve around reason and affect, eternity, and history, religion and ritual, aesthetics and law.

PHI 550.1/REL 551.M001 - Ethics & Health Professions

Instructor: Robert Daly
W - 4:00 - 7:00

An introduction to the social contexts of medicine (clinical, research, professional, organizational, social) will be followed by an introduction to ethics and to methods of argumentation in moral philosophy. The course will then be devoted to a detailed study of ethical issues about healthcare, e.g., the right to treatment, patient rights, informed consent, euthanasia, genetic engineering, and abortion.

Course requirements: Class participation, essays or assigned readings, small group project and presentation, and a 15-20-page research paper.

PHI 550.2/PSC 400.402 - Decision Theory

Instructor: Edward McClennen
MW - 3:30 - 4:50

This is a one-semester course devoted to an overview of the work in the second half of the 20th century in decision theory, game theory, and social choice theory. The first third or so will be devoted to decision-theory, including the concepts of preference and choice, maximization, basic consistency conditions on rational preferences, preferences over risky prospects (expected-utility theory), preferences for completely uncertain prospects, and the theory of dynamic choice. The second third will focus on game theory and bargaining theory. The last third will be concerned with competitive market theory and various topics in social choice theory, including Arrow's Impossibility Theorem, and Sen's Liberal Paradox. Throughout, the focus will be on conceptual and foundational matters, on important theorems, and especially on long-standing debates about some of the key axioms. It will not focus on the more technical aspects of these subjects, and thus (at least for the most part) not on proofs of theorems. I shall also address, as the semester progresses, the application of various models of rational choice to real situations, including, in particular, those studied in political science and economics.

PHI 552 - Modal Logic

Instructor: Thomas McKay
MW - 2:15 - 3:35

Text: A New Introduction to Modal Logic (Hughes and Cresswell), Routledge (1996). (There will also be numerous hand-outs and other supplements.)

Three or four exams (including the final) will count equally. (There will be an additional assigned for graduate students.) Some exercises will be assigned and will collectively count about as much as one exam.

Modal logic, conceived narrowly, studies the logic of the terms 'necessarily' and 'possibly'. This course will present a connected series of systems of modal logic, and we will see how we can vary underlying principles and assumptions to get different logical results involving these concepts. From this students learn what is involved in developing a system of logic and making the principles and the semantics fit together.

These results open the way to a more general consideration of non-truth-functional logical relations, so that we can develop an improved account of conditionals and explore a variety of concepts that are in some ways analogous to necessity and possibility: time, ability, obligation, knowledge, belief, and others. We will also consider the interesting issues in semantics and metaphysics that are related to the interaction between non-truth-functional language and quantification.

Modal Logic is also a valuable model for the study of the semantics of natural language. (For example, Richard Montague's work, which serves as the basis for much of the current work in the semantics of natural language, grew directly out of the study of modal logic.)

In short, an understanding of modal logic is central to the discussion of the nature of conditionals, propositional contexts generally, quantification, reference and meaning.

PHI 583 - Metaphysics

Instructor: Kris McDaniel
TTh - 2:00 - 3:20

This course will cover three recent works in contemporary metaphysics, each of which discuss a number of core issues. The three texts will be Amie Thomasson's Ordinary Objects, Kathrin Koslicki's The Structure of Objects, and Trenton Merrick's Truth and Ontology. Class requirements included prepared questions for class discussion, several short papers, and a longer final paper.