Past Courses
Spring 2023 Undergraduate Courses
PHIL 3304: History of 17Th Century Phil (Prof. Hattab)
PHIL 3342: Philosophy of Math (Prof. Loewenstein)
PHIL 3351: Contemporary Moral Issues (Prof. Ebert)
PHIL 3351: Contemporary Moral Issues (Prof. Ebert)
PHIL 3354: Medical Ethics (Prof. Determeyer)
PHIL 3357: Punishment (Prof. Sommers)
PHIL 3357: Punishment (Prof. Tierney)
PHIL 3358: Classics in the History of Ethics (Prof. Phillips)
PHIL 3377: Philosophy of Religion (Prof. Oliveira)
PHIL 3383: Ancient Philosophy (Prof. Werner)
PHIL 3386: History of 19th Century Philosophy (Prof. Werner)
PHIL 3388: History of 20th Century Philosophy (Class #23596)
Prof. Morrison
MoWeFr 9:00AM - 10:00AM, Room: L 212L
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In this course we will read three significant texts in the history of 20th century social and ethical philosophy. Starting with Freud’s Civilization and its Discontents, moving on to Sartre’s Existentialism is a Humanism, and ending on Murdoch’s The Sovereignty of Good, we will think about how these thinkers reacted to the major social and political events of the 20th century. Our focus will primarily be on a slow and careful exploration of the arguments of these texts and the implications of these arguments in the context of their century.
PHIL 3395: Philosophy of Cognitive Science (Class #23599)
Prof. Buckner
TuTh 10:00AM - 11:30AM, Room: MH 138
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Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of the mind, involving the cooperation of psychology, computer science, philosophy, neuroscience, anthropology, and more. In this course, we will review major philosophical and methodological questions that arise in cognitive science, especially regarding how findings from so many different sciences with different methods could fit together in a coherent way. We will discuss how cognitive science began as a response to behaviorism, and cover major questions that it has to confront, including: what counts as a good cognitive explanation, could computers or robots have minds, can our minds extend beyond our brains, are psychological and neural descriptions at odds with one another, and does cognitive science need to appeal to representations? We will review the answers to these questions provided by the major paradigms in the history of cognitive science, including classical computationalism, connectionism, dynamicism, and predictive coding approach. No philosophical background is required, but an introductory course in Logic, Psychology, Neuroscience, Biology, or Computer Science is highly recommended.
PHIL 3395: Philosophy of Biology (Class #23600)
Prof. Weisberg
TuTh 11:30AM - 1:00PM, Room: S 132
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Our scientific understanding of the biological world is increasing at an amazing rate. New breakthroughs occur constantly, challenging our previously-held views of the natural world and our place in it. How does this science work and what are the implications of its research? This class addresses the philosophical issues arising from the science of biology. We will consider the nature of explanation in biological science; metaphysical questions concerning the nature of key biological entities and processes; issues arising from the theory evolution; the relationship between biology and other scientific domains; and the controversies generated by biological science in psychology, ethics, race, gender, and religion. The goal of the course is to provide an introduction to this exciting area of philosophy, and to provide students with the chance to explore some of the deep philosophical issues generated by modern biological theory.
The course readings will be taken from the anthology Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Biology, edited by Francisco Ayala and Robert Arp, Wiley-Blackwell, 2010, as well as from recent publications on current controversies in biology.
PHIL 3395: Philosophy and Plagues (Class #25279)
Prof. Zaretsky
TuTh 10:00AM - 11:30AM, Room: AH 2
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This course will explore the ways in which pandemics have, over the centuries, challenged or changed the philosophical perspectives of those who experienced them. These philosophies, ranging from stoicism to existentialism, are as varied as the nature of the plagues. Among the thinkers we will read are Thucydides and Marcus Aurelius, Bocaccio and Michel de Montaigne, Mary Shelley and Albert Camus.
Fall 2022 Undergraduate Courses
PHIL 3333: Metaphysics (Class #13820
Prof Loewenstein
TuTh 2:30PM - 4:00PM, Room: C 137
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3344: Philosophy of Science (Class #13803)
Prof. Weisberg
TuTh 11:30AM - 1:00PM Room: MH 120
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3354: Medical Ethics (Class #25450)
Theresa Hickey
MoWe 9:00AM - 10:00AM, Room: S 116
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3355: Political Philosophy (Class #13824)
Prof. Sommers
MoWe 2:30PM - 4:00PM, Room: S 115
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3358: Classics in the History of Ethics (Class #13801)
Prof Phillips
MoWe 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: S 115
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3371: Depiction, Narration, and Critical Theory (Class #18520)
Prof. Mag Uidhir
MoWe 2:30PM - 4:00PM, Room: H 30
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This course is an in depth look at the Philosophy of Comics. In it, we will explore the following questions. What makes something a comic? Are comics fundamentally multi-media? What is the nature of the various comic production roles (inker, letterer, writer, penciller, editor, creator, etc.) as they relate to authorship? Can there be a comic without pictures? Are comics better suited to certain genres than others? What can comics do narratively that other forms (film, literature) cannot? What makes for a good comic? Some comics we will be engaging with are Watchmen, Fun Home, Here, and Bitch Planet.
PHIL 3382: Medieval Philosophy (Class #13703)
Prof. Hattab
TuTh 2:30PM - 4:00PM, Room: AH 302
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In this course we will grapple with several philosophical and theological questions central to the Middle Ages including:
--What is the relationship between religion and philosophy, faith and reason?
--Do humans have free will and can this be reconciled with divine foreknowledge?
--Can the existence of God be proven and if so how?
--What makes our actions virtuous versus sinful?
--Where does knowledge come from and what kinds of things can we know?
--What is the nature and source of political authority?
We will favor the in-depth reading and discussion of key texts in which medieval philosophers seek to answer these questions over an exhaustive overview of the medieval period. However, we will, for the most part, proceed in chronological order, starting with the Church Fathers and ending with William of Ockham, and we will study some of the most influential philosophers of the Middle Ages.
Our focus will be on seminal texts such as St Augustine’s Confessions and On Free Choice of the Will, St Anselm’s Proslogion and his Replies to Gaunilo, selections from Peter Abelard’s famous correspondence with Heloise as well as his Ethical Writings, and from St Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Contra Gentiles and Summa Theologica. We will also spend part of the course reading equally important non-Christian philosophers of the Middle Ages, such as the Islamic philosophers Al-Ghazali, Averroes (Ibn Rushd), and the Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides.
PHIL 3386: History of 19th Century Philosophy (Class #13799)
Prof. Morrison
MoWeFr 9:00AM - 10:00AM, Room: L 212L
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PHIL 3395: Latin American Philosophy (Class #13804)
Prof. Coates
TuTh 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: AH 302
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3395: Philosophy and Plagues (Class #23631)
Prof. Zaretsky
TuTh 11:30AM - 1:00PM, Room: AH 302
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3395: Enlightenment Stories (Class #23632)
Prof. Zaretsky
TuTh 10:00AM - 11:30AM, Room: C 135
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3395: Critical Theory and Globalization (Class #24552)
Prof. Carrera
Mo 5:30PM - 8:30PM, Room: AH 208
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Biopolitics, or politics legislating life and death, may be as old as human society. However, it is only at the onset of modernity that politics has openly moved from the power of taking life to the power of regulating life and its reproduction. This course will explore the complex relation between modernity and biopolitics, bare life and human rights, humanism and posthumanism, human intelligence and general intellect through the writings of contemporary philosophers, scientists, essayists, and activists. Related literary works and films will be an essential component of the course. A professor of ontology and a professor of robotics from the University of Brescia, Italy will join the class via Teams for an online lecture toward the end of the semester.
