{"id":10062,"date":"2025-04-07T12:35:58","date_gmt":"2025-04-07T16:35:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/philo\/?page_id=10062"},"modified":"2026-02-10T12:21:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T17:21:30","slug":"fall-2025-course-offerings","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/philo\/academics\/course-offerings\/fall-2025-course-offerings\/","title":{"rendered":"Fall 2025 Course Offerings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Please proceed to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>MyBUStudent<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>for the most up-to-date information, class locations, and to register for classes. For more detailed descriptions and access to previously offered courses, please proceed to the<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Academic Bulletin<\/a>. Course offerings from previous semesters can be found on the sidebar.<\/span><\/p>\n

Please note that Philosophy offers lecture\/discussion style courses, which means that in order to complete your enrollment in this style of course and be eligible to receive credit, you must register for the lecture section AND a discussion section that corresponds by letter. For example, if you register for CAS PH 100 A1, you must also register for CAS PH 100 A2, A3, A4, or A5.<\/p>\n

Please also note that GRS (Graduate School of Arts & Sciences) courses are available for students enrolled in graduate programs only, and undergraduate students may only register for GRS courses with special circumstances and approval from the instructor.<\/p>\n

CAS \u2013 College of Arts & Sciences<\/strong><\/h1>\n

CAS PH 100 A1: Introduction to Philosophy<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor <\/em>Walter Hopp<\/em>
\nMonday, Wednesday, Friday<\/em> 9<\/em>:0<\/em>5<\/em> AM \u2013 <\/em>9<\/em>:<\/em>5<\/em>5 <\/em>A<\/em>M<\/em>
\n<\/em>Introduces the nature of philosophical activity through careful study of major philosophical topics. Topics may include the nature of reality, knowledge, God\u2019s existence, and the significance of human life.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 100 <\/strong>B<\/strong>1: Introduction to Philosophy<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor <\/em>Andrew Butler<\/em>
\nMonday, Wednesday, Friday<\/em> 2<\/em>:<\/em>30<\/em> P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>3<\/em>:<\/em>20<\/em> P<\/em>M<\/em>
\n<\/em>Introduces the nature of philosophical activity through careful study of major philosophical topics. Topics may include the nature of reality, knowledge, God\u2019s existence, and the significance of human life.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 110 A1: Great Philosophers<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor Ben Crowe<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday <\/em>12:30<\/em> P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>1<\/em>:<\/em>4<\/em>5 <\/em>P<\/em>M
<\/em>An introduction to philosophy through reading three great thinkers in the history of philosophy.\u00a0 We will examine principal writings of Aristotle, Xunzi, and Karl Marx, along with supplementary texts covering debates with opposing thinkers.\u00a0 Students are required to register for and attend lectures as well as discussion sections.
BU Hub:\u00a0<\/strong>Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 150 1: Introduction to Ethics<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor <\/em>Victor Kumar<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday 9:30 AM \u2013 10:45 AM<\/em>
\n<\/em>This course focuses on a set of interrelated questions about morality: What is morality? How should I live? What does morality require of us in our daily lives, if it requires anything at all? Is morality universal? Or, is it relative or subjective? What is the relationship between morality and religion?\u00a0Answering such questions will help us to understand what the most important features of morality are. We will look both at traditional moral theories that attempt to specify what morality requires of us (Utilitarianism, Kantianism, Contractarianism and Virtue Ethics), and at the application of these theories to many specific moral issues.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 150 <\/strong>B<\/strong>1: Introduction to Ethics<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor Daniel Star<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday<\/em> 11<\/em>:<\/em>0<\/em>0 AM \u2013 1<\/em>2<\/em>:<\/em>1<\/em>5 <\/em>P<\/em>M<\/em>
\n<\/em>This course focuses on a set of interrelated questions about morality: What is morality? How should I live? What does morality require of us in our daily lives, if it requires anything at all? Is morality universal? Or, is it relative or subjective? What is the relationship between morality and religion?\u00a0Answering such questions will help us to understand what the most important features of morality are. We will look both at traditional moral theories that attempt to specify what morality requires of us (Utilitarianism, Kantianism, Contractarianism and Virtue Ethics), and at the application of these theories to many specific moral issues.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 155 A1: Politics & Philosophy<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor <\/em>Darien Pollock<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday <\/em>5<\/em>:00 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>6<\/em>:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>What is justice? What are the foundations of property rights, liberty, and equality? Are anarchism and utopianism defensible? This course is an introduction to major themes and questions in political philosophy. It includes a study of classical and modern texts, as well as contemporary political issues.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 159 A1: Philosophy and Film<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor <\/em>Micah Trautmann<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday <\/em>5<\/em>:00 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>6<\/em>:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>This class provides an introduction philosophical and aesthetic issues connected with film.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Aesthetic Exploration, