Courses

• 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
  An introduction to the philosophy of religion, which explores questions such as the existence and nature of God, God's place in the good life, and the spiritual quest. Both classical and contemporary works are studied. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 246: Indian Philosophy
  Indian philosophy in a comparative context, with special emphasis on Hindu nondualism. 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
  A study of western political philosophy that may include texts by authors such as Aristotle, Hobbes, Marx, Kant, Schmitt, Rawls. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 256: Philosophy of Gender and Sexuality
  Analyzes notions of gender and sexuality. Questions include: Are gender and sexual identity natural, or are they social constructions? How are they related to love and desire? Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Also offered as CAS PO 396.
• CAS PH 258: Philosophy and Literature
  Examines literature and philosophy through the sorts of demands they place upon reason, experience, and language. Authors may include William James, Henry James, Wallace Stevens, T.S. Elliot, and many others. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 259: Philosophy of the Arts
  What makes something beautiful? How do different arts (music, dance, painting, sculpture, architecture, film, drama) relate to our aesthetic experience of the world? Explores several philosophical theories of art through specific examples of artwork. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 261: Puzzles and Paradoxes
  Our basic beliefs, when scrutinized, can yield absurd conclusions. For example, using seemingly uncontroversial beliefs, we can conclude that motion is impossible and that everyone is bald. This course examines many puzzles and paradoxes. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 265: Minds and Machines
  Examines efforts of artificial intelligence to model the human mind and explain human thought. Explores the historical and mathematical origins of such efforts, and the psychological and philosophical assumptions on which they depend. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 266: Mind, Brain, and Self
  Philosophical introduction to cognitive science. Considers the historical and intellectual background from which cognitive science has emerged, as well as philosophical issues concerning the mind, brain, and self that arise from contemporary scientific research. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 270: Philosophy of Science
  Uses scientific examples from the study of physics, biology, and mind. Focuses on the aims of science, the nature of scientific understanding, the structure and interpretation of scientific theories, and the development of science. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 272: Science, Technology, and Values
  Examination of some of the important ways in which science, technology, society, and human values are interconnected. Includes case studies of the social and ethical challenges posed by computer, military, and biological technology. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS PH 300: History of Ancient Philosophy
  Classical Greek philosophy, with a concentration on the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle.

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