Course
Descriptions Fall 2002
CAS PH 100
INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Professor Lännström
Introduction to Philosophy is designed to give
students an overview of the history of philosophy,
punctuated with representative readings of key
philosophers from each period of Western civilization.
The reading material is divided into two formats:
1) a general outline of philosophy’s history
will serve as the "scaffold" of the
course, providing the student with both a general
orientation, as well as some in depth discussion
of key philosophers, e.g., Aristotle, Aquinas,
and Kant; 2) specific philosophical works chosen
principally for their ease of engagement and
not necessarily because they are ‘the most
important’ in the canon. The instructor's
goal is to offer a general orientation to the
types of questions philosophers address and the
various methods devised to answer them.
CAS PH 110
GREAT PHILOSOPHERS
Professor Lännström
A comparative introduction to the life and thought
of six preeminent philosophers from classical
times in both the Western and Eastern traditions.
CAS PH 150 A1
INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS
Professor Keller
We use moral language all the time; we say that
an act is wrong, that a person is virtuous, that
we have the right to certain sorts of treatment,
and so on. Such language, however, can be puzzling.
It is difficult to say exactly what we are referring
to when we speak of such things as the rightness
and wrongness of acts, and it can be just as
difficult to say which acts really are right
and which really are wrong. This course will
begin with an investigation into the nature of
moral judgments. We will ask, for example, whether
morality is just a matter of opinion or emotion,
whether there is a single true morality, and
whether morality depends upon the existence of
God. In the second part of the course, we will
look at various views about what it takes for
an act to be right or wrong. Is acting morally
fundamentally a matter of promoting happiness,
respecting rights, exercising the virtues, or
what? Finally, we will examine some practical
moral issues, perhaps including the morality
of abortion, our obligations to people in distant
parts of the world, and our obligation to tell
the truth. The course will be organized around
thematic concerns, rather than the works of particular
great philosophers, but the reading will include
a mixture of contemporary and historical texts.
CAS PH 150 B1
INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS
Professor Dahlstrom
An introduction to ethics through critical consideration
of classical and contemporary elaboration's of
ethical theory.
CAS PH 150 C1
INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS
Professor Griswold
The course provides a systematic introduction
to major questions in moral thought, such as:
are there any absolute moral standards or are
all values relative? Is morality "constructed" by
people? Is morality necessarily dependent upon
religion? What is the relationship between morality
and egoism? Is the morally right action the one
that achieves the best outcome, or the one that
is in accordance with conscience and duty, or
the one that is the expression of virtue?
CAS PH 160 A1
REASONING & ARGUMENTATION
Professor Webb
A systematic study of the principles of both
deductive and informal reasoning, with an emphasis
on reasoning and argumentation in ordinary discourse,
and on their strategies. The aim of the course
is to train the student in the skills of argument
analysis, argument construction, and argument
evaluation. Textbook: Hintikka and Bachman, What
if...? Toward Excellence in Reasoning.
CAS PH 160 B1
REASONING & ARGUMENTATION
Professor Floyd
A systematic study of the principles of both
deductive and informal reasoning, with an emphasis
on reasoning and argumentation in ordinary discourse,
and on their strategies. The aim of the course
is to train the student in the skills of argument
analysis, argument construction, and argument
evaluation.
CAS PH 160 C1
REASONING & ARGUMENTATION
Professor Hintikka
A systematic study of the principles of both
deductive and informal reasoning, calculated
to enhance students' actual reasoning skills,
with an emphasis on reasoning and argumentation
in ordinary discourse.
Intermediate Level I
* Prerequisite: one philosophy
course or sophomore standing*
CAS PH 245
PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION
Professor Lobel
(cross- registered with RN 109)
The Quest for God and the Good. Introduction
to religious thought, exploring the aims of human
life, the place of God in the good life, and
the role of contemplation and action in the spiritual
quest. Readings from Plato, Aristotle, Bible,
Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Augustine, Maimonides,
Ghazzali.
CAS PH 248
EXISTENTIALISM
Professor Kestenbaum
Introduction to the principal themes of Existentialist
philosophy, including subjectivity, history,
facticity, and freedom. There will be a particular
emphasis on the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre,
though forerunners of Existentialism such as
Pascal, Nietzsche, and Kierkegaard will also
be considered.
CAS PH 249
AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITION
Professor Tauber
This survey of American philosophy will emphasize
the contributions of New England Transcendentalism
and pragmatism. Readings chosen from the wirtings
of Emerson, Thoreau, Pierce, James and a broad
sampling of 20th century pragmatists will be
supplemented with historical and philosophical
commentary.
