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2020-2021 Catalogue [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Courses
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Philosophy |
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PHIL 10000 - Ethics, Justice, and Society Course Credit: 1
ETHICS, JUSTICE AND SOCIETY Philosophy aims to understand and solve fundamental conceptual problems in all areas of human inquiry. Philosophical reasoning deals with such problems in a systematic and rigorous way. The aim of this course is to introduce the practice of doing philosophy. This course will focus upon questions relating to ethics and political philosophy, and will address methods of argumentation and critical reasoning. Annually. [AH, SJ]
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PHIL 19901 - Intro to Phil Through Film Course Credit: 1
INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY THROUGH FILM This introductory level course pairs classical and contemporary readings in philosophy with filmic treatments of fundamental philosophical problems and positions. Philosophical issues covered in this course will include the nature of knowledge, the problem of perception, theories of justice and morality, the existence and nature of god, and questions regarding the nature of art and aesthetic value both in general and as pertaining to film. Longer films will be screened outside of class, shorter film clips will be shown in class. [AH]
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PHIL 21000 - Jurisprudence: Law & Society Course Credit: 1
JURISPRUDENCE: LAW AND SOCIETY This course examines the nature of law, its relation to coercive power and to morality. How should one define law? In what way should precedent determine the decisions of judges? As well as investigating these classical questions of jurisprudence, it will also study contemporary criticism of legal theory, the relationship of the law to justice, and important legal cases. [AH]
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PHIL 21200 - Race, Gender, and Justice Course Credit: 1
(WGSS)
RACE, GENDER AND JUSTICE This course examines various historical and contemporary attempts to theorize race and gender and answer the questions ‘what is race?’ and ‘what is gender?’ Further, we will look at the ways in which “race” and “gender” pose problems for traditional conceptions of justice and inquire into the degree to which these problems warrant substantive revision of our favored theories of justice. Authors discussed include W.E.B. DuBois, Alain Locke, Franz Fanon, Anthony Appiah, Iris Marion Young, and Nancy Fraser. [AH, C, D, SJ]
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PHIL 21500 - Biomedical Ethics Course Credit: 1
(NEUR)
BIOMEDICAL ETHICS This course examines the ethical problems that arise within medicine and health care. Ethical questions relating to the physician-patient relationship, reproductive rights, abortion, AIDS, physician-assisted suicide, patient autonomy, and the allocation of resources are among possible topics to be addressed. [AH, SJ]
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PHIL 21600 - Environmental Ethics Course Credit: 1
(ENVS)
ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS This course is an examination of the ethical obligations that humans have toward the environment. What is the nature and source of our obligations to animals, plants, and the environment as a whole? Can non-human entities have rights? We will evaluate various approaches to these questions including anthropocentrism, ecocentrism, ecofeminism and agrarianism. Alternate Years. [AH, SJ]
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PHIL 22000 - Logic & Philosophy Course Credit: 1
LOGIC AND PHILOSOPHY This course examines the development of formal logic from categorical logic to sentential and predicate logic. In addition, the course evaluates the nature of formal logical systems and the philosophical issues related to them. Such issues include puzzles about sets, conditional statements, induction, contradiction, and the nature of truth and meaning. Annually. [AH]
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PHIL 22100 - Philosophy & the Religious Life Course Credit: 1
(RELS)
PHILOSOPHY AND THE RELIGIOUS LIFE In one part of this course we will look at traditional issues in the philosophy of religion, the nature of religious experience, classical proofs for the existence of God and the problem of evil. In the second part of the course we will focus on issues in religious language, seeing God, the place of ceremony and liturgy in religious life and religious pluralism. [AH, R]
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PHIL 22200 - Scientific Revolutions & Methodology Course Credit: 1
(NEUR)
SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTIONS AND METHODOLOGY The traditional view of scientific method, with its emphasis on observation, prediction, falsification, and hypothesis forming, is often thought to be a model of rationality. Yet there have been several conceptual revolutions in science that seem to challenge this view. The course will critically evaluate the scientific method, including empiricist, post-modern, and feminist critiques. [AH]
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PHIL 22300 - Philosophy, Culture, and Education Course Credit: 1
(EDUC)
PHILOSOPHY, CULTURE, AND EDUCATION The philosophical study of education includes such issues as the formation of knowledge, curriculum rationale, conceptions of human nature, the requirements of citizenship, and the cultivation of intellectual and moral virtues. [AH]
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PHIL 22400 - Art, Love, Beauty Course Credit: 1
(THTD)
ART, LOVE, AND BEAUTY What is the relationship between the artist, the work of art, and the audience? In this course, we will learn to say something meaningful about different forms of art, such as dance, music, architecture, and visual arts. What is it to appreciate them? What do we see, hear, feel? What is art’s relationship to culture, to perception, to judgment? How do classical theories of aesthetics interface with modern and post-modern views? Alternate Years. [AH]
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PHIL 23000 - East/West Comparative Philosophy Course Credit: 1
(EAST, SAST)
EAST/WEST COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY This course is an examination of fundamental issues in philosophy, focusing on the work of philosophers in the Indian, Chinese, and Western traditions. Special attention will also be given to critical reflection on the project of comparative philosophy. [AH, C, GE, W]
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PHIL 23100 - Indian Philosophy & Its Roots Course Credit: 1
(SAST)
INDIAN PHILOSOPHY AND ITS ROOTS This course is an examination of the unique Indian tradition of philosophy, including careful study and analysis of the Vedic and Upanishadic inheritance, “Heterodox” developments, such as the Buddhist and Jaina systems, and the “Orthodox” schools of Hindu philosophy, as well as later developments in Indian thought. Each offering of this course will focus on a distinct philosophical theme. [AH, C, GE, W]
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PHIL 23200 - Chinese Philosophy Course Credit: 1
(CHIN, EAST)
CHINESE PHILOSOPHY An examination of Chinese philosophy, in translation. The course will explore both the foundational texts of Chinese philosophy and the later intellectual traditions that grappled with these texts. The course will include readings from Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, Chan Buddhism, and Neo-Confucianism. [AH, C, GE]
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PHIL 25000 - Ancient Philosophy: Plato & Aristotle Course Credit: 1
(AMST, CLST)
ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY: PLATO AND ARISTOTLE This course examines the major philosophical texts of Ancient Greece and the Presocratic writings out of which they grew. The writings of these philosophers have implications for contemporary politics, education, morality, and knowledge. Annually. [AH, GE]
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PHIL 25100 - Rationalism & Empiricism Course Credit: 1
RATIONALISM AND EMPIRICISM During the period from about 1600 to 1800, modern science emerged, and the Medieval worldview receded. These deep changes led to a re-evaluation of our understanding of knowledge, God, and the human mind. This course focuses on the Empiricist philosophies of Locke, Berkeley, and Hume, and the Rationalism of Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, and Kant. Their work will be used to introduce some crucial debates in philosophy today. Annually. [AH]
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PHIL 26100 - Themes in Continental Philosophy Course Credit: 1
(GERS, GRMN)
THEMES IN CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY This course focuses on themes in the Continental tradition or style of philosophy from the post-Kantian era to today. The specific focus of the course will vary by offering. [AH]
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PHIL 26400 - Existentialism Course Credit: 1
EXISTENTIALISM The philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre claimed that all existentialist philosophers, whether atheistic or theistic, share the belief that “Existence precedes essence.” By this unifying principle, Sartre meant that we must begin philosophizing by acknowledging the fact of the enigma of existence. In Sartre’s view, the history of philosophy has shown us that philosophical systems attempting to provide the meaning of existence necessarily fail. What philosophy, then will stand in place of failed essentialist philosophy? If life has no discoverable meaning, how should we live? In this course, we will examine primary texts of four existentialist philosophers, who wrestle with these and other questions. [AH]
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PHIL 26600 - American Philosophy Course Credit: 1
AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY This course offers a detailed examination of the central doctrines of two or more of the following American philosophies: transcendentalism, American idealism, pragmatism, and neo-pragmatism. General topics include: (i) the effects of evolutionary theories to our conceptions of reality and truth, (ii) the motivations behind individualism and collectivism, and (iii) melioristic faith in moral and religious ideals. Readings will be drawn from such writers as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, Josiah Royce, George Herbert Mead, John Dewey, Jane Addams, Alain Locke, Cornel West, and Richard Rorty. [AH]
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PHIL 29910 - Wittgenstein Course Credit: 1
WITTGENSTEIN An examination of the major work of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s, Philosophical Investigations, and some other later writings in a seminar setting. The course presupposes some previous engagement with the main problems of philosophy. [AH] Prerequisite(s): Minimum of 2 Philosophy courses
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PHIL 29912 - Ethical Issues in War Course Credit: 1
ETHICAL ISSUES IN WAR An examination of philosophical issues arising from the uses and practices of the military as they relate to advancing to war, operating in war and treating surrendered individuals and nations.
