Philosophy

• CAS PH 100: Introduction to Philosophy
  Introduces the nature of philosophical activity through careful study of major philosophical topics. Topics include happiness, knowledge, and God's existence. How is knowledge acquired? What reasons are there for supposing that God exists? Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 110: Great Philosophers
  An approach to philosophical questions through great figures of western thought. Is there a God? What is philosophy? Should we bother asking philosophical questions? What is the meaning of life? Includes Aristotle, Hobbes, Descartes. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 150: Introduction to Ethics
  What is morality? What does morality require of us in our daily lives? We look both at theories that specify what morality requires of us and at specific moral issues to which these theories apply. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 155: Politics and Philosophy
  Introduces major themes and questions in political philosophy. Focus on modern European Enlightenment, but also examines contemporary and classic authors. Cultivates philosophical analysis and argumentation by delving into issues of contemporary relevance. Carries CAS humanities division credit.
• CAS PH 159: Philosophy and Film
  An introduction to philosophy via reflecting on philosophical issues connected with film as a medium. Topics include general aesthetics, representation, emotion and narrative, genre, fictionalism, and whether film can be immoral. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 160: Reasoning and Argumentation
  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. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 170: Philosophy of Science and Pseudoscience
  How do legitimate science and quackery differ? We distinguish legitimate scientific debates from arguments by dubious sources. We explore how science progresses, and how non-experts can evaluate surprising arguments that claim to be "scientific." Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 223: Philosophy of Sport
  A philosophical investigation of sport. Questions include: What is sport? What is play? Is competition morally defensible? Should athletes take performance-enhancing drugs? Should women compete against men? Is sport beautiful? Readings from contemporary and classical philosophers. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 234: Wealth, Ethics, and Liberty
  Examines such issues as whether or not the pursuit of wealth is morally corrupt; what "distributive justice" is; whether a market society leads to alienation, objectification, social division; and the fundamental arguments for and against the free market. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 239: Philosophy of Emotion
  We feel emotions throughout our lives, yet they remain mysterious. What is an "emotion"? How do emotions differ from moods, attitudes, or dispositions? Are some more basic than others? Can they be assessed ethically? Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course by the same name numbered CAS PH 439.
• CAS PH 241: Philosophy of Personality
  Consideration of the nature of self-understanding and self-realization. Psychological and philosophical perspectives on pattern, growth, and maturity in personality. Attention to philosophical issues regarding emotion in the healthy personality; rationality, freedom, and responsibilty. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 242: Philosophy of Human Nature
  Consideration of how questions about human nature receive philosophical formulation through analyzing depth, courage, authority, intensity, possibility, transcendence, tradition, adventure, unity, sex, struggle, and peace. Discussion of past and recent work in philosophical anthropology. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 244: How Are We To Live? Ethics in Action
  Explores topics in practical ethics, including poverty, the right to healthcare, killing in medicine, killing in war, capital punishment, the treatment of non-human animals, and the biomedical enhancement of human capacities and human nature. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 245: Philosophy and Religion
  Introduces religious thought, exploring the aims of human life, God's place in the good life, and contemplation and action in the spiritual quest. Readings from Plato, Aristotle, Bible, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Augustine, Maimonides, Ghazzali. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 247: Introduction to Chinese Philosophy
  An introduction to the Chinese philosophical tradition, including a study of classical Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Mohism, Legalism, and modern developments. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 248: Existentialism
  Explores existentialism in contemporary philosophy. Topics include the grounds for belief and value; depth, superficiality, and the intense life; commitment and open-mindedness; boredom, anxiety, and adventure; and existentialism as a philosophy of the possible. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 251: Medical Ethics
  Explores moral philosophical issues that arise in connection with medicine and emerging biotechnologies. Examines topics such as the right to healthcare, research ethics, euthanasia, abortion, concepts of death and disease, and assisted reproductive technologies. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 253: Social Philosophy
  A survey of philosophical and sociological analyses of modern Western society, including Rousseau, Marx, Weber, and a number of contemporary writers. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 254: Political Philosophy
  Examines modern European political philosophy: Hobbes, Kant, Marx, and Carl Schmitt. Focuses on "liberalism" and its criticism, in the context of the intellectual landscape of the time as well as some more recent interpretations. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 256: Philosophy of Gender and Sexuality
  Analyzes notions of gender and sexuality. Readings: Plato, Rousseau, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Sartre, Levinas, Scruton, Bloom. Questions include: Are gender and sexuality natural? Are they social constructions? How are they related to love and desire? Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.

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