CAS PH 253
SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY
Professor Cao
Prereq: one philosophy course or sophomore standing.
A philosophical examination of classical and
contemporary theories of modern society. Readings
will include the work of Hobbes, Rousseau, Mill,
Weber, as well as later thinkers.
CAS PH 258
PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE
Professor Mulhall
Prereq: one philosophy course or sophomore standing.
This course will explore philosophy's view of
the nature and philosophical relevance of literature,
and literature's ways of resisting and contesting
that view. Topics covered will include tragedy
and moral luck, the death of the author, the
relation between reason and the emotions, and
the interaction of form and content in both philosophical
and literary texts. Authors examined will include
Plato, Sophocles, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and
Cavell.
CAS PH 266
MIND, BRAIN AND SELF
Professor Webb
Prereq: one philosophy course or sophomore standing.
Philosophical introduction to cognitive science.
A consideration of the historical and intellectual
background from which cognitive science has emerged,
as well as the philosophical issues concerning
the mind, brain, and self that arise from contemporary
scientific research.
CAS PH 270
PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Professor Bokulich
The first half of this course is an introduction
to epistemological issues in the philosophy of
science. We shall examine questions such as:
What distinguishes science from pseudoscience?
Are scientific theories converging on the truth?
Is science objective? How do we know things we
cannot observe directly, such as electrons, really
exist the way our theories say they do? What
is an adequate scientific explanation? Could
all of science in principle be explained by physics?
The second half of the course focuses on a metaphysical
issue in the philosophy of science: What is the
nature of space? We shall see what great philosophers
and scientists such as Aristotle, Newton, Leibniz,
Kant and Einstein have said about the nature
of space.
The readings are introductory enough to be accessible
to those with no prior background in philosophy
or science.
Required texts: Introduction to the Philosophy
of Science: Cutting Nature at its Seams by Robert
Klee; Space from Zeno to Einstein: Classic
Readings with a Contemporary Commentary by Nick
Huggett.
CAS PH 277
PHILOSOPHY METHODS OF HUMAN SCIENCES
Professor Devlin
Prereq: one philosophy course or sophomore standing.
Analysis of basic concepts relevant to the social
sciences: causal and functional explanation,
prediction, understanding and interpretation,
rationality, reduction, individualism and holism,
objectivity and values. Consideration of philosophical
problems of the special sciences: psychology,
economics, history, and archeology.
Intermediate Level II
*Prerequisite: one philosophy course
or sophomore standing*
CAS PH 300 A1
HISTORY OF ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY
Professor Brinkmann
Prereq: one philosophy course or sophomore standing.
The course will explore Greek philosophy and
will concentrate on its development from Thales
through Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Platonic
dialogues, and major chunks of the Aristotelian
corpus will be read with some care. The focus
will be philosophical rather than historical,
and the emphasis will be on the analysis and
interpretation of texts. One in-class written
exam, a midterm and a final paper.
CAS PH 300-B1
HISTORY OF ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY
Professor Diamandopoulos
The history of ancient philosophy is the history
of the invention of philosophy and of its extraordinary
accomplishments and ambitions. This unprecedented
development, the lecturer will argue, was the
unique creation of the Greek world--a reflection
of its outlook, culture, language, politics and
values; and of the geniuses that pressed the
quest.
To outline and interpret the development of ancient
philosophy, the course will reconstruct the speculations
of Ionian and Southern Italian thinkers; the
philosophical breakthroughs of classical Athens
(Sophists, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle); and the
re-direction of philosophy during the Hellenistic/
Roman era (Stoics, Skeptics, Epicureans and Cynics).
Through a close reading and interpretation of
selected texts, the lecturer will argue for the
continuity of Greek philosophical thought; but
also for its surpassing autonomy and coherence.
From the Presocratics through Plato, Aristotle
and the Hellenistic philosophers, philosophical
inquiry evolved but also remained steadfastly
focused on topics that proved perennial; the
possibility of knowledge, the nature of Being,
the scope of reason, the search for method, the
idea of the good, etc.. This fact will suggest
that the history of Greek philosophy is paradigmatic
of all authentic philosophy: it will explain
why all later philosophy had to re-investigate
the Hellenic philosophical issues.
The class will be conducted in lecture form.
