Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular semester. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the Student Link for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

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  • GRS PH 660: Epistemology
    An examination of some of the central questions concerning the nature, scope, sources, and structure of knowledge.
  • GRS PH 661: 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
  • GRS PH 662: Foundations of Mathematics
    Axiomatic set theory as a foundation for, and field of, mathematics: Axiom of Choice, the Continuum Hypothesis, and consistency results.
  • GRS PH 663: Philosophy of Language
    The most representative problem areas in contemporary philosophy of language are discussed, criticized, and put into a new perspective. They include Frege's sense-reference theory, quantification and anaphora, theory of truth, the semantics of intentional and epistemic concepts, strategic aspects of language use, identification and individuation, metaphor, demonstratives and indexical, discourse and dialogue theory, and selected language disturbances (dyslexia, autism).
  • GRS PH 665: 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
  • 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 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 676: Philosophy of the Earth Sciences: From Deep Time to the Anthropocene
    Examines philosophical and methodological issues arising in the geosciences, from reconstructing events in deep time, proxy data, and the catastrophism-uniformitarianism debate, to analog and computer simulation modeling, and the Anthropocene debate, drawing examples from geology, archaeology, paleontology, and climate science.
  • 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. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Social Inquiry II, Critical Thinking.
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Critical Thinking
  • GRS PH 685: Topics in Philosophy of Value
    Topics vary from year to year. Topic for Spring 2021: What is happiness? How can we achieve a balanced, healthy, fulfilling life? Classical thinkers such as Aristotle, Plato, Chuang Tzu; Stoic, Confucian, Buddhist, Taoist paths; comparison with contemporary studies of happiness and mindfulness.
  • 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 801: Ancient Philosophy 1
    An advanced study of works by either Plato or Aristotle.
  • GRS PH 810: Topics in Modern Philosophy
    Topics vary.
  • GRS PH 811: Topics in the Philosophy of Kant I
  • GRS PH 812: Kant 2
  • GRS PH 816: Hegel
    A close reading of the Phenomenology of Spirit, with a particular emphasis on its role as the justification of Hegel's standpoint in the Logic, the development of the overall argument, and the famous sections on sense-certainty, the master-slave dialectic, unhappy consciousness, the terror of the French revolution, the critique of Kant's moral philosophy, and the transition to religion. Students are asked to present short presentations on selections from the secondary literature.
  • GRS PH 819: Ethics
    An advanced study of ethics.
  • GRS PH 820: Contemporary Philosophy
    An advanced study of contemporary philosophy.

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