Fall 2021 Undergraduate Courses
PHIL 3304: History of 17Th Century Phil (Class #26702)
Prof Hattab
Regular TuTh 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: TBD
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The main goal of this course is to understand and critically examine the philosophical origins of what is traditionally known as the early modern period in Philosophy. To this end we begin with an overview of the Scholastic Aristotelian philosophy that prevailed in Europe from the middle ages into the modern period. Against this background, we will study the works of philosophers who spearheaded the scientific and philosophical developments of the early seventeenth century, most notably, Francis Bacon, Galileo Galilei and René Descartes. We will pay special attention to their distinct contributions to scientific method before examining Descartes’ attempt in his Meditations to ground the new science in a new metaphysics and epistemology. Next we will consider various responses to Descartes’ philosophy, including the criticisms of Princess Elizabeth, the controversial results of Benedict de Spinoza’s application of the geometrical method to all of philosophy in the Ethics, and the more empirically oriented philosophies of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Once we have familiarized ourselves with the foundations of these philosophical systems, we will examine their implications for conceptions of human nature and the good life.
PHIL 3321: Logic III (Class #26700)
Prof. Garson
TuTh 11:30AM - 1:00PM, Room: S115
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3335: Theory of Knowledge (Class #26698)
Prof. Oliveira
TuTh 8:30AM - 10:00AM, Room: AH 302
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3344: Philosophy of Science (Class #26699)
Prof. Weisberg
TuTh 10:00AM - 11:30AM, Room: TBD
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3354: Medical Ethics (Class #20912)
Theresa Hickey
TuTh 8:30AM - 10:00AM, Room: S 202
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3358: Classics in Hist of Ethics (Class #18520)
Prof. Morrison
MoWeFr 9:00AM - 10:00AM, Room: L 212L
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3383: History of Ancient Philosophy (Class #26707)
Prof. Yau
MoWe 2:30PM - 4:00PM, Room: AH 202
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No further information is available at this time.
Fall 2020 Undergraduate Courses
PHIL 3333: Metaphysics (Class #19633)
Prof Loewenstein
TBD, Room: TBD
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3358: Classics in Hist of Ethics (Class #21251)
Prof. Phillips
TBD, Room: TBD
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3361: Aesthetics (Class #21213)
Prof. Mag Uidhir
TBD, Room: TBD
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Outline: Students should acquire from this course a solid understanding of the principal issues in contemporary philosophy of art. We will begin by focusing on the search for the definition of art, that is, a unifying notion of art under which works across disparate art forms may be productively classified, covering both on particular theories of art and the broader question of whether there could be even in principle such a definition. We will then turn to issues of Art Ontology: what is the nature of artworks, are they concrete or abstract things, do they have multiple or single instances, are they types with tokens, when do they come into and go out of existence, etc. We will then turn to issues of Artistic Value and whether or not there is such a thing outside of Aesthetic Value. We will also address issues in Fiction and the Imagination, specifically those of Imaginative Resistance—when audiences refuse or otherwise fail to imagine particular propositions they have been invited to take up by the fiction. We will finish the semester by paying attention to issues in Art & Ethics and the intersection between.
PHIL 3377: Philosophy of Religion (Class #21221)
Oliveira
TBD, Room: TBD
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This class is focused exclusively on the problem of evil: the challenge to the rationality of religious belief that is created by the magnitude of evil in our world. We begin by discussing three different versions of this problem: the Logical, the Evidential, and the Humean versions. We then discuss perspectives on this problem from Ancient Near Eastern cultures, Judaism, Islam, and the Bible. In light of these background discussions, we will then carefully read Marilyn McCord Adams’ book-length treatment of this issue: “Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God”. This class will be taught asynchronously online: course materials will be posted online and you will have a weekly deadline to complete assignments. You will not need to be online at any specific time; there will be no live component to the course. Coursework consists in (a) weekly reading reactions, (b) weekly discussion forum participation, (c) 2 short papers, and (d) 1 final paper.
PHIL 3388: History of 20th Century Phil (Class #21218)
Prof. Garson
TBD, Room: TBD
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PHIL 3395: Philosophy of Emotions (Class #21215)
Prof. Coates
TBD, Room: TBD
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3395: Nihilism (Class #21718)
Prof. Zaretsky
TBD, Room: TBD
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No further information is available at this time.
Spring 2020 Undergraduate Courses
PHIL 3305: History of 18Th Century Phil (Class #24046)
Prof Morrison
MoWeFr 9:00AM - 10:00AM, Room: L 212L
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In this class, we will read works from Hume, Rousseau, and Kant in an attempt to come to a deeper understanding of the 18th century intellectual landscape. The focus of my approach will be on the social, ethical, and political thought of these three leading figures in the century of Enlightenment. This is not a broad survey course but rather a deep dive into the thinking of three very different figures as they contemplate questions concerning the origins and place of art, science, and religion in Western life.
PHIL 3334: Philosophy of Mind (Class #24070)
Prof. Garson
TuTh 11:30AM - 1:00PM, Room: AH 2
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This course covers some of the deepest and most puzzling problems philosophy. What is consciousness and how is it possible that the brain (mere meat), is capable of bringing it into the world? Does conscious experience challenge a materialistic account of what there is? How do we know (if it is true) that anybody else has consciousness? Is Free Will possible, or even desirable? What is a Mind anyway? The course presumes that we can learn a great deal in philosophy by looking elsewhere. So material from neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and even science fiction and fantasy will provide important background for our discussion. The course will include weekly readings from a variety of sources, short reaction papers on the readings, two quizzes and a final..
PHIL 3354: Medical Ethics (Class #20762)
Prof. Coates
TuTh 11:30AM - 1:00PM, Room: M 118
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PHIL 3354: Medical Ethics (Class #30227)
Hickey
TuTh 8:30AM - 10:00AM Room: AH 302
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3358: Classics in the History of Ethics (Class #21997)
Prof. Phillips
MoWe 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: AH 2
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In this course we will read and discuss the most important ethical works of four central figures in the modern history of ethics: John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), Henry Sidgwick (1838-1900), G.E. Moore (1873-1958) and W.D. Ross (1877-1971). There will be two pieces of written work for the course: a take home midterm and a take home final, both consisting of two questions each requiring about 4-5 pages of writin..