CAS PH 310-A1
HISTORY OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY
Professor Ferrarin
Examination of theories of major seventeenth
and eighteenth century philosophers, from Descartes
to Hume. Along with their confidence in reason,
the Continental Rationalists share a conception
of philosophy as a universal discipline whose
propositions are derivable from first principles
regarded as necessary. The British Empiricists,
on the other hand, beginning with Locke's "historical,
plain method," claim to rely primarily on
experience as the basis of their theories of
knowledge.
CAS PH 310-B1
HISTORY OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY
Professor Cao
This course pursues a detailed study of some
of the principal themes of modern philosophy,
focusing on metaphysical and epistemological
issues, through the writings of Descartes, Leibniz,
Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Kant.
CAS PH 350
HISTORY OF ETHICS
Professor Roochnik
Prereq: one philosophy course or sophomore standing.
This class will prepare students for work in
the history of ethics via an immersion in eighteenth-century
British moral philosophy. The period is uniquely
rich in ideas and debates and influences many
of the ways in which contemporary ethicists view
their discipline. Topics covered will include
utilitarianism, moral sense theory, natural law,
virtue ethics, rights (particularly animal rights),
and conventionalism. Major authors to be considered
will include John Locke, Francis Hutcheson, Joseph
Butler, David Hume, Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill,
and Jeremy Bentham (as well as a few more minor
figures). In addition Kant and Aristotle will
be discussed in order to provide a broader background
(although it would be useful if students had
some familiarity with them).
400/600 Level
Undergraduate Students should register
for 400-level courses
Graduate Students should register
for 600-level courses
Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
*Prerequisites: PH 300 and two
other PH courses*
CAS PH 403
PLATO I
Professor Rosen
(cross-registered with ID 302)
A close reading of Plato's SYMPOSIUM
CAS PH 405/ 605
ARISTOTLE I
Professor Roochnik
A study of Aristotle's conception of "theory" (theôria).
We begin by briefly considering the Presocratics
and Plato (Phaedo). Neither is, for Aristotle,
adequately theoretical. The former conceal the
heterogeneity of natural beings. By playfully
blending muthos and logos, the latter is not
sufficiently serious.
Next, we read the explicit discussions of theôria
in the Ethics (Book X), Politics (VII), and Metaphysics
(XII). Here theôria seems to be "contemplation," the
apprehension of the highest, most divine objects,
and itself the human imitation of God's activity.
Third, we examine the more "mundane" sense
of theôria, i.e., Aristotle's actual work
in ethics, politics, physics. This sense is grounded
in De Anima II.1-5, and III.4-5, the foundational
account of theôria itself.
This course will test the following hypothesis:
Theôria is not best translated as "contemplation." Instead,
it permeates Aristotle's corpus (even his "practical" treatises),
and is best understood as the intellectual work
of apprehending objects as they appear in ordinary
experience. In other words, Aristotelian theory
is "phenomenological."
Modern and Contemporary Philosophy
*Prerequisites: PH 310 and two
other PH courses*
CAS PH 413
KANT
Professor Ferrarin
Prereq: CAS PH 310 and three other philosophy
courses. 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
thought. We shall examine the text carefully
from beginning to end. Because Kant's thinking
is enormously complex, intricate, and subtle,
we shall make ample use of secondary sources
and complement textual analysis by discussing
helpful comments by some of today's finest Kant
scholars.
Note: this is a course ONLY open to undergraduates.
CAS PH 420/620
CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY
Professor Mulhall
PH 310 and two other philosophy courses, or consent
of instructor. A survey of the main developments
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.
CAS PH 426
PHENOMENOLOGY
Professor Brinkmann
Prereq: CAS PH 310 and two other philosophy courses,
or consent of instructor. An examination of Sartre's
monumental study of the foundations of human
existence, Being and Nothingness, preceded by
a brief discussion of his earlier essay The Transcendence
of the Ego. Sartre's Being and Nothingness is
the central text of existentialist philosophy.
It is also a great critique of metaphysics. Many
of its analyses of 'existential' human situations
are unsurpassed. The course will conclude with
a critical reading of Sartre's essay "Existentialism
as a Humanism". Requirements: thorough preparation
of reading assignments, a mid-term, and a final
paper. Prereq: PH300 and PH310. Some knowledge
of either Hegel or Husserl would be welcome but
is not required.
CAS PH 440
METAPHYSICS
Professor Keller
Prerequisites: at least one course above the
100 level. Many popular science fiction stories
are about people who travel to distant times;
think of'The Time Machine', 'Back to the Future',
and 'Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me'.