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PHIL 29913 - Phil, Science & Psyc of Intelligence Course Credit: 1
(NEUR)
PHILOSOPHY, SCIENCE AND PSYCHOLOGY OF INTELLIGENCE This course will examine key episodes in the history of philosophical and scientific thinking about intelligence, including cutting-edge debates in differential psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Topics will include conceptions of the intellect in ancient and modern philosophy, craniometry, IQ testing and the Flynn effect, mental chronometry, fMRI and PET studies of the neural correlates of intelligence, the nature and composition of intelligence(s), and the relationships between intelligence, know-how, rationality, and creativity. Our guiding question throughout will be how various technical notions of intelligence relate to lay talk about people being smart.
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PHIL 29914 - Decolonial Philosophy Course Credit: 1
DECOLONIAL PHILOSOPHY This course examines major texts in decolonial philosophy. Topics to be discussed include: (i) the post-1452 colonization of the “developing world,” (ii) the logic and knowledge/power that turn the natural environment, women, and other subordinated groups into exploitable materials, (iii) the potential of decolonial ecological knowledges and practices, (iv) the possibility of decolonial feminisms across difference, and (v) the conjuring of future decolonial, anti-capitalist modes of being human. Readings may include: Aime Cesaire, Michel Foucault, Sylvia Wynter, Vandana Shiva, Maria Lugones, Chandra Mohanty, Eve Tuck & K. Wayne Yang, and Kyle Powys-Whyte.
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PHIL 29915 - Action, Knowledge, & Skill Course Credit: 1
ACTION, KNOWLEDGE, & SKILL What is an intentional action? Does action presuppose some special kind of knowledge? Is there a difference of kind between knowing how and knowing that? What is human skill? These are some of the questions discussed in philosophy of action - a vibrant area of contemporary philosophy - and that we will take up in this course. We will be studying the seminal work of such philosophers as Gilbert Ryle, Elizabeth Anscombe, and Donald Davidson, as well as more contemporary texts. This course may be of interest to, and will be welcoming of, students of the mind from all disciplines.
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PHIL 29916 - Science, Knowledge, and Power Course Credit: 1
SCIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, AND POWER Science is often hailed as a purely objective, reliable and bias-free source of knowledge, but the history of science reveal that this characterization fails to capture the complexities of science and scientific practice. In this course, we will look at issues surrounding questions such as What is science?, What makes scientific knowledge different from other types of knowledge (if it is different)?, and How does social power and privilege affect scientific progress and what counts as scientific knowledge? Our considerations will include discussions about the role of gender (and sex) in science and the role of women in science. Throughout the course, we will examine the role of power, politics, money and social biases in science, as well as considering ways science can ameliorate human suffering and achieve other social goals.
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PHIL 29917 - ETHICS OF NEW TECHNOLOGY Course Credit: 1.0
ETHICS OF NEW TECHNOLOGY New technologies bring the promise of better transportation, communication, healthcare, and commerce. They shape our social interactions - as in the way social media has changed us - but also change based on human demands - such as when companies pursue clean energy to mitigate global climate change. Decisions we make about technology have ethical implications that must be considered as we make public policies, funding decisions, and social changes. In this course, we’ll ask: Are technologies morally neutral? What ought to be the ethical values that underpin the technologies we develop and use? How might thinking more clearly about ethics improve how we use or develop technology? Topics will include: The recent history of technology; cyberethics and cybercrime; privacy and security in cyberspace; property disputes and speech regulation in cyberspace; the “Digital Divide” and the use of technology to discriminate or oppress; virtual reality and artificial intelligence; and nanotechnology.
