Department of Philosophy
The Graduate Program
MA in Philosophy
Concentration in the Philosophy of Science
JD/MA in Law and Philosophy
PhD in Philosophy
Courses
Graduate Seminars
Directed Study or Research
The following list reflects the 2007/2008 faculty.
Chair Daniel Dahlstrom
Associate Chair Aaron Garrett
Director of Graduate Studies David Roochnik
Director of Graduate Admissions Manfred Kuehn
Faculty
Hugh Baxter Professor of Law, School of Law; Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. JD, Stanford University; PhD, Yale University
Alisa Bokulich Associate Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, Washington State University; PhD, University of Notre Dame
Peter Bokulich Assistant Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, University of California, Berkeley; PhD, University of Notre Dame
Klaus Brinkmann Associate Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. PhD, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen (Germany)
Tian Yu Cao Associate Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, Peking University (China); PhD, University of Cambridge (England)
Daniel O. Dahlstrom Chair, Department of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, Xavier University; MA, PhD, St. Louis University
James P. Devlin Associate Professor of Philosophy and Humanities, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, University of Notre Dame; PhD, University of Texas
Peter Diamandopoulos Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, Harvard College; MA, PhD, Harvard University
Alfredo Ferrarin Adjunct Associate Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. MA, PhD, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa (Italy)
Juliet Floyd Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, Wellesley College; PhD, Harvard University
Aaron Garrett Associate Chair, Department of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. Associate Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, University of Chicago; MA, PhD, New School for Social Research
Charles L. Griswold Jr. Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, Trinity College; MA, PhD, Pennsylvania State University
Michael Grodin Adjunct Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences; Professor of Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine and School of Public Health. BS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; MD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Knud Haakonssen Adjunct Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. Cand Art, Mag Art, Kobenhavns Universitet (Denmark); PhD, University of Edinburgh (Scotland)
K. Jaakko J. Hintikka Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. Cand. Phil., Lic. Phil., PhD, Helsingen Yliopisto (Finland)
Ghita Holmström-Hintikka Adjunct Associate Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts and Sciences. BS, MA, Licentiate, Helsingen Yliopisto (Finland); PhD, Uppsala Universitet (Sweden)
Walter Hopp Assistant Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, Colorado State University; PhD, University of Southern California
Phillip J. Ivanhoe Visiting Research Professor, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, MA, PhD, Stanford University
Victor Kestenbaum Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences; Associate Professor of Education, School of Education. AB, EdD, Rutgers University; MAT, Trenton State College
Manfred Kuehn Director of Graduate Admissions, Department of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences; Professor of Philosophy. BA, MA, University of Waterloo (Canada); PhD, McGill University (Canada)
David Lyons Professor of Law, School of Law; Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, Brooklyn College, City University of New York; MA, PhD, Harvard University
Krzysztof Michalski Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. Director, Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen (Austria). PhD, Uniwersytet Warszawski (Poland)
Robert C. Neville Dean of Marsh Chapel; Professor of Philosophy, Religion, and Theology, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, MA, PhD, Yale University
Jürgen Renn Adjunct Professor of Philosophy. BS, University of Bonn (Germany); MS, Freie Universität Berlin (Germany); PhD, Technische Universität Berlin (Germany)
David Roochnik Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Philosophy; Professor of Philosophy. BA, Trinity College; MA, PhD, Pennsylvania State University
Stanley H. Rosen Borden Parker Bowne Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, PhD, University of Chicago
C. Allen Speight Associate Professor of Philosophy and Humanities, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, St. John’s University; PhD, University of Chicago
Susanne Sreedhar Assistant Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences.BA,Wesleyan University; MA, PhD,University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Alfred I. Tauber Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences; Director, Center for the Philosophy and History of Science, Graduate School; Professor of Medicine and Pathology, School of Medicine. BS, Tufts University; MD, Tufts University School of Medicine
Steven Tigner Professor of Education, School of Education; Adjunct Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, University of Rochester; PhD, University of Michigan
Judson C. Webb Associate Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, Baldwin-Wallace College; PhD, Case Western Reserve University
Elie Wiesel Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities; University Professor; Professor of Philosophy and Religion, College of Arts & Sciences. LittD, LitD, LHD, LHebD, PhD, LLD (hon.)
