• 2012-2013 Courses:
• Browse by Course Number
• Browse by Term

Fall 2012

• PHIL 100: Science, Faith, and Rationality

  This seminar will introduce the student to the study of philosophy through a consideration of various epistemic and metaphysical issues surrounding science and religion. What distinguishes scientific inquiry from other areas of inquiry: Its subject matter, its method of inquiry, or perhaps both? How does scientific belief differ from religious belief, in particular? Is the scientist committed to substantive metaphysical assumptions? If so, what role do these assumptions play in scientific investigation and how do they differ from religious dogma (if they do)? Our exploration of these questions will involve the consideration of both classic and contemporary philosophical texts 6 credit; Argument and Inquiry Seminar, Writing Requirement; offered Fall 2012 -- J. Decker

• PHIL 112: Mind, Matter, Consciousness

  According to a common view of the mind, mental states are nothing more than states of the brain. There are certain features of human intellection, subjective experience, and action which have prompted some philosophers to argue that human mental activity is not reducible to brain activity. Some have gone on to argue that the human mind is immaterial and capable of surviving the death of the body. We will examine variants of these views as well as objections to them, reading selections from such historical figures as Plato, Aristotle, and Descartes, and such contemporary philosophers as Churchland, Nagel, and Searle. 6 credit; Humanities, Writing Requirement, Humanistic Inquiry, Writing Requirement; offered Fall 2012 -- A. Moltchanova

• PHIL 117: Philosophical Problems

  This is an introduction to perennial philosophical questions, as well as the goals and methods of philosophy. We will cover selections from both historical and contemporary philosophers on the following five topics: (i) the nature and possibility of knowledge, (ii) the relationship between the mental and the material, (iii) the nature of the self, (iv) the nature and possibility of free will, and (v) the nature of morality. 6 credit; Humanities, Writing Requirement, Humanistic Inquiry, Writing Requirement; offered Fall 2012, Winter 2013 -- S. Jansen

• PHIL 210: Logic

  The study of formal logic has obvious and direct applicability to a wide variety of disciplines (including mathematics, computer science, linguistics, philosophy, cognitive science, and many others). Indeed, the study of formal logic helps us to develop the tools and know-how to think more clearly about arguments and logical relationships in general; and arguments and logical relationships form the backbone of any rational inquiry. In this course we will focus on propositional logic and predicate logic, and look at the relationship that these have to ordinary language and thought. 6 credit; Does not fulfill a distribution requirement, Formal or Statistical Reasoning; offered Fall 2012 -- J. Decker

• PHIL 243: Animal Ethics: The Moral Status of Animals

  Do non-human animals have moral status, or are our moral obligations confined to human animals? Are our practices regarding animals morally justified? We shall explore these questions through an examination of different ethical theories. Utilitarians argue that the interests of non-human animals should be part of our moral calculus, because non-human animals can suffer pain. Deontologists extend moral rights to non-human animals, on the grounds that non-human animals are subjects of life and are therefore inherently valuable. In contrast, virtue ethicists emphasize that we share a common form of life with animals and that treating them compassionately constitutes human virtue. 6 credit; Humanities, Writing Requirement, Humanistic Inquiry, Writing Requirement; offered Fall 2012 -- S. Jansen

• PHIL 274: Existentialism

  We will consider the emergence and development of major themes of existentialism in the works of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, as well as "classical" existentialists such as Heidegger, Sartre and De Beauvoir. We will discuss key issues put forward by the existentialist movement, such as "the question of being" and human historicity, freedom and responsibility and look at how different authors analyzed the nature and ambitions of the Self and diverse aspects of subjectivity. 6 credit; Humanities, Humanistic Inquiry; offered Fall 2012 -- A. Moltchanova

• PHIL 395: Metaphysical Themes in Aristotle

  An examination of Aristotle's views on metaphysical problems about categories, substance, change, causation, place, time, the nature of being, the constitution of concrete particulars, and the existence and nature of God by way of a close reading of critical texts from the Categories, the Physics, and the Metaphysics. 6 credit; Humanities, Writing Requirement, Humanistic Inquiry, Writing Requirement; offered Fall 2012 -- M. Loux

• PHIL 400: Integrative Exercise

  A colloquium in which seniors defend their senior theses and discuss the senior theses of others. 3 credit; S/NC; Does not fulfill a distribution requirement; offered Fall 2012, Spring 2013 -- Staff

Winter 2013

• PHIL 110: Appearance and Reality

  Nothing is what it seems. This claim has been one of the staples of philosophy. Naturally, theories of the reality that lies behind the appearances have been many and diverse. For Platonists, there are only immaterial forms and the intellectual souls that grasp them. For Eliminative materialists there are only physical things and the laws that govern them. To the modern reader, this second theory seems unproblematic, but it too, means that most of what we assume to be obviously true is mistaken. In this course, we shall examine these, and other, accounts of the reality behind the appearances. 6 credit; Humanities, Writing Requirement, Humanistic Inquiry, Writing Requirement; offered Winter 2013 -- D. Vlahovic

• PHIL 117: Philosophical Problems

  This is an introduction to perennial philosophical questions, as well as the goals and methods of philosophy. We will cover selections from both historical and contemporary philosophers on the following five topics: (i) the nature and possibility of knowledge, (ii) the relationship between the mental and the material, (iii) the nature of the self, (iv) the nature and possibility of free will, and (v) the nature of morality. 6 credit; Humanities, Writing Requirement, Humanistic Inquiry, Writing Requirement; offered Fall 2012, Winter 2013 -- S. Jansen

• PHIL 212: Epistemology

  Do you know that you're not just a brain, floating in a vat, receiving stimulations through electrodes? Or perhaps an immaterial soul being conned by a malicious demon? In this course, we will use these skeptical worries as a launching point for thinking about epistemological issues: What exactly is knowledge? Do we ever have it? If so, when, and how? We will approach these questions through an examination of theories of epistemic justification, including foundationalism, coherentism, internalism, externalism, and virtue epistemology. We will then consider some critiques of traditional epistemology, including feminist epistemology and naturalized epistemology. 6 credit; Humanities, Writing Requirement, Humanistic Inquiry, Writing Requirement; offered Winter 2013 -- J. Decker

• PHIL 232: Social and Political Philosophy: Justice and Politics

  What distinguishes just states from unjust states? Are some states so unjust that we are not obliged to comply with their laws? We will examine answers to these and related questions proposed by liberal, socialist, libertarian, communitarian, feminist and post-modern theories of political and social justice. The following are some of the authors we will read: Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Marx, Berlin, Lyotard, Nozick, Rawls, Habermas, Sandel, Seyla Benhabib, Jean Hampton, Charles Taylor, and Amy Gutmann. 6 credit; Humanities, Social Inquiry; offered Winter 2013 -- A. Moltchanova

• PHIL 272: Modern Philosophy: Knowledge, God and Free Will

  Is there any such thing as innate knowledge, or does all knowledge derive from the senses? Does God exist? If so, can we prove God's existence? Do human beings have free will? Philosophers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries tackled these perennial questions, providing a new understanding of our world, our place in it and our knowledge of it. We address these questions through examining and evaluating the views of such philosophers, including Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Hume and Kant. Prerequisites: 100 level course in Philosophy or permission by the instructor 6 credit; Humanities, Writing Requirement, Humanistic Inquiry, Writing Requirement; offered Winter 2013 -- S. Jansen

• PHIL 395: Controversy and Consensus

  Controversy can be found in every corner of our intellectual lives. What are the epistemic and metaphysical implications of all this disagreement? How, if at all, should we revise our beliefs in light of our disagreements with others? If we refuse to revise, are we being irrational, or just intellectually bold? Does our failure to arrive at consensus opinions in a domain (perhaps even ideally) have any metaphysical implications (e.g., does it suggest metaphysical anti-realism in the domain)? These are some of the questions that we will explore (and likely disagree about) in this seminar. Prerequisites: Two previous courses in philosophy 6 credit; Humanities, Humanistic Inquiry; offered Winter 2013 -- J. Decker

• PHIL 399: Senior Thesis

  The planning, preparation, and completion of a philosophical paper under the direction of a member of the department and as part of a seminar group. 6 credit; Does not fulfill a distribution requirement, Does not fulfill a curricular exploration requirement; offered Winter 2013 -- A. Moltchanova