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PHIL 30100 - Ontological Commitments Course Credit: 1
ONTOLOGICAL COMMITMENTS Ontology, as part of metaphysics, investigates the general features of what there is, and takes up questions about topics as diverse and central as universals, particulars, space, time, causation, and persistence. This class undertakes a rigorous investigation of the ontological commitments we have - and works toward an understanding of which ones we should have. At the same time, it develops students’ skills in critical interpretation, analysis, argumentation, and expression. Prerequisite: a minimum of two Philosophy courses. [AH]
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PHIL 30200 - Epistemology: Rationality & Objectitivty Course Credit: 1
EPISTEMOLOGY: RATIONALITY AND OBJECTIVITY This course examines the nature and scope of human knowledge. What does it mean to be rational? What is objectivity? Can humans obtain knowledge and truth? We will critically examine answers presented by foundationalism, coherentism, reliabilism, and naturalized epistemology. Prerequisite(s): 2 courses from the Philosophy department [AH]
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PHIL 30300 - Understanding Language Course Credit: 1
UNDERSTANDING LANGUAGE What is meaning? How do we understand each other? To what do words refer? Formal theories of meaning and syntax offer one kind of answer to these questions. Other answers focus on communicative behavior and speech acts. Still others focus on the metaphorical use of language and context. We will critically evaluate these different approaches. Prerequisite(s): 2 courses from the Philosophy department [AH]
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PHIL 30400 - Philosophy of Mind & Cognitive Science Course Credit: 1
PHILOSOPHY OF MIND AND COGNITIVE SCIENCE What is the relation between the mind and the brain? Is consciousness a neurological function? What are the limits of artificial intelligence? During this century, there has been a dramatic revolution in our understanding of these and other issues. We will follow and critically evaluate some of these changes. Prerequisite(s): A minimum of 2 courses in Philosophy [AH]
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PHIL 31000 - Seminar in Philosophy Course Credit: 1
SEMINAR IN PHILOSOPHY This course is a special topics seminar. The content will vary by offering. Prerequisite(s): A minimum of 2 courses in Philosophy [AH]
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PHIL 31003 - Marx’s Das Capital Course Credit: 1
MARX’S DAS CAPITAL This class consists in a philosophical reading of Marx’s classic work Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. Our principle aim will be to try to understand Marx’s text on its own terms, and mainly as a philosophical work about political economy. We will also try to understand its relevance for today, and of course assess it critically as a piece of philosophical thinking. This course does not presuppose any previous classes in politics or economics. Prerequisite(s): Minimum of 2 Philosophy courses or consent of the instructor. [AH]
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PHIL 31100 - Ethical Theory Course Credit: 1
ETHICAL THEORY In this course, we will examine and compare the main theories of normative ethics (utilitarianism, Deontology, virtue ethics, care ethics) and address contemporary debates in metaethics. A central focus of this course will be on the foundations of moral principles. Prerequisite(s): A minimum of 2 courses in Philosophy Annually. [AH]
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PHIL 31200 - Political Philosophy Course Credit: 1
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY This course explores longstanding themes and fundamental questions of political philosophy. For example: What are the demands of social justice? What is the nature of and justification (if any) of democracy? What is to be said for reasonable pluralism as a governing ideal? What is the source of the state’s authority to coerce and exclude, if there is any such thing? What is systemic misogyny? What is the nature and justification (if any) of socialism? How should we confront, in thought and action, grave historical injustices linked to present systems of profound yet morally arbitrary disadvantage? How are we to understand the proper relations between our multiform identities and the institutions of our political life? (A range of arguments and authors confronting some of these questions will be considered. Specific focus varies by instructor.) Prerequisite(s): A minimum of 2 courses in Philosophy [AH]
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PHIL 40000 - Tutorial Course Credit: 1
TUTORIAL A tutorial course on a special topic offered to an individual student under the supervision of a faculty member. (.25 - 1 course credit) Prerequisite: The approval of both the supervising faculty member and the chairperson are required prior to registration. May be repeated.
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PHIL 40100 - Junior Independent Study Course Credit: 1
JUNIOR INDEPENDENT STUDY A seminar designed to help students further develop their ability to do independent research in philosophy and to write a philosophical thesis. In order to achieve this goal, the course will require students to examine questions about the nature and methodology of philosophy, engage in research using philosophical journals and electronic data bases, deliver oral presentations, participate in peer review of others’ writing, and plan and write a philosophical paper. Annually.
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PHIL 41000 - Philosophy Internship Course Credit: 0.25
Maximum Credit: 1
INTERNSHIP May be repeated.
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PHIL 45100 - Independent Study Thesis Course Credit: 1
SENIOR INDEPENDENT STUDY–SEMESTER ONE The first semester of the Senior Independent Study project, in which each student engages in creative and independent research guided by a faculty mentor and which culminates in a thesis and an oral examination in the second semester. Prerequisite: PHIL 40100. Prerequisite(s): PHIL-40100 Annually.
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PHIL 45200 - Independent Study Thesis Course Credit: 1
SENIOR INDEPENDENT STUDY–SEMESTER TWO The second semester of the Senior Independent Study project, which culminates in the thesis and an oral examination. Prerequisite: PHIL 45100. Prerequisite(s): PHIL-45100 Annually.
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