Affiliated Faculty
Jeffrey Coulter Professor of Sociology, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, Durham University (England); MA, Victoria University of Manchester (England); PhD, University of Manchester (England)
Akihiro Kanamori Associate Professor of Mathematics, College of Arts & Sciences. BS, California Institute of Technology; PhD, University of Cambridge (England)
Alan M. Olson Professor of Religion, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, St. Olaf College; MDiv, Luther Theology Seminar; PhD, Boston University
James Schmidt University Professor; Professor of Political Science and Sociology, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, Rutgers University; PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Judith Swanson Associate Professor of Political Science, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, Colorado College; MSc, London School of Economics and Political Science (England); PhD, University of Chicago
Emeriti
Henry Allison Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, Yale University; MA, Columbia University; PhD, New School for Social Research
Robert S. Cohen Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Physics, College of Arts & Sciences; Director Emeritus, Center for the Philosophy and History of Science, Graduate School. BA, Wesleyan University; MS, PhD, Yale University
Edwin J. Delattre Dean Emeritus, School of Education; Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences; Professor of Education, School of Education. BA, University of Virginia; PhD, University of Texas
Bernard Elevitch Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, MA, University of Minnesota; PhD, Columbia University
Erazim V. Kohak Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, Colgate University; MA, PhD, Yale University
Michael L. Martin Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences. BS, Arizona State University; MA, University of Arizona; PhD, Harvard University
Abner Shimony Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Physics, College of Arts & Sciences. BA, PhD, Yale University; AM, University of Chicago; PhD, Princeton University
John Silber University President Emeritus; University Professor; Professor of Philosophy and Law, College of Arts & Sciences and School of Law. BA, Trinity University; MA, PhD, Yale University; LLD, LHD, EdD (hon.)
John Stachel Professor Emeritus of Physics, College of Arts & Sciences. BS, City University of New York, City College; MS, PhD, Stevens Institute of Technology
The Graduate Program
The Department of Philosophy has long been committed to pluralism in philosophy, striving to maintain strong faculty representation in the major historical periods, in the principal approaches, and in the basic problem areas of classical and contemporary philosophy. Candidates are encouraged to develop a breadth of competence in these different dimensions as well as an in-depth mastery of one or more specialized areas. Areas in which the program is particularly strong include the history and philosophy of science, mathematics, and logic; and the history of philosophy. Speakers invited by the Department of Philosophy, the Boston University Center for Philosophy and History of Science, the Boston University Institute for Philosophy and Religion, and the Boston Area Colloquium for Ancient Philosophy enrich the formal program of study, as do cooperative arrangements with other universities in the area.
Further information is available from the department, 745 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215; 617-353-2571; Philosophy Department website: www.bu.edu/philo.
Departmental Requirements The Department of Philosophy admits candidates to programs of study leading to the PhD; applications for admission to a program of study terminating in the MA are also invited.
The terminal MA may be pursued by full-time or part-time students. However, part-time applications for the PhD program are discouraged.
Candidates for either the MA or PhD shall take no fewer than two semester courses each semester until they have completed their course requirements.
Applicants should have completed the equivalent of an undergraduate major in philosophy, typically with an average of B or higher. Students with minors in philosophy are also encouraged to apply.
All applicants for admission to the MA or PhD programs in philosophy are required to submit their Graduate Record Examination scores and a sample of written work with their applications. Completed applications for admission should reach the Graduate School Office no later than January 15. Completed applications consist of: GRE scores, statement of purpose, writing sample, three letters of recommendation, and complete transcripts. Financial aid is limited to PhD candidates.
Vienna Program The Department of Philosophy, through its affiliation with the Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen in Vienna, Austria, awards a number of fellowships each fall and spring semester whereby advanced graduate students can cultivate their German language proficiency and engage in the various research programs of the Institute. Students eligible for these fellowships normally have finished coursework and exams.