Spring 2013

• PHIL 118: Freedom, Determinism, Responsibility

  If everything we do is determined by desires, instincts, and physical events in the brain, how can we be held responsible for any of our actions? The notions of freedom and responsibility are fundamental to our understanding of ourselves, yet there seems to be little room left for them by the way in which science explains of our behavior. In this course we will inquire whether there is any room left for self-determination, agency, and responsibility given the causes of human action. Our discussion will be guided by readings from Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, and many other philosophers, dead and alive. 6 credit; Humanities, Writing Requirement, Humanistic Inquiry, Writing Requirement; offered Spring 2013 -- D. Vlahovic

• PHIL 213: Ethics

  How should we live? What makes certain actions right and others wrong? And why should I care about morality? These questions are at the heart of the study of ethics. We begin by looking at particular ethical issues (abortion, poverty, killing in war) with special emphasis on what is involved in making a philosophical "argument" for our convictions on these matters. We then turn to foundational issues in ethics concerning which principle(s) determine(s) govern right and wrong action, before turning to the question of whether everyone has reason to be moral. Readings are drawn from a combination of contemporary and historical sources. Prerequisites: One 100 level course in philosophy 6 credit; Humanities, Writing Requirement, Humanistic Inquiry, Writing Requirement; offered Spring 2013 -- D. Vlahovic

• PHIL 225: Philosophy of Mind

  What is the relationship between the mind and the brain? Are they identical? Or is there mental "stuff" in addition to physical stuff? Or perhaps some physical stuff has irreducibly mental properties? These, and related questions, are explored by philosophers under the heading of "the mind-body problem." In this course, we will start with these questions, looking at classical and contemporary defenses of both materialism and dualism. This investigation will lead us to other important questions such as: What is the nature of mental representation, what is consciousness, and could a robot have conscious states and mental representations? 6 credit; Humanities, Writing Requirement, Humanistic Inquiry, Writing Requirement; offered Spring 2013 -- J. Decker

• PHIL 229: Philosophy of Film and Emotion

  As moviegoers we have all had that wondrous experience of gasping, laughing or sniffling in response to fictional scenarios. This phenomenon raises several philosophical questions, to be explored in this class: (1) How do fictional situations arouse our emotions, and why do we care about the lives of fictional film characters? (2) Why do we enjoy films which evoke unpleasant emotions, like fear or sadness? (3) Why do we feel suspense even when we know a film's ending? (4) What is the difference between the emotions we experience in real life and the emotions we experience in the movie theater? Prerequisites: One 100 level course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor 6 credit; Humanities, Writing Requirement, Humanistic Inquiry, Writing Requirement; offered Spring 2013 -- S. Jansen

• PHIL 245: Cosmology and Ethics: Philosophical Visions

  An overview of several prominent Western views, from Plato to the late 20th century, on the fabric of the universe and the place of human agents within it. We will start with Plato's views on the body and the soul reflecting the structure of the cosmos. We will then consider the ideas of causation and human freedom as well as the problem of evil. We will discuss the notion of perspective, broadly construed, as the foundation of one's relationship with the world. This course emphasizes visualization, and several assignments will require either producing images or thinking and writing about images. 6 credit; Humanities, Writing Requirement, Humanistic Inquiry, Writing Requirement; offered Spring 2013 -- A Moltchanova

• PHIL 270: Ancient Greek Philosophy: Virtue, Reality and Explanation

  This limited survey of ancient Greek philosophy will center around its three most prominent figures (i.e. - Socrates, Plato and Aristotle) and their positions on the following topics: (1) virtue: What is virtue? Why be virtuous? Is/How is virtue taught? (Ethics segment) (2) reality: What are the basic constituents of reality? What is being? (Metaphysics segment) (3) explanation: What are the principles of change? What are the principles of the universe? (Physics and Cosmology segment). When appropriate, we shall also consider how these thinkers' positions compare and contrast to the views of their contemporaries and predecessors. Prerequisites: One 100 level course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor 6 credit; Humanities, Writing Requirement, Humanistic Inquiry, Writing Requirement; offered Spring 2013 -- S. Jansen

• PHIL 400: Integrative Exercise

  A colloquium in which seniors defend their senior theses and discuss the senior theses of others. 3 credit; S/NC; Does not fulfill a distribution requirement; offered Fall 2012, Spring 2013 -- Staff