Courses

• 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 677: Philosophy of the Social Sciences
  Topics in the philosophy of the social sciences such as the interpretation of human action and the objectivity of social inquiry. Social consideration of alternative theoretic viewpoints such as naturalism and interpretivism.
• GRS PH 680: Topics in Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
  Topic for Spring 2016: Plato and Aristotle on courage, moderation, friendship, and the philosophical life.
• GRS PH 682: Topics in Modern and Contemporary Philosophy
  Topics vary from semester to semester; may be repeated for credit as topics change. Topic for Spring 2013: Heidegger. A careful reading of Heidegger's major work, Being and Time. The end of the course looks at some of Heidegger's shorter works written later in his career, in order to consider some of the directions of his famous "turn."
• GRS PH 684: Topics in Speculative Philosophy
  Topic for Fall 2015: Meaning.
• GRS PH 687: Topics in the Philosophy of Science
  A discussion-based introduction to core issues in the philosophy of science, focusing on the topics of scientific realism, theory change, reductionism, explanation, models, and natural kinds.
• 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 1
  An advanced study of works by either Plato or Aristotle.
• GRS PH 802: Ancient Philosophy 2
  An advanced study of works by either Plato or Aristotle..
• GRS PH 827: Heidegger
  An advanced study of the works of Heidegger.
• GRS PH 828: Seminar in Philosophy of Religion
  An introduction to the philosophical and theological approaches to the study of religion(s) as distinct from other humanities-based and social-scientific approaches. Provides a common vocabulary for students pursuing historical, constructive, or interdisciplinary projects related to religions thought.
• GRS PH 850: Ethics
  Examines the origins of two familiar distinctions (1. the good versus the right; 2. sentiment versus reason). Tries to make sense of the eighteenth century approaches to these issues, as well as the continuity of those approaches with related twentieth and twenty-first century ethical theory.
• GRS PH 854: Seminar in Political Philosophy
  Topic for Spring 2016: Anarchism.
• GRS PH 858: Aesthetics
  Topic for Spring 2016: The contemporary philosophy of film.
• GRS PH 871: Philosophy of Science
  The aim of the course is to clarify the credentials and implications of each position (thus provide students a solid ground for participating in wider cultural debates on rationality and relativism), and to have a better understanding of the recent history and current status of philosophy of science (which is part of necessary training for professional philosophers), through a careful examination of the structure of the arguments adopted by each position in dealing with various issues.
• GRS PH 880: Topics in Philosophy I
  This is a doctoral seminar on the philosophy of ultimacy and the conditions for finite existence. The main texts are in the genre of philosophical theology, and they include explorations of the concepts of persons, primordial consciousness, and spontaneous emergence, based on cross cultural comparative studies. The course deals in detail with Christian symbols and theories of God, in comparison with other traditions. Seminar presentations and a term paper required.
• GRS PH 881: Proseminar for First-Year Graduate Students
  This seminar is open only to first-year PhD students in philosophy, all of whom are required to enroll. The seminar is designed to help incoming graduate students hone several invaluable philosophical skills, including those needed for effective presentation and defense of one's ideas. Topics vary by semester.
• GRS PH 882: Topics in Philosophy of Imagination
  Examines Hegel's definition of thinking. Explores concepts such as intersubjectivity, and the relation between thinking, language and subjective-finite knowledge. According to Hegel, the movement of the Concept rests on the link between spontaneity and reification. Attempts to reconstruct that link.
• GRS PH 883: Topics in Philosophy
  Topic for Spring 2016: Philosophy of Cosmology.

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