MA in Philosophy
Candidates for the MA must successfully complete the logic requirements, as well as a master’s thesis. A foreign language is not required unless needed for, or essential to, the thesis or research. Coursework consists of eight courses, at least five of which must be in philosophy. Considerable flexibility in the program of study is permitted so that the MA can serve as a vehicle for combining various interests (for example, aesthetics with training in a fine art; political philosophy with training in law). Further details concerning the terminal MA may be obtained from the department.
Concentration in the Philosophy of Science
Within its Masters’ Degree program, the Philosophy Department offers a concentration in the philosophy of science. This curriculum is designed for those who are seeking to understand the conceptual foundations of the natural sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, earth sciences), cognitive sciences, mathematics, medicine, psychology, economics, and other social sciences. Students must fulfill the general Master of Arts degree requirements of the Department of Philosophy as well as the following core curriculum:
1) a two semester graduate level course in philosophy of science, the first being devoted to general principles and the second pertaining to current debates in philosophy of science, such as those about realism and anti-realism, explanation, constructivism, and causation;
2) a graduate seminar in a particular area of philosophy of science, e.g., philosophy of physics, philosophy of cognitive science, philosophy of biology, general epistemol-ogy, philosophy of logic and mathematics, or philosophy of the social sciences;
3) a course in the history of science that may be offered either by the Department of Philosophy, or any one of various courses in the Department of History, Department of Mathematics, or the Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience;
4) a specific science course is not required, but students are urged to enroll either in the science literacy course offered through the “Science, Philosophy, and Religion Program” of the School of Theology, or alternatively a graduate level course in the natural or social sciences, mathematics, or logic.
For more information, please visit The Department of Philosophy at Boston University.
JD/MA in Law and Philosophy
This program, offered jointly by the School of Law and the Philosophy Department, allows students to combine coursework in law and philosophy. As described below, courses applicable to the MA degree also will apply toward the JD. Accordingly, students may earn both the JD and the MA in the three years ordinarily required for law study, not the four years that would be required if the degrees were pursued separately.
The formal regulations for the program are available at: www.bu.edu/law/central /jd/programs/dual/philosophy.
PhD in Philosophy
Field of Concentration Candidates plan their own programs in consultation with their major professors.
Course Requirements Postbachelor’s PhD candidates must take a minimum of 16 graduate-accredited semester courses, of which at least 12 (44 credits) must be in philosophy, including at least four at the 800 or 900 level.
Post-master’s PhD candidates are required to take 8 graduate-accredited semester courses (32 credits), of which at least 5 (20 credits) must be in philosophy, including at least three at the 800 or 900 level.
Note, however, that no more than three directed studies may be taken toward course requirements.
Language Requirement By the end of the third year of graduate study, every graduate student must demonstrate a high level of proficiency in at least one language other than English. The language should be French, German, Greek, or Latin. If the student’s native language is French or German the requirement may be waived at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies. Any language other than English may fulfill the requirement if (a) it is needed for dissertation work and (b) approval is granted by the Director of Graduate Studies. Competence may be demonstrated by passing an examination administered by the department, by achieving a B+ or higher in an approved intermediate course (normally a translation course) administered by another department and approved by the Director of Graduate Studies, or by passing the Graduate School Foreign Language test with a score of at least 600. Candidates are strongly advised to satisfy the language requirement as early as possible. Language courses offered at the graduate level will be given graduate credit. Two such courses may count toward the course work requirement of 16 courses.
Students must possess a good reading knowledge of any language that is important for their dissertation work (e.g., students writing a dissertation on Plato must at least satisfy the requirements of an intermediate Greek course, with the expectation that the study of the language will be an ongoing activity). A dissertation proposal will not be approved until the relevant mastery has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the dissertation director. The director will have the discretion of accepting a B+ or higher in a relevant language course as evidence of competence; or adequate performance on a translation examination; or any reasonable means of determining competence.
Logic Requirement The candidate must demonstrate competence in logic by passing a designated logic course with a B+ or higher, or by passing a logic examination administered by the department.