PHIL 3383: History of Ancient Philosophy (Class #20784)
Prof. Hattab
TuTh 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: AH 2
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In this course we will study the origins of Western Philosophy, beginning with the earliest surviving fragments of Ancient Greek philosophical texts by the Presocratic philosophers, dating back to the early sixth century BC. The Presocratics were mostly concerned with explaining the origins and nature of the universe, and its parts. Through our study of their theories you will become familiar with the branches of philosophy known as Metaphysics and Epistemology. Metaphysical questions concern the nature of reality, which can include the nature of divine beings and the soul as well as physical beings. Epistemological questions concern the possibility, nature and extent of our knowledge of these beings. In the second part of the course we will not only encounter a different kind of philosophical answer to these questions, but we will also encounter a different kind of philosophical question. Socrates (469-399BC), and his student Plato (c.427-347BC), were not just interested in figuring out where things came from and what their ultimate natures were. It is fair to say that they were more interested in figuring out what human beings should do in order to successfully live. This involved posing and attempting to answer questions such as: “What kind of life is a good life?” “What is the good?” “What is justice?” and “What kind of a state best promotes the good and just life?” The first three questions fall under the branch of philosophy called Ethics, and the last two come under Political Philosophy. In the third part of the course we will study the philosophy of Plato’s student, Aristotle (384-322BC). Aristotle, who was arguably the most influential philosopher in the history of Western thought, addressed all these questions in a systematic manner and developed new areas of philosophical study such as Logic, History of Philosophy and Philosophy of Science. Finally, we will conclude the course with one post-Aristotelian school of Philosophy. Through Epictetus’ Handbook we will learn about the Stoic approach to the good life..
PHIL 3395: Philosophy of Biology (Class #24050)
Prof. Weisberg
TuTh 10:00AM - 11:30AM, Room: GAR 116
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PHIL 3395: Philosophy of Film (Class #24051)
Prof. Mag Uidhir
We 4:00PM - 7:00PM, Room: AH 512
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Students should acquire from this course a solid understanding of the principal issues in contemporary analytic philosophy of film as well as how these issues intersect with a variety of disciplines outside of philosophy (e.g., film studies, art history, psychology and cognitive science). The course will be divided into three parts, each part will contain four week-long topic sections, and each topic section will contain an assigned reading and a film to be screened in class. Part One covers the following topics: Film as Art, Cinematography, Film & Sound, and The Screenplay. Part Two will cover Documentary, Animation, Film Narration, and Film & Imagination. Part Three will cover Film & Gender, Film & Race, LGBTQ Cinema, and Film as Philosophy. Grading will be based on six short reviews of assigned films to be screened outside of class on UH’s Kanopy. Some of the films we will be watching both in and out of class are L’Atalante (1934), Blow Out (1981), The Conformist (1970), The Naked City (1948), Rashomon (1950), My Winnipeg (2007), Close-Up (1990), Wanda (1970), Le Bonheur (1965), Do the Right Thing (1989), and Funeral Parade of Roses (1969). There is no textbook for this course. All reading materials will be made available electronically via Blackboard.
PHIL 3395: Philosophy of Deep Learning (Class #24052)
Prof. Buckner
Th 2:30PM - 5:30PM, Room: AH 512
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Deep learning neural networks have recently blown through anticipated upper limits on Artificial Intelligence (AI) performance. Though modern deep learning technology is only a few years old, they have already worked themselves into many aspects of our daily lives. They structure and label our search results, organize our shopping lists, recognize our faces, diagnose our diseases, may soon drive our cars, and already defeat us in games as complex as chess, go, and Starcraft II. Many also regard them as the best models of human perceptual judgments. They have also, however, manifested a variety of puzzling foibles, and attracted a number of influential detractors who worry that an overabundance of naïve enthusiasm will lead to another “AI Winter” when hopes for deep learning superintelligence fail to materialize. In this class, we will critically explore the explosion of deep learning, covering a wide spread of topics in this course so that there's something for everyone: different explanations for deep learning's success (esp. for computer vision, game playing, and medical diagnosis), standard criticisms of deep learning (esp. debates between "rationalists" in AI like Pearl and Marcus and "empiricists" like the Deep Mind group), relevant history of philosophy (esp. from Locke, Hume, Berkeley, and Kant), philosophy of science (esp. what kind of explanations deep learning can offer), adversarial examples, the black box/interpretability problem (esp. GDPR law and the XAI movement), the legal philosophy surrounding automated agents driven by deep learning, concerns about problematic bias in deep learning applications, DL as a model of cortical function in cognitive neuroscience, the use of Generative Adversarial Networks in aesthetics and art, and deep learning in scientific data analysis (to interpret fMRI data, discover new exoplanets around distant suns, or predict protein folds to discover new drugs).
PHIL 3395: Critical Theory & Globalization (Class #24092)
Prof. Carrera
Mo 5:30PM - 8:30PM, Room: AH 303
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PHIL 3395: Nihilism (Class #24971)
Prof. Zaretsky
TuTh 10:00AM - 11:30AM, Room: AH 512
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3395: War & Peace (Class #28864)
Dr. Luttrell
MoWeFr 9:00AM - 10:00AM, Room: M 117
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The class is a philosophical introduction to just war theory, the changing nature of war, and movements for peace. Topics covered include nationalism, pacifism, gender and war, humanitarianism, and human rights.
Fall 2019 Undergraduate Courses
PHIL 3304: History of 18Th Century Phil (Class #22478)
Prof Hattab
TuTh 10:00AM - 11:30AM, Room: AH 302
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3333: Metaphysics (Class #25378)
Prof. Loewenstein
TuTh 2:30-4:00, Room: S 102
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This is an advanced survey course in contemporary analytic metaphysics that will focus on four main topics: ontology (and a bit of metaontology), identity, properties and objects.
PHIL 3344: Philosophy of Science (Class #25442)
Prof. Weisberg
TuTh 10:00AM-11:30AM, Room: AH 303
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3354: Medical Ethics (Class #25379)
Prof. Coates
TuTh 11:30PM - 1:00PM Room: AH 108
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3356: Feminist Philosophy (Class #28831)
Dr. Luttrell
MoWeFr 10:00AM - 11:00AM, Room: H 28
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This course is advanced survey of feminist philosophy, in terms of its intellectual and political history, as well as its current debates. The goal of this course is two-fold: first, an acquaintance with the evolution and debates of historical feminist theory, and second, a critical engagement with some of the central and current concerns of the field. We approach our topics from the perspective of intersectionality, and topics covered include: the role of women in the history of philosophy, liberal and radical feminisms, transnational feminisms, feminist epistemologies, and masculinities. Students will also be able to vote on certain topics we will cover and be encouraged to connect their own research and activism interests to issues in feminist philosophy.
PHIL 3358: Classics in the History of Ethics (Class #19928)
Dr. Phillips
MoWe 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: AH 201
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In this course we will read and discuss the most important ethical works of four central figures in the modern history of ethics: John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), Henry Sidgwick (1838-1900), G.E. Moore (1873-1958) and W.D. Ross (1877-1971). There will be two pieces of written work for the course: a take home midterm and a take home final, both consisting of two questions each requiring about 4-5 pages of writing.
PHIL 3382: Medieval Philosophy (Class #25444)
Prof. Hattab
TuTh 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: SW 219
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PHIL 3386: History of 19th Century Philosophy (Class #25445)
Prof. Morrison
MoWeFr 9:00AM - 10:00AM, Room: L 212L
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In this class we will read three 19th century thinkers – Marx, Mill, and Nietzsche—with an eye to understanding the various approaches these philosophers took to the phenomenon of nihilism. Nihilism is a distinctly 19th century idea and the political, moral, and aesthetic approaches our three thinkers took up in response to this idea (or, more specifically, to the realities that informed it) represent three perspectives that are still with us today.