But is time travel possible? This is not to ask
whether anyone has traveled in time or will ever
do so. The question is rather about whether or
not someone *could* travel in time. To put it
another way, we will not be asking about how
to build time machines, but about whether or
not time travel stories inevitably involve deep
inconsistencies or impossibilities. In investigating
this question, we will confront various puzzles
about time, God, change, possibility, causation,
personal identity and free will. The course will
therefore serve as an introduction to several
of the central problems in metaphysics.
Speculative Philosophy
*Prerequisties: PH 300, 310, and
one other PH course*
CAS PH 446/646
PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
Professor Allison
Prerequisites: PH 310, 311, and 350, their equivalents
or permission of the instructor. The course is
intended mainly for graduate students in philosophy
of religion and philosophy, as well as advanced
undergraduate majors in these fields. It is open,
however, to others who can demonstrate sufficient
background and preparation.
Requirements for undergraduates: two or three
shorter papers (4-5 Pages) and a take home final.
For graduates: two papers of approximately 15
pages each and possible a brief in class presentation.
Philosophy of Value
*Prerequisites: PH 350 and two
other PH courses*
PH 456/656
SEMINAR: PHILOSOPHY A JUST PEACE
Professor Rouner
(Professor's Approval is Required)
This seminar will examine the role of religion
in various cultures. It is organized around the
Institute for Philosophy and Religion's lecture
series, which is sponsored by the Institute for
Religion and World Affairs. Meet most Wednesday
afternoons at 3:00 pm for discussion with the
evening's lecturer. Copies of the lecture are
made available in advance as the basis for discussion.
Attendance at the evening lectures (5-7 p.m.)
is also required.
The Seminar provides a unique opportunity to
engage major world figures in the fields of philosophy,
religion, and theology in an intimate, informal
setting. Consent of the instructor is required.
Please note that this is a year-long seminar
and that you need to take the course both semesters
in order to receive course credit.
PH 457/657
ACTION, INTERPRETATION, AND NARRATIVE
Professor Olson
(Professor's Approval is required)
Cross-registered with RN 398/698 & TT
822
An exploration of basic issues in hermeneutic
philosophy and interpretation theory, including
the nature and meaning of mythic-symbolic language,
narrative discourse, metaphoric predication and
deconstruction theory, through a discussion of
selected works by the scholars with whom these
terms/movements/theories are most directly associated.
Primary focus will be upon the growth and development
of hermeneutic philosophy through a close reading
of Hans-George Gadamer's classic work, Truth
and Method and the background materials that
inform it; for example, Aristotle's On Interpretation,
Kant's Critique of Judgment, Schleiermacher's
Hermeneutics, Heidegger's Being and Time, and
the debate of Bultmann and Jaspers on Christianity
and Myth. Paul Ricoeur's Interpretation Theory,
the rule of metaphor, and selected essays by
Jacques Derrida will also be considered.
PH 459/659
POLITICAL AND LEGAL PHILOSOPHY
Professor Lyons
Examination of the individual's responsibilities
under law, specifically of the idea that there
is a general moral obligation to obey the law,
including unjust law, and the contrasting idea
of civil disobedience - the possibility of morally
justified resistance to law.
Philosophy of Knowledge, Language,
and Logic
*Prerequisites: PH 310, 360, and
one other PH course*
PH 460/660
EPISTEMOLOGY
Professor Floyd
An investigation of the fate of scepticism in
the twentieth century. We will begin discussing
claims that have been made about the role of
scepticism in early modern philosophy, and then
focus on efforts to refute scepticism in the
twentieth century -- efforts largely the result
of the attempt to throw off the legacy of nineteenth
century idealism and historicism. We shall examine
G.E. Moore's essays "Proof of an external
world", "Certainty", and "A
Defense of Common Sense", Russell's Our
Knowledge of the External World, J.L. Austin's
Sense and Sensibility and "Other Minds",
Wittgenstein's On Certainty, and related works
by such contemporary philosophers as Quine, Grice,
Putnam, Cavell and Williams.
PH 465/665
PHILOSOPHY OF COGNITIVE SCIENCE
Professor Cao
Prereq: CAS PH310, 360, and one other philosophy
course; or consent of instructor. An introduction
to philosophical issues in cognitive science
(computer science and neuroscience in particular)
with special attention to the issue of emergence
of cognitive activities from non-cognitive processes:
the condition and nature of the emergence and
its bearings to the mind-body problem. This course
is for advanced undergraduates and graduate students;
students from related departments (e.g., Cognitive & Neural
Systems) are welcome.
PH 470/670
PHILOSOPHY OF PHYSICS
Professor Bokulich
This course is an historical and philosophical
introduction to some of the puzzles and paradoxes
raised by Special Relativity and Quantum Mechanics.
No prior background in physics or philosophy
is required; the requisite scientific and philosophical
background material will be presented in the
course. Topics to be covered include:
* Is the world deterministic or indeterministic?
* Schrödinger's cat and the measurement
problem
* Bell's theorem, nonlocality, and the EPR paradox
* Is space(-time) a thing or simply a relation?
* Block universe and time travel
Topics Courses
PH 484/684
TOPICS IN SPECULATIVE PHILOSOPHY
Professor Dahlstrom
Prereq: any one philosophy course from CAS PH
440-447, or consent of instructor. A study of
divergent theories of the cognitive character
of perception, cognition, and judgment.
PH 485/685
TOPICS IN PHILOSOPHY OF VALUE
Professor Kestenbaum
Prereq: any one philosophy course from CAS PH
450-457, or consent of instructor. Of what value
is the practical? Do practical engagements with
the world require a theoretical ground or is
practice the ground of theory? Analysis of concepts
such as practice, practical reasoning and understanding,
action, and theory in works of John Dewey, Michael
Oakeshott, and Hannah Arendt.
Texts:
John Dewey, The Quest for Certainty: A Study
of the Relation of Knowledge and Action
Michael Oakeshott, Rationalism in Politics
Hannah Arendt, The Life of the Mind
Additional readings will be drawn from literary
criticism, sociology, and anthropology.
Two, possibly three papers.
PH 486/686
TOPICS IN KNOWLEDGE, LANGUAGE, AND
LOGIC
Professor Hintikka
Prereq: any one philosophy course from CAS PH
460-468, or consent of instructor. This course
will focus on new approaches to logic and language
theory, as well as their impact on epistemology.
*The following courses are open to Graduate Students
ONLY*
PH 810
MODERN PHILOSOPHY (SPINOZA)
Professor Garrett
A close reading of Spinoza's Ethics and Treatise
on the Emendation of the Intellect.
PH 811
KANT I
Professor Allison
This is first of two part seminars on the Critique
of Pure Reason. It will focus on the Transcendental
Aesthete and Transcendental Analytic. The continuation
in the Spring will be devoted to the Transcendental
Dialectic. Although students free to take only
the first semester, no one will be admitted for
the second semester who were not enrolled in
the first.
A previous course on the Critique of Pure Reason
is NOT required or expected; but it is assumed
that students will have some basic familiarity
with Kant’s theoretical philosophy and,
more generally, the history of modern philosophy.
PH 854
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
Professor Haakonssen
Samuel Pufendorf (1632-94) is as important in
early modern ethics and politics as, say, Hobbes,
Spinoza, Locke, Leibniz, or Rousseau, and for
a century he was as influential as any of these.
Yet, today he is largely forgotten in the standard
histories of philosophy, a victim of the Kantian
revolution. Pufendorf’s philosophy was
in many ways the polar opposite of that of Kant,
thoroughly conventionalist in both ethics and
politics. Pufendorf’s central concern with
his conventionalism was to bracket politics from
religion, basing the former on a naturalistic
idea of sociability. The idea was to show the
proper foundations for a strong state – strong
enough to be ‘absolute’ in politics
but also to limit itself to politics. The course
will center on an analysis of Pufendorf’s
major work, The Law of Nature and Nations (1st
ed. 1672), relate it to its most important modern
referents, Grotius and Hobbes, and try to understand
why Locke should have found it the most important
work of its sort and why Leibniz and Kant should
have disdained its author so much.
PH 880
TOPICS IN PHILOSOPHY I
Professor Rosen
A detailed analysis of Plato's PHILEBUS
PH 882
TOPICS IN PHILOSOPHY III
Professor Michalski
The course will be devoted to an interpretation
of the conceptual relation between "eternity" and "time",
in particular as it appears in the works of Friedrich
Nietzsche ("Eternal Return of the Same").Texts
of St. Augustine, Hegel, Kirkegaard, Heidegger,
Deleuze and Gadamer will also be discussed.
PH 883
TOPICS IN PHILOSOPHY IV
Professor Neville
A sudy of the philosophical cosomology, reviewing
some classic positions and then engaging several
20th Century positions in detail.
Back to Top |