Qualifying Papers (Procedure for all students enrolling in the PhD program Fall 2007 and thereafter): Before proposing a dissertation topic, the student must qualify for dissertation work, as follows. At some point after their first year of study, and before they submit a Prospectus of their dissertation, all PhD students must submit two qualifying papers that will be examined by a committee of two professors. These papers must be substantial pieces of philosophical work, demonstrating a strong knowledge of the relevant topic and a good deal of original thought. The papers may (but need not) be derived from papers originally written for course credit. It should not be assumed that a paper that receives an “A” in a course will be of sufficient quality. The papers must be “self-standing” works. In other words, each must be intelligible to philosophers other than those who may have participated in a seminar on the topic of the paper. The papers must be on topics in substantially different areas of philosophy; for example, it is not acceptable to submit two metaphysics papers, or two papers on ancient figures, or two papers in ethics. The Director of Graduate Studies will determine what qualifies as a “substantially different” area of philosophy. Papers should not be longer than 35 double-spaced pages (12 pt font).
The examining committee will be appointed by the Chair of the Department in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies. Before consulting with the Chair, the DGS will meet with the student for whom the committee is being formed.
Students must communicate to the DGS in writing their intention to submit the qualifying papers within the first two weeks of either semester. They must then submit the papers within the first eight weeks of the semester. The committee will deliver its evaluation and a written report on the papers within three weeks of their submission. Papers will receive one of two grades: “pass” or “not-pass.” If a paper does not pass, the committee will offer one of two directives: either to revise the paper based on comments contained within the report, or to submit an entirely new paper. The committee may request a meeting with the student. Students will have three opportunities to submit each paper.
Dissertation Prospectus and Dissertation After the candidate has passed the qualifying examination and has met the language and logic requirements, a dissertation prospectus must be submitted to the major professor, who will arrange for a preliminary oral conference on the proposal.
Upon satisfactory completion of the dissertation, the candidate will present it for defense in a final oral examination. (See General Requirements for the PhD in this bulletin for more information on the final oral examination.)
Courses
GRS PH 603 Plato I
A careful study of one or several Platonic dialogues. Emphasizes both close reading of the text(s) and discussion of the deep philosophical issues raised by them. Frequent references to other Platonic dialogues as relevant. Knowledge of Greek is helpful but not required. Familiarity with Greek philosophy is helpful. Roochnik. 4 cr, either sem.GRS PH 604 Plato II
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 605 Aristotle I
A careful study of Aristotle’s theoretical philosophy conducted through a close reading of selections from the Categories, Posterior Analytics, Physics, On the Soul, and the Metaphysics. Hintikka. 4 cr, 1st sem.GRS PH 606 Aristotle II
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 607 Stoics, Epicureans, and Skeptics
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 608 History of Medieval Philosophy
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 609 Maimonides
Lobel.4 cr, 1st sem.GRS PH 610 Continental Rationalism
A critical study of Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz. Garrett. 4 cr, 1st sem.GRS PH 611 British Empiricism
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 612 Philosophy of the Enlightenment
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 613 Kant
A single text constitutes the basis for this course—Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. Some of the great scholars of the past have devoted a lifetime to analyzing, explicating, and evaluating this work. We, alas, have only one semester. In this, the first of three Critiques, Kant introduced the idea of a critical self-examination of reason, and in the execution of this program he developed a unique new type of philosophy, called transcendental philosophy, which forever revolutionized philosophical throught. We shall examine the text carefully from beginning to end. Because Kant’s thinking is enormously complex, intricate, and subtle, we shall make use of secondary sources and complement textual analysis by discussing helpful comments by some of today’s finest Kant scholars. Kuehn. 4 cr, 2nd sem.GRS PH 614 Hume
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 615 Nineteenth-Century Philosophy
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 616 Hegel
Critical study of Hegel’s system as presented in his Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences. Brinkmann. 4 cr, 1st sem.GRS PH 617 Hegel’s Phenomenology
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 618 Marx and Marxism
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 619 Nietzsche