PHIL 3395: Philosophy of Cognitive Science (Class #25441)
Prof. Buckner
TuTh 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: AH 302
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Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of the mind, involving the cooperation of psychology, computer science, philosophy, neuroscience, anthropology, and more. In this course, we will review major philosophical and methodological questions that arise in cognitive science, especially regarding how findings from so many different sciences with different methods could fit together in a coherent way. We will discuss how cognitive science began as a response to behaviorism, and cover major questions that it has to confront, including: what counts as a good cognitive explanation, could computers or robots have minds, can our minds extend beyond our brains, are psychological and neural descriptions at odds with one another, and does cognitive science need to appeal to representations? We will review the answers to these questions provided by the major paradigms in the history of cognitive science, including classical computationalism, connectionism, dynamicism, and predictive coding approach.
No philosophical background is required, but an introductory course in Logic, Psychology, Neuroscience, Biology, or Computer Science is highly recommended.
PHIL 3395: Existentialism (Class #28162)
Prof. Zaretsky
TuTh 11:30AM - 1:00PM, Room: AH 512
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No further information is available at this time.
Spring 2019 Undergraduate Courses
PHIL 3332: Philosophy of Language (Class #15233)
Prof. Buckner
TuTh 10:00AM - 11:30AM, Room: AH 304
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This course is an introduction to the philosophy of language. This is a large area that encompasses many topics, including meaning, truth, the relationship between logic and language, and the distinctions between syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. In the first half of the course, we will review some classics in this area by Frege, Russell, Tarski, Quine, Wittgenstein, Austin, Grice, Kripke, Putnam, Davidson, and Evans. We will consider how these issues intersect in some of the central "problems" of philosophy of language, such as vagueness and language learning. In the final section of the course, we will explore more recent interdisciplinary work on the way that language evolved from the protolinguistic communication systems of non-human animals, including views such as that of Dorit Bar-On and Tecumseh Fitch.
PHIL 3335: Theory of Knowledge (Class #12338)
Prof. Oliveira
TuTh 2:30PM - 4:00PM, Room: AH 201
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Epistemology is the philosophical study of human knowledge. Philosophers working in this area (epistemologists) ask questions such as: What does it take to know something? Do we actually know anything? What is it, exactly, that marks the difference between mere belief and real knowledge? The first part of this course clarifies the traditional approach to these questions and discusses some of its classic difficulties. The second part of this course examines one of the leading approaches to handling these difficulties—what we will call the Internalist Research Program. We here discuss contemporary versions of foundationalism and coherentism, as well as the challenges they each face. The third part of this course examines the other leading approach—what we will call the Externalism Research Program. We here discuss process reliabilism and anti-luck epistemology, as well as the challenges they each face. There will be three short assignments for this class and three take-home exams.
PHIL 3342: Philosophy of Math (Class #15236)
Prof. Garson
TuTh 1:00PM - 2:30PM Room: AH 201
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Throughout history, philosophers have been impressed by the thought that mathematics embodies the highest possible standards for knowledge. Even our best science might get things entirely wrong, but we will never have to worry that 2+2 isn't 4. However, events such as the invention of non-Euclidean geometry, the discovery of paradoxes related to infinity, and Godel's demonstration that arithmetic is incomplete have raised deep worries about the foundations of mathematics. This course will present these and other challenges to confidence in mathematics, and then discuss a number of philosophical theories about how our confidence can be restored. A main concern will be to understand what accounts for the truth of the claims of mathematics.
Although the course will cover some technical topics related to logic and infinity, it will assume no special knowledge of mathematics beyond simple algebra. There will be two quizzes and a final, and occasional homework exercises. We will use Stuart Shapiro's Thinking About Mathematics as our course textbook.
PHIL 3357: Punishment (Class #15243)
Prof. Sommers
MoWe 4:00PM - 5:30PM, Room: AH 304
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What right do we have to punish wrongdoers? Should we punish only when it benefits society (through prevention and deterrence), or should we focus on giving criminals their “just-deserts”? To what extent should we take the offender’s background and/or the genetic predispositions into account? How do theories of punishment fit within the larger social context of a society? What is connection between revenge and criminal punishment? What is the role of victims - should they be included in the sentencing processes? This course addresses these questions and others related to criminal punishment. We'll examine a range of philosophical theories of punishment, paying close attention to what these theories presume about human agency and responsibility.
PHIL 3358: Classics in the History of Ethics (Class #15238)
Dr. Morrison
MoWeFr 9:00AM - 10:00AM, Room: L 212L
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In this course we will read three of the great philosophers: Aristotle, Hume, and Kant. My basic question will be about the extent to which each thinker provides us with a fundamental and meaningful ethical orientation in our lives. We will think about the philosophical and social environment in which each wrote and read their arguments against this context. How does each thinker go beyond their historical situation in providing us with some way to orient our lives ethically?
PHIL 3371: Depiction, Narration, and Critical Theory (Class #15235)
Prof. Mag Uidhir
TuTh 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: C 109
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This course will be topically split into seven sections. The issues to be covered within each section are as follows.
- The nature and definition of literature with specific attention paid to the notion genre.
- The notion of the literary work, its relation to the text, and how both relate to literary practice itself.
- The concept of both fiction and non-fiction as well as the nature of fictional characters and fictional worlds.
- The nature of literary interpretation and the implications thereof (e.g., critical monism, pluralism, intentionalism, anti-intentionalism, style).
- The nature of literary emotion both how readers respond emotionally to literature and how such emotions themselves are characterized or even possible.
- The role of metaphor in literature and how we engage with it imaginatively.
- Whether we can come to know substantive moral or psychological truths about the world through literature.
PHIL 3382: History of Ancient Philosophy (Class #12372)
Prof. Freeland
TuTh 2:30PM - 4:00PM, Room: AH 304
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This course is an advanced survey of ancient Greek philosophy from the presocratic period through to the Hellenistic period, focusing on the development of Greek views of the cosmos, the soul, and the virtuous life. Requirements: two ten-page papers and weekly short informal papers.
Required Text: Ancient Greek Philosophy, from Thales to Aristotle (Fourth Edition, Edited by S. Marc Cohen, Patricia Curd, and C.D.C. Reeve (Hackett 2011); ISBN# ISBN-10: 1603844627 or ISBN-13: 978-1603844628). Earlier editions are useable but the pagination will be different.
PHIL 3387: History of American Philosophy (Class #15229)
Prof. Freeland
TuTh 11:30AM - 1:00PM, Room: C 109
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This class will examine the distinctly American philosophical movement known as Pragmatism, focusing on Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and John Dewey. The primary topics will be pragmatism’s distinctive theory of truth and its moral and social theory. We will also consider key predecessors to this movement (Emerson and Thoreau) as well as philosophers influenced by it (Goodman, Putnam, and Rorty), in addition to related theorists of race and gender (Alain Locke, Jane Addams, Cornel West). Assigned work will include a combination of take-home essays and short reaction papers.
Required Text: Susan Haack, ed., Pragmatism, Old & New (Prometheus Books, 2006). ISBN 978-1591023593
Recommended Text: Russell B. Goodman, ed., Pragmatism: A Contemporary Reader (Routledge, 1995). ISBN 415909104 .
PHIL 3395: Selected topics in Philosophy (Class #18440)
Prof. Zaretsky
TuTh 11:30AM - 1:00PM, Room: TBA
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The American writer Flannery O'Connor described nihilism as "the gas we breathe." This course will try to analyze this gas, and consider possible responses, by exploring a range of literary and philosophical works. Among the writers we will read are Ivan Turgenev, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Friedrich Nietzsche, Joseph Conrad, Franz Kafka, Albert Camus, Flannery O'Connor, and Todd May.
Fall 2018 Undergraduate Courses
PHIL 3305: Hist of 18th Century Phil (Class #21174)
Prof Morrison
MoWeFr 9:00AM - 10:00AM, Room: L 212L
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In this class, we will read works from Hume, Rousseau, and Voltaire in an attempt to come to a
deeper understanding of the 18 th century intellectual landscape. The focus of my approach will
be on the social, ethical, and political thought of these three leading figures in the century of
Enlightenment. This is not a broad survey course but rather a deep dive into the thinking of
three very different figures as they contemplate questions of social inequality, moral virtue, and
religious tolerance (amongst other things).
PHIL 3332: Philosophy of Language (Class #22942)
Dr. Babb
MoWe 4:00PM - 5:30PM, Room: AH303
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This course will examine core issues in the philosophy of language. When discussing language, we often talk about and distinguish between the meanings of our words (semantics) and how words are used in conversations (pragmatics). What are "meanings"? What determines the meaning of a particular word? Do all words have predetermined meaning? Must a word have the meaning that we say it has? How do we distinguish what a word means from the various ways that we use it? And what is the relation between all of this and the thoughts in our heads when we use language? The course will explore answers to these and other questions. In particular, the course will examine the works of Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Donald Davidson, Noam Chomsky, Delia Graff Fara, and others.
PHIL 3350: Ethics (Class #22876)
Prof. Coates
TuTh 11:30AM - 1:00PM, Room: AH 12
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3354: Medical Ethics (Class #20974)
TBA
TuTh 4:00PM - 5:30PM Room: TBA
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3377: Classics in the History of Ethics (Class #18240)
Prof. Phillips
MoWe 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: AH 203
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3377: Philosophy of Religion (Class #22877)
Prof. Oliveira
MoWe 2:30PM - 4:00PM, Room: M106
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This class will examine eight arguments for and against belief in God. We will discuss the case for God by considering (a) the ontological argument, (b) the cosmological argument, (c) the fine-tuning argument, and (d) the argument from religious experiences. We will then discuss the case against God by considering (e) the argument against miracle reports, (f) the logical problem of evil, (g) the evidential problem of evil, and (h) the argument from divine hiddenness. After reading authors defending and attacking each of these arguments, we will conclude this class by examining the overall connection between faith, evidence, and rationality: what is faith? Does religious disagreement make it irrational? Can faith be rational in the absence of good evidence? Coursework consists in short assignments, two non-cumulative exams, and a final paper.
PHIL 3388: History of 20th Century Philosophy (Class #22878)
Prof. Garson
TuTh 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: AH 9
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The course will introduce the student to the most prominent philosophers of the Twentieth Century. It will include study of the following figures: Russell, Wittgenstein, Ayer, Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Quine and Rorty. The course will be centered around two themes that appear and reappear in this work. One is the search for the foundations of knowledge, and another the search for values. Philosophy in the twentieth century is thought be divided into two very different camps: the Analytic and the Continental schools. However one purpose of the class will be to show parallels rather than differences in thinking between the two traditions. There will be weekly reading assignments drawn from the text, Twentieth-Century Philosophy by F. Baird and W. Kaufmann (Eds.) and other sources. There will be a midterm and a final and 3 short papers (about 300 words each).
PHIL 3395: Philosophy of Film (Class #22867)
Prof. Mag Uidhir
Th 11:30AM - 2:30PM, Room: AH 512
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3395: Existentialism (Class #22945)
Prof. Zaretsky
TuTh 11:30AM - 1:00PM, Room: TBA
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Existentialism as a school of philosophical thought is closely identified with a particular time and place—post-World War Two France—as well as with particular genres: the novel, play and essay as much as the treatise. In this course, we will read representative works by Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Simone Weil, as well as by Samuel Beckett in an effort to learn what we can learn from this epochal, but elusive movement.
Spring 2018 Undergraduate Courses
PHIL 3334: Philosophy of Mind (Class #24363)
Prof Garson
TuTh 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: AH 302
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This course covers some of the deepest and most puzzling problems philosophy. What is consciousness and how is it possible that the brain (mere meat), is capable of bringing it into the world? Does conscious experience challenge a materialistic account of what there is? How do we know (if it is true) that anybody else has consciousness? Is Free Will possible, or even desirable? What is a Mind anyway?
The course presumes that we can learn a great deal in philosophy by looking elsewhere. So material from neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and even science fiction and fantasy will provide important background for our discussion.
The course will include weekly readings from a variety of sources, short reaction papers on the readings, two quizzes and a final. Students interested in working on a larger project with a paper may petition to have that work replace one or more of the exams.
PHIL 3335: Theory of Knowledge (Class #24365)
Prof. Oliveira
MoWe 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: AH 201
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Epistemology is the philosophical study of knowledge. Philosophers working in this area (epistemologists) ask questions such as: Do we really know anything? Do we know anything, in particular, about the world outside our minds? If so, how do we know it? What is it, exactly, that turns a mere belief into real knowledge? The traditional approach to these questions—called Internalism—attempts to answer them by appealing only to features that are internal to the perspective of the believer. The first part of this course is an introduction to a variety of these attempts. An alternative approach—called Externalism—attempts to answer these questions by appealing to features that are external to the perspective of the believer. The second part of this course is an introduction to a variety of these alternative attempts. Throughout the course, however, the possibility of having to accept negative answers to these questions will hover constantly over our heads. That is the threat ofSkepticism.
PHIL 3344: Philosophy of Science (Class #19978)
Prof. Weisberg
TuTh 8:30AM - 10:00AM, Room: AH 201
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3351: Contemporary Moral Issues (Class #24366)
Prof. Phillips
MoWe 2:30PM - 4:00PM Room: SEC 205
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Morality and Non-Human Animals; Abortion; Euthanasia; Famine and Moral Obligations; Affirmative Action; War and Terrorism. Reading normally one philosophical article (or equivalent) per class. Written work will consist of a take-home midterm and a take-home final, each consisting of 2 papers, each paper being about 5 pages in length (typed, double-spaced).
PHIL 3354: Medical Ethics (Class #24271)
Dr. Phillips-Garrett
MoWe 4:00PM - 5:30PM, Room: L 212L
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Medical ethics are fundamental to good patient care and to the promotion of public health and healthy policy. Knowledge of the philosophical underpinnings of ethics is important for anyone considering a career in healthcare since it provides a basis for understanding the ethical choices that healthcare and medical professionals face. In this course, we will investigate the philosophical and ethical implications of medicine and its practice. We will begin with a brief survey of the major normative ethical theories and move on to issues such as informed consent, euthanasia, surrogacy, and health care distribution.
PHIL 3361: Aesthetics (Class #19979)
Prof. Freeland
TuTh 2:30PM - 4:00PM, Room: AH 201
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This course will be an advanced and in-depth study of two topics of special interest in aesthetics: environmental aesthetics and philosophy of film. We will devote half of the semester to each topic, using a recent anthology for each (Nature, Aesthetics, and Environmentalism: From Beauty to Duty, ed. Allen Carlson and Sheila Lintott (2008), and The Routledge Companion to Philosophy and Film, ed. Paisley Livingston (2009). Readings will include some historical materials as well as recent articles from philosophy journals. Students will be expected to participate in class discussions, write 10 informal reaction papers, and complete mid-term and final take-home essays.
PHIL 3383: History of Ancient Philosophy (Class #24406)
Prof. Freeland
TuTh 11:30AM - 1:00PM, Room: AH 201
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This course is an advanced survey of ancient Greek philosophy from the presocratic period through to the Hellenistic period, focusing on the development of Greek views of the cosmos and metaphysical reality, the definition of knowledge, accounts of the soul, and views of the virtuous life. There will be four units in the course, covering the presocratics, Plato, Aristotle, and Hellenistic thought. Units II and III are long units, while I and IV are short. Requirements are four unit papers (length varies according to unit length), and ten short assignments. There are no in-class exams. Graduate students and Honors Credit students will be asked to write one continuous paper on a topic connecting Plato and Aristotle, i.e., a longer paper submitted at the end of Unit III, rather than two separate papers on Units II and III. This paper will offer the chance to discuss Aristotle’s critical response to some key issue in Plato, concerning for example his theory of knowledge, metaphysics, the soul, or ethics.
PHIL 3386: History of 19th Century Philosophy (Class #24405)
Prof. Morrison
MoWeFr 9:00AM - 10:00AM, Room: L 212L
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3395: Philosophy of Cognitive Science (Class #24408)
Prof. Buckner
TuTh 10:00AM - 11:30AM, Room: AH 304
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- Can robots have minds? Could my mind be downloaded to a computer?
- Is my behavior caused by my beliefs and desires, or is it all just neural activity in my brain?
- Do animals have thoughts? What kinds of experiments could we perform to find out?
- Must cognitive science appeal to representations? How can we accurately map or represent the world around us?
- How did intelligence evolve? What distinguishes rational life forms from non-rational ones?
- What counts as a good explanation in cognitive science? Is the mind governed by general laws (like physical particles), chemical mechanisms (like biological life forms), or is intelligence something that inexplicably emerges out of the chaotic firing of billions of neurons?
Cognitive science attempts to answer these questions through the cooperation of psychology, computer science, philosophy, linguistics, neuroscience, biology, and anthropology. In this course, we will review the philosophical and methodological foundations of cognitive science, especially regarding how findings from so many different sciences with different methods could fit together in a coherent way. We will discuss how cognitive science began as a response to behaviorism in psychology, and cover its attempts to answer these daunting questions with scientific rigor. In particular, we will see what the major paradigms in the history of cognitive science would say about these issues, including classical computationalism, connectionism, dynamicism, and the predictive coding approach. No philosophical background is required, but an introductory course in Logic, Psychology, or Computer Science is highly recommended.
Required Reading: Andy Clark, Mindware - An Introduction to the Philosophy of Cognitive Science, 2nd edition
PHIL 3395: War and Peace (Class #26293)
Dr. Luttrell
MoWeFr 10:00AM - 11:00AM, Room: C 113
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The class is a philosophical introduction to just war theory, the changing nature of war, and movements for peace. Topics covered include: nationalism, pacifism, gender and war, humanitarianism, and human rights.
Fall 2017 Undergraduate Courses
PHIL 3305: History of 18th Century Philosophy (Class #22941)
Prof Morrisson
MoWeFr 9:00AM - 10:00AM, Room: L 212L
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In this class I will ask the broad philosophical question: Who is Enlightenment man? More specifically, how do we understand the 18th century vision of humans in their social, political, ethical, and epistemological relations with the world? We will read essays from Hume, Rousseau, and Kant in an effort to answer this question. Three different visions emerge which have relevance to how we understand ourselves now 250 years later.
PHIL 3321: Logic III (Class #22937)
Prof. Garson
TuTh 11:30AM - 1:00PM, Room: AH 302
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Modal logics are systems designed to handle concepts of necessity and possibility. They are close cousins to logics of obligation, belief, knowledge and time, which are often included in the modal logic family. The course will develop a variety of these logics, illustrating their applications and some of the related philosophical issues. A main concern will be the development of possible worlds semantics and the demonstration of soundness and completeness for the logics studied. There will be weekly exercises, completion of which is crucial for success in the course. There will be a midterm, two short unannounced “pop” quizzes, one before and one after the midterm, and a final.
PHIL 3333: Metaphysics (Class #26727)
Staff
TuTh 10:00AM - 11:30AM, Room: AH 202
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3349: Philosophy of Social Sciences (Class #22940)
Prof. Weisberg
MoWe 1:00PM - 2:30PM Room: AH 9
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3354: Medical Ethics (Class #22620)
Staff
MoWe 2:30PM - 4:00PM, Room: TBA
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3355: Political Philosophy (Class #22945)
Prof. Sommers
MoWe 4:00PM - 5:30PM, Room: H 32
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This course examines a wide range of political thought since Plato, with a special focus on questions concerning the “open society.” Open societies and liberal democracies are celebrated for its protection of the dignity and liberty of the individual. But can societies have an excess of freedom, as Plato argued in The Republic? Can some degree of social control be justified if it leads to greater harmony and happiness among the populace? Are citizens in democracies sufficiently well-informed and well-educated to govern their lives and their country? Does the individualist ethic promoted in a free market democracy lead to stark inequalities, alienation, or demoralization? Is there a single best form of government for all human beings, or are some political systems suitable for some cultures but not others? This course will explore these questions and others from a variety of historical, cultural, and literary perspectives.
Readings include Huxley’s Brave New World, Plato’s Republic, Marx’s “Communist Manifesto,” Popper’s The Open Society and Its Enemies, Berlin’s “Two Concepts of Liberty,” and Fukuyama’s “The End of History.”.
PHIL 3358: Classics in the History of Ethics (Class #18934)
Prof. Phillips
TuTh 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: AH 2
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No further information is available at this time.
Spring 2017 Courses
Upper-Level Undergraduate Courses
PHIL 3305: History of 18th Century Philosophy (Class #15359)
Prof. Hattab
TuTh 10:00AM - 11:30AM, Room: AH 302
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Enlightenment philosophers developed complex philosophical systems to address the tensions that the scientific revolution had produced between: 1) the world as we experience it through the senses 2) the world as described by science, and 3) traditional metaphysical notions of substance, cause, the self and freedom of the will. Much of this course will therefore be devoted to getting clear on the different ways in which these tensions get resolved in George Berkeley’s idealism, David Hume’s radical empiricism, Immanuel Kant’s transcendental idealism, and Thomas Reid’s common sense philosophy. Our primary goal is to understand the theoretical foundations of enlightenment thought through careful study of Berkeley’s Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, Hume’s Treatise of Human Nature and Enquiry Concerning the Human Understanding, Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason and Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics, and Thomas Reid’s Inquiry and Essays. A second and related goal of this course is to improve your reading, reasoning and writing skills. To that end, we will pay careful attention to the forms of reasoning employed in the assigned texts, and you will complete a series of writing assignments teaching you how to interpret historical texts, break down an argument, evaluate it and formulate objections to it.
PHIL 3344: Philosophy of Science (Class #22456)
Prof. Weisberg
MoWe 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: C 108
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3358: Classics in the History of Ethics (Class #22446)
Prof. Morrisson
MoWeFr 9:00AM - 10:00AM, Room: L 212L
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3361: Aesthetics (Class #22457)
Prof. Freeland
TuTh 11:30AM - 1:00PM Room: AH 201
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3376: Philosophy and the Scientific Revolution (Class #22445)
Prof. Brown
TuTh 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: AH 7
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In this course we will examine the interaction between philosophy, science, and religion during the 17th and early 18th centuries, the century of the Scientific Revolution. In particular, we will discuss the debates that arose concerning the nature of explanation, scientific methodology, the status of natural laws and their relation to miracles, and the status of so-called "occult qualities." All of these issues were joined in the protracted conflict that arose between Continental philosophers and scientists, most prominently Leibniz (1646-1716), and the English Newtonians (Newton: 1643-1727) over the status of gravitational force. This conflict involved a central methodological, debate, pitting the Newtonian "experimental philosophy" against the "mechanical philosophy" favored on the Continent. This conflict, in its many and varied forms, will be discussed in detail, as will the equally vexed debate about the "force of a body's motion" — the so-called vis viva controversy.
PHIL 3395: Philosophy of Film (Class #22444)
Prof. Mag Uidhir
We 5:30PM - 8:30PM, Room: AH 302
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3395: Open and Closed Societies (Class #22443)
Prof. Sommers
MoWe 4:00PM - 5:30PM, Room: L 212L
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Open societies and liberal democracies are celebrated for its protection of the dignity and liberty of the individual. But can societies have an excess of freedom, as Plato argued in The Republic? Can some degree of social control be justified if it leads to greater harmony and happiness among the populace? Are citizens in democracies sufficiently well-informed and well-educated to govern their lives and their country? Does the individualist ethic promoted in a free market democracy lead to stark inequalities, alienation, or demoralization? Is there a single best form of government for all human beings, or are some political systems suitable for some cultures but not others? This course will explore these questions and others from a variety of historical, cultural, and literary perspectives.
PHIL 3395: War& Peace (Class #24659)
Dr. Luttrell
MoWeFr 10:00AM - 11:00AM, Room: AH 201
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The class is a philosophical introduction to just war theory, the changing nature of war, and movements for peace. Topics covered include: nationalism, pacifism, gender and war, humanitarianism, and human rights.
Fall 2016 Courses
PHIL 3305: History of 18th Century Philosophy (Class #15359)
Prof. Brown
TuTh 11:30AM - 1:00PM, Room: SW 219
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An examination of the central metaphysical and epistemological issues in 17th-century philosophy. The works of some of the major philosophical figures of the century will be systematically discussed. These figures include Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, and Leibniz.
There will be two essay examinations: a midterm and a final. Students will also be required to submit a 12-15 page term paper (20-25 pages for graduate students) on a topic determined in consultation with the instructor.
PHIL 3332: Philosophy of Language (Class #23961)
Prof. Buckner
TuTh 10:00AM - 11:30AM, Room: AH 302
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This course is an introduction to the philosophy of language. This is a large area that encompasses many topics, including meaning, truth, the relationship between logic and language, and the distinctions between syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. In the first half of the course, we will review some classics in this area by Frege, Russell, Tarski, Quine, Wittgenstein, Austin, Grice, Kripke, Putnam, Davidson, and Evans. We will consider how these issues intersect in some of the central "problems" of philosophy of language, such as vagueness and language learning. In the final section of the course, we will explore more recent interdisciplinary work on the way that language evolved from the protolinguistic communication systems of non-human animals, including views such as that of Dorit Bar-On, Joëlle Proust, and Tecumseh Fitch.
PHIL 3354: Medical Ethics (Class #23966)
Jacob Mills
TuTh 4:00PM - 5:30PM Room: CV N106
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3358: Classics in the History of Ethics (Class #20817)
Prof. Phillips
MoWe 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: AH 7
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In this course we will read and discuss the most important ethical works of four central figures in the modern history of ethics: John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), Henry Sidgwick (1838-1900), G.E. Moore (1873-1958) and W.D. Ross (1877-1971). There will be three pieces of written work for the course: a take home midterm and a take home final, both consisting of two questions each requiring about 4-5 pages of writing, and a 7-8 page paper.
PHIL 3383: Ancient Philosophy (Class #19943)
Prof. Hattab
TuTh 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: MH 129
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In this course we will study the origins of Western Philosophy, beginning with the earliest surviving fragments of Ancient Greek philosophical texts by the Presocratic philosophers, dating back to the early sixth century BC. The Presocratics were mostly concerned with explaining the origins and nature of the universe, and its parts. Through our study of their theories you will become familiar with the branches of philosophy known as Metaphysics and Epistemology. Metaphysical questions concern the nature of reality, which can include the nature of divine beings and the soul as well as physical beings. Epistemological questions concern the possibility, nature and extent of our knowledge of these beings. In the second part of the course we will not only encounter a different kind of philosophical answer to these questions, but we will also encounter a different kind of philosophical question. Socrates (469-399BC), and his student Plato (c.427-347BC), were not just interested in figuring out where things came from and what their ultimate natures were. It is fair to say that they were more interested in figuring out what human beings should do in order to successfully live. This involved posing and attempting to answer questions such as: “What kind of life is a good life?” “What is the good?” “What is justice?” and “What kind of a state best promotes the good and just life?” The first three questions fall under the branch of philosophy called Ethics, and the last two come under Political Philosophy. In the third part of the course we will study the philosophy of Plato’s student, Aristotle (384-322BC). Aristotle, who was arguably the most influential philosopher in the history of Western thought, addressed all these questions in a systematic manner and developed new areas of philosophical study such as Logic, History of Philosophy and Philosophy of Science. Finally, we will conclude the course with one post-Aristotelian school of Philosophy. Through Epictetus’ Handbook we will learn about the Stoic approach to the good life.
PHIL 3388: History of 20th Century Philosophy (Class #22354)
Prof. Morrison
MoWeFr 9:00AM - 10:00AM, Room: AH 302
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In this class we will explore the 20th century response to the diagnosis of nihilism that Nietzsche levels at Western Civilization at the end of the 19th century. We will read three thinkers – Camus, Adorno and Murdoch – who are very different in their concerns but who can be read in terms of their response to the challenge of nihilism. What are the possible solutions each offers and how do these solutions relate to each other?
PHIL 3395: The Good Life (Class #24463)
Prof. Coates
TuTh 2:30PM - 4:00PM, Room: TBA
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No further information is available at this time.
Spring 2016 Courses
PHIL 3305: History of 18th Century Philosophy (Class #16244)
Prof. Brown
TuTh 2:30PM - 4:00PM, Room: AH 202
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A detailed introduction to the epistemological and metaphysical theories of three major figures in 18th-century philosophy: Hume, Berkeley, and Kant. There will be two exams (midterm and final). Students will also be required to submit a 10-12 page term paper (20-25 pages for graduate students) on a topic selected in consultation with the instructor.
PHIL 3334: Philosophy of Mind (Class #23304)
Prof. Weisberg
MoWe 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: SW 219
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3351: Contemporary Moral Issues (Class #23307)
Prof. Phillips
MoWe 2:30PM - 4:00PM Room: AH 202
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Topics: Morality and Non-Human Animals; Abortion; Euthanasia; Famine and Moral Obligations; Affirmative Action; War and Terrorism. Reading normally one philosophical article (or equivalent) per class. Written work will consist of a take-home midterm and a take-home final, each consisting of 2 papers, each paper being about 5 pages in length (typed, double-spaced).
