Philosophy

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  • CAS PH 419: Nietzsche
    A study of Nietzsche's philosophy, focusing on one or more of his works.
  • CAS PH 422: Analytic Philosophy
    A survey of the basic works of twentieth-century analytical philosophy.
  • CAS PH 424: Wittgenstein
    An intensive (line by line) study of Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations.
  • CAS PH 426: Phenomenology
    Rigorous examination of foundations of philosophical phenomenology in Husserl and others. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Writing-Intensive Course, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings.
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS PH 427: Heidegger and Existential Philosophy
    A study of the main topics of Heidegger's philosophy against the background of his interpretation of Husserl's phenomenology, Kant's transcendental philosophy, and ancient Greek philosophy, with an emphasis on the concepts of being, time, and truth.
  • CAS PH 430: American Philosophy
    The American fascination with religion; Idealism versus Pragmatism in close readings of major texts from three or four among the folowing: Edwards, Emerson, James, Dewey, Royce, Hocking, Reinhold Niebuhr, Tillich.
  • CAS PH 436: Gender, Race, and Science
    An upper-level exploration of topics in the philosophy of gender and philosophy of race, informed by historical and scientific inquiry. Explores philosophical questions about the nature of race and racism, sex and sexism. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS PH 440: Metaphysics
    A survey of basic questions in contemporary metaphysics that may include reality, time, change, free will, personal identity, and causation.
  • CAS PH 443: Philosophy of Mind
    The topic is sentience, embodiment, and the brain. The aim is to develop a "neurophenomenological" approach to consciousness and embodied experience in cognitive science and the philosophy of mind.
  • CAS PH 450: Types of Ethical Theory
    A survey of basic ethical theories including those in the Kantian, utilitarian, and virtue-ethics traditions.
  • CAS PH 453: Classical to Early Modern Political Theory
    Focuses on philosophical subjects relevant to ethics and politics, such as virtue and happiness; human nature and reason; qualifications of leadership; aims and means of civic education; and conceptions of law (man-made, natural, divine). Texts by Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Machiavelli. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking.
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS PH 454: Community, Liberty, and Morality
    Traces the contemporary movement known as Virtue Ethics, which has revived a characteristic approach to ethics of ancient Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. Focus on understanding VE's critique of modern approaches and on evaluating its advocates' positive claims.
  • CAS PH 456: Topics in Philosophy and Religion
    Topic for Fall 2020: Buddhism as Philosophy. Topics include Buddhist philosophy of mind, religious knowledge, controversies with rival philosophers, and the path to nirvana. Seminar coordinates with the fall lecture series in the Institute for Philosophy and Religion.
  • CAS PH 458: Crime and Punishment: Philosophical Perspectives
    Study of fundamental issues in criminal law, including the theory and definition of crime; economic, utilitarian, and retributivist justifications of punishment; exculpating circumstances; the death penalty; and the relationship between law and politics. Also offered as CAS PO 497.
  • CAS PH 459: Political and Legal Philosophy
    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. Also offered as CAS PO 499.
  • CAS PH 460: Epistemology
    An examination of some of the central questions concerning the nature, scope, sources, and structure of knowledge.
  • CAS PH 461: Mathematical Logic
    The investigation of logical reasoning with mathematical methods. The syntax and semantics of sentential logic and quantificational logic. The unifying Godel Completeness Theorem, and models of theories. A look at the Godel Incompleteness Theorem and its ramifications. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings.
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
  • CAS PH 462: Foundations of Mathematics
    Axiomatic set theory as a foundation for, and field of, mathematics: Axiom of Choice, the Continuum Hypothesis, and consistency results. Also offered as CAS MA 532.
  • CAS PH 463: Philosophy of Language
    Critical survey of the main issues in the philosophy of language and the foundations of linguistics, including the ideas of logical form and the universality of languages as well as the basic ideas of generative grammar, possible-worlds semantics, Wittgenstein, and speech-act theories.
  • CAS PH 465: Philosophy of Cognitive Science
    We'll read important scientific work in evolutionary theory, psychology, etc. about human cognition. We'll then explore its philosophical implications. For example, we'll use research in cognitive science to think about whether humans are irremediably tribal and sectarian. Scientific Inquiry I and Social Inquiry I are both prerequisites for this course. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Scientific Inquiry II, Critical Thinking.
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Scientific Inquiry II
    • Critical Thinking

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