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 620 Contemporary Philosophy
A survey of the main development in recent philosophy in both the analytical and continental traditions, emphasizing the interrelations of the two. Philosophers covered include Frege, Moore, Russell and Wittgenstein, as well as Brentano, Husserl, Heidegger, and Sartre. Dahlstrom. 4 cr, 2nd sem.GRS PH 621 Frege, Moore, and Russell
An in-depth reading of several works by Russell. Floyd. 4 cr, 2nd sem.GRS PH 622 Analytic Philosophy
A detailed examination of Wittgenstein’s later philosophy, focusing on his Philosophical Investigations, On Certainty, and remarks on the philosophy of psychology. Hintikka. 4 cr, 2nd sem.GRS PH 623 History of the Vienna Circle
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 624 Wittgenstein
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 626 Phenomenology
Rigorous examination of the foundations of philosophical phenomenology in Husserl and Heidegger. Hopp. 4 cr, 1st sem.GRS PH 627 Heidegger and Existential Philosophy
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 630 American Philosophy
Detailed analysis of William James and John Dewey and their theories of meaning, truth, consciousness, and experience. Consideration of these theories in connection with selected issues in Husserl, Wittgenstein, and Michael Oakeshott. Kestenbaum. 4 cr, 2nd sem.GRS PH 640 Metaphysics
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 641 Philosophical Idealism (Hegel)
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 643 Philosophy of Mind
The topic is sentience, embodiment, and the brain. The aim is to develop a “neurophenomenological” approach to consciousness and embodied experience in cognitive science and the philosophy of mind. P. Bokulich. 4 cr, 1st sem.GRS PH 644 Persons and Nature
Studies in philosophical ecology with emphasis on environmental ethics and the place of humans in the cosmos. Broad range of readings in environmental, deep, and moral ecology. Tauber. 4 cr, 1st sem.GRS PH 646 Philosophy of Religion
An examination of the principal issues and topics in the philosophy of religion in the following two stages: first, an historical overview of the philosophy of religion as a discipline or subdiscipline of philosophy and theology; and, second, attention to the problems and challenges facing this discipline in the context of the comparative study of religions. Olsen. 4 cr, 1st sem.GRS PH 647 Asian Philosophy
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 650 Types of Ethical Theory
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 651 Contemporary Ethical Theory
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 652 Ethics of Health Care
Medicine and health care offer a unique opportunity to explore the nature of humanity and the world and to ask fundamental questions concerning the nature of birth, life, and death, and what it is to be a person. Readings from both classical and contemporary writings in ethics, medicine, law, and public health policy. TBA. 4 cr, 2nd sem.GRS PH 653 Theories of Political Society
An examination of recent political accounts of “modernity,” that is, of the unique character of advanced industrial cultures. Readings include classic authors (Rousseau, Marx, Freud, Weber) and contemporary writers (Habermas, MacIntyre, Lyotard, Touimin). James. 4 cr, 1st sem.GRS PH 654 Community, Liberty, and Morality
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 655 Philosophy of Law
This course will survey, and citically examine, influential approaches to the philosophy of law of the last half-century. Readings will include works by H.L.A. Hart, Ronald Dworkin, and John Rawls. Active participation in class discussion is required. Baxter. 4 cr, 1st sem.GRS PH 656 Topics in Philosophy and Religion
Also offered as GRS RN 697. Speight, 4 cr, 1st sem.GRS PH 657 Action, Interpretation, and Narrative
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 658 Crime and Punishment: Philosophical Perspectives
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 659 Political and Legal Philosophy
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 660 Epistemology
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 661 Computability and Logic
Prereq: consent of instructor. The syntax and semantics of sentential and quantificational logic, culminating in the Gödel Completeness Theorem. The Gödel Incompleteness Theorem and its ramifications for computability and philosophy. Also offered as CAS MA 531. Kanamori. 4 cr, 1st sem.GRS PH 662 Foundations of Mathematics
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 663 Philosophy of Language
The most representative problem areas in contemporary philosophy of language are discussed, criticized, and put into a new perspective. They include Frege’s sense-reference theory, quantification and anaphora, theory of truth, the semantics of intentional and epistemic concepts, strategic aspects of language use, identification and individuation, metaphor, demonstratives and indexical, discourse and dialogue theory, and selected language disturbances (dyslexia, autism). Hintikka. 4 cr, 2nd sem.GRS PH 665 Philosophy of Cognitive Science
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 667 Mathematical Logic
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 668 Philosophical Problems of Logic and Mathematics
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 670 Philosophy of Physics