PHIL 3354: Medical Ethics (Class #26039)
Jacob Mills
TuTh 4:00PM - 5:30PM , Room: C 102
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No further information is available at this time
PHIL 3356: Feminist Philosophy (Class #23436)
Dr. Luttrell
MoWeFr 11:00AM - 12:00PM, Room: AH 202
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This course is advanced survey of feminist philosophy, in terms of its intellectual and political history, as well as its current debates. The goal of this course is two-fold: first, an acquaintance with the evolution and debates of historical feminist theory, and second, a critical engagement with some of the central and current concerns of the field. We approach our topics from the perspective of intersectionality, and topics covered include: the role of women in the history of philosophy; liberal and radical feminisms; accounts of the body and problems of essentialism; women, war and peace; transnational feminisms; masculinities. Students will be encouraged to connect their own research and activism interests to issues in feminist philosophy. Given that this is an advanced-level class in philosophy, the pace will be quick and the reading will be plenty. You are expected to read the material assigned for the day and to actively participate in all of the discussions, and, in the end, produce a well-formed research paper.
PHIL 3357: Punishment (Class #23306)
Prof. Sommers
MoWe 4:00PM - 5:30PM, Room: AH 202
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3382: Medieval philosophy (Class #23434)
Prof. Hattab
TuTh 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: AH 512
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This course delves into the writings of influential Christian, Jewish and Islamic medieval philosophers on philosophical issues like the problem of evil, God’s existence, free will and moral responsibility, the nature and source of virtue, the basis of knowledge and the foundations of political authority. We will begin with St Augustine’s Confessions, and then read select works by St Anselm, St Thomas Aquinas, Ibn Tufayl, Al Ghazali, Averroes (Ibn Rushd), Moses Maimonides, John Duns Scotus and William of Ockham. Assignments include three philosophical essays, at least one group presentation and a debate.
PHIL 3386: History of 19th Century Philosophy (Class #20689)
Prof. Morrison
MoWeFr 9:00AM - 10:00AM, Location: L 212L
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In this class we will look at the religious, political, and moral thought of the 19th century through three very different windows: Kierkegaard's The Present Age, Mill's On Liberty, and Nietzsche's The Gay Science. How are the diverse perspectives presented in these books related? Is each thinker responding in his own way to a shared set of intellectual problems or do they even hold a sense of what the problems are in common?
PHIL 3387: History of American Philosophy (Class #23305)
Prof. Freeland
TuTh 11:30AM-1:00, Room: H 34
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PHIL 3395: Philosophy of Cognitive Science (Class #23301)
Prof. Buckner
TuTh 10:00AM - 11:30AM, Room: Room TBA
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- Can robots have minds? Could my mind be downloaded to a computer?
- Is my behavior caused by my beliefs and desires, or is it all just neural activity in my brain?
- Do animals have thoughts? What kinds of experiments could we perform to find out?
- Must cognitive science appeal to representations? How can we accurately map or represent the world around us?
- How did intelligence evolve? What distinguishes rational life forms from non-rational ones?
- What counts as a good explanation in cognitive science? Is the mind governed by general laws (like physical particles), chemical mechanisms (like biological life forms), or is intelligence something that inexplicably emerges out of the chaotic firing of billions of neurons?
Cognitive science attempts to answer these questions through the cooperation of psychology, computer science, philosophy, linguistics, neuroscience, biology, and anthropology. In this course, we will review the philosophical and methodological foundations of cognitive science, especially regarding how findings from so many different sciences with different methods could fit together in a coherent way. We will discuss how cognitive science began as a response to behaviorism in psychology, and cover its attempts to answer these daunting questions with scientific rigor. In particular, we will see what the major paradigms in the history of cognitive science would say about these issues, including classical computationalism, connectionism, dynamicism, and the predictive coding approach. No philosophical background is required, but an introductory course in Logic, Psychology, or Computer Science is highly recommended.
Required Reading: Andy Clark, Mindware - An Introduction to the Philosophy of Cognitive Science, 2nd edition
PHIL 3395: Philosophy of Film (Class #23302)
Prof. Mag Uidhir
We 1:00PM - 4:00PM, Room: Room TBA
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Fall 2015 Courses
PHIL 3304: History of 17th Century Phil (Class #10080)
Prof. Hattab
TuTh 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: AH 202
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No further information is available at this time.
PHIL 3335: Theory of Knowledge (Class #25033)
Prof. Johnsen
MoWe 5:30-7:00PM, Room: AH 201
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(i) “The earth orbits the sun” is a meaningful statement, and so is “The sun orbits the earth,” even though it’s false. But “The Absolute is lazy” is pretty clearly meaningless. Can we draw a clear line between meaningful and meaningless statements? (ii) If you know something, doesn’t that just mean that it’s true, and that you have first-rate reasons for believing it? It turns out (as of 1963) that it doesn’t, because it could just be by accident that your belief is true. So what is knowledge? Should we care? (iii) Could the world be as different from the way you think it is, as it is from the ways some of the people in “The Matrix” think it is? Why not? (iv) The history of science shows that huge numbers of strongly supported, and widely believed, theories have been false. Should we conclude that any new theories are pretty likely to be false? Then what’s the point of trying to come up with new theories? (v) Are
there better and worse ways of coming up with new theories? If so, how do we tell which ones are the better ones?
These are some of the deeply puzzling questions to be considered in this course.
PHIL 3344: Philosophy of Science (Class #25017)
Prof. Weisberg
MoWe 1:00PM - 2:30PM, Room: AH 11
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PHIL 3358: Classics in the History of Ethics (Class #20571)
Prof. Phillips
TuTh 11:30AM-1:00PM Room: AH 302
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In this course we will read much of the most important ethical work of three central figures in the modern history of ethics: Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), and Henry Sidgwick (1838-1900). We will focus on our three philosophers’ approaches to two central issues in moral theory: (i) the nature of morality: just what are moral rules, where do they come from, and why should we follow them?; (ii) the content of morality: just what does morality tell us to do? We will also attend to their views on the status of egoism.
There will be a take home midterm and a take home final, both consisting of two questions each requiring about 4-5 pages of writing, and a 7-8 page paper. The midterm and final will each be worth 35%, the paper 30%.
PHIL 3377: Philosophy of Religion (Class #25030)
Prof. Coates
TuTh 8:30AM-10:00AM, Room: AH 201
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PHIL 3383: History of Ancient Philosophy (Class #19498)
Prof. Freeland
TuTh 10:00AM - 11:30AM, Room: AH 208
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PHIL 3388: History of Twentieth Century Philosophy (Class #25034)
Prof. Morrison
MoWeFr 9:00AM - 10:00AM, Location: L 212L
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In this class we will explore the fate of Humanism in the 20th century thought. I will open with an account of modern Humanism and explain the relevance of asking after its fate in the thought of some of the great 20th century thinkers. We will read Freud’s Future of an Illusion, Sartre’s Existentialism is a Humanism and Foucault’s Discipline and Punish by way deepening our understanding of 20th century thought on Humanism.