Courses

• GRS PH 665: Philosophy of Cognitive Science
  Can humans be thought of in analogy with machines? The course examines questions of natural and artificial intelligence in light of traditional theory and of recent research in computer science and artificial intelligence.
• GRS PH 668: Philosophical Problems of Logic and Mathematics
  Selected traditional metaphysical and epistemological problems in the light of modern logic and various studies in the foundations of mathematics, including the nature of axiomatic method, completeness in logic and mathematics, and the nature of mathematical truth.
• GRS 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.
• GRS PH 671: Ecology in 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?
• GRS PH 672: Philosophy of Biology
  Conceptual problems in biology; unity or pluralism of science; hierarchy theory; biological explanation; evolutionary theory, teleology and causality, statistical explanation; the species problem; mind and the brain; and language in animals and humans.
• GRS PH 674: Inductive Logic and Scientific Methodology
  An assessment of historically important theories of inductive logic and an attempt to formulate an adequate synthesis. Attention is paid to the role of probability in inductive inference.
• GRS PH 677: Philosophy of the Social Sciences
  
• GRS PH 680: Topics in Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
  
• GRS PH 681: Topics in the Philosophy of Law
  A critical study of theories about legal interpretation – based on the conventional meaning of the text, the lawmakers' intentions, and the principles that best justify the laws – with an emphasis on the philosophical underpinnings and implications of each theory.
• GRS PH 682: Topics in Modern and Contemporary Philosophy
  Topic for Fall 2004: The historical development of selfhood, and more specifically self- consciousness, from the early modern period into the twentieth century. An emphasis on Romantic conceptions (Hegel, Schopenhauer, Feuerbach, Kierkegaard, and Marx) complemented with readings by Nietzsche, James, Wittgenstein, and Moran.
• GRS PH 683: Topics in the Philosophy of Religion
  Focus on a specific topic in the philosophy of religion. Topic for Fall 2010: Problem of Evil. A philosophical and theological analysis of the problem of evil, as formulated in the Bible and other sacred texts, ancient and modern philosophy, literature, and cinema. Also offered as GRS RN 743.
• GRS PH 684: Topics in Speculative Philosophy
  Topics 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.
• GRS PH 685: Topics in Philosophy of Value
  
• GRS PH 686: Topics in Knowledge, Language, and Logic
  
• GRS 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.
• GRS PH 688: Topics in Aesthetics
  Consideration of selected topics in aesthetics, with particular attention to the relationship between aesthetic experience and analytical accounts of the experience; topics include expression, perception, qualities, the good, the ideal, and the sublime.
• GRS PH 699: Teaching College Philosophy I
  The goals, contents, and methods of instruction in philosophy. General teaching-learning issues. Required of all teaching fellows.
• GRS PH 801: Ancient Philosophy I
  
• GRS PH 802: Ancient Philosophy II
  
• GRS PH 810: Modern Phil
  This course description is currently under construction.

Note that this information may change at any time.

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