Philosophical problems concerning the interpretation of physical discoveries. Elementary particles, the anomalies of quantum mechanics, some modern problems of space and time, and the problem of wholes and parts. P. Bokulich. 4 cr, 2nd sem.GRS PH 671 Ecology, Philosophy, and Literature
An investigation of ecological thinking, examining philosophical and literary accounts of the natural world. What is “nature”? How do humans differ from animals? How has technology affected our relation to nature? What are our ethical responsibilities toward the earth’s inhabitants? Prereq: junior standing. Tauber. 4 cr, 1st sem.GRS PH 672 Philosophy of Biology
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 673 Philosophy of History
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 674 Inductive Logic and Scientific Methodology
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 677 Philosophy of the Social Sciences
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 680 Topics in Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 681 Topics in the Philosophy of Law
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 682 Topics in Modern and Contemporary Philosophy
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 683 Topics in the Philosophy of Religion
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 684 Topics in Speculative Philosophy
Topic for Fall 2007: A study of the metaphysics of being, God, time, eternity, nature, and value through the works of Robert Neville (the instructor) and dialectical neighbors. Webb. 4 cr, 2nd sem.GRS PH 685 Topics in the Philosophy of Value
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 686 Topics in Knowledge, Language, and Logic
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 687 Topics in the Philosophy of Science
This course is an overview of contemporary issues in the philosophy of science. Questions we shall address include the following: What distinguishes science from pseudo-science? Can there be crucial experiments? What is the nature of scientific change? Are scientific theories converging on the truth? Is science objective? How do we know things we cannot observe directly, such as electrons, really exist in the way our theories say they do? What is an adequate scientific explanation? Could all of science in principle be explained by physics? The texts for the course are Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Evolutions and Curd and Cover’s anthology, Philosophy of Science: The Central Issues. A. Bokulich. 4 cr, 2nd sem.GRS PH 688 Topics in Aesthetics
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 699 Teaching College Philosophy I
The goals, contents, and methods of instruction in philosophy. General teaching-learning issues. Required of all teaching fellows. TBA. 2 cr, 1st & 2nd sem.Graduate Seminars
GRS PH 801 Ancient Philosophy I
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 802 Ancient Philosophy II
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 806 Medieval Philosophy
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 810 Topics in Modern Philosophy
Sreedhar. 4 cr, 2nd sem.GRS PH 811 Topics in the Philosophy of Kant I
Not offered 2007/2008GRS PH 812 Kant II
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 813 Kant III
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 814 Topics in Kant
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 816 Topics in the Philosophy of Hegel
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 820 Contemporary Philosophy
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 821 Analytic Philosophy
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 822 Quine’s Philosophy
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 826 Advanced Phenomenology
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 827 Heidegger
Dahlstrom. 4cr, 1st sem.GRS PH 831 Whitehead
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 840 Metaphysics
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 841 Seminar in Philosophy of Religion
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 850 Ethics
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 854 Seminar in Political Philosophy
James. 4 cr, lst sem.GRS PH 858 Aesthetics
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 860 Epistemology
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 861 Epistemological Crises
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 864 Philosophy of Logic
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 870 Philosophy of Cognitive Science
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 871 Philosophy of Science
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 880 Topics in Philosophy of Frege and Wittgenstein
Floyd. 4 cr, 2nd sem.GRS PH 881 Topics in Philosophy of Hegel
Griswold. 4 cr, 1st sem.GRS PH 882 Topics in Philosophy of Aristotle’s Ethics
Not offered 2008/2009GRS PH 883 Topics in Philosophy of Aristotle’s Politics
Not offered 2008/2009Directed Study or Research
GRS PH 901, 902 Directed Research on Thesis
Prereq: consent of major professor. Variable cr, 1st & 2nd sem.GRS PH 905, 906 Directed Study in Problems in Philosophy
Prereq: consent of instructor. Variable cr, 1st & 2nd sem.GRS PH 993, 994 Philosophy Proseminar
Prereq: consent of instructor. 2 cr, 1st & 2nd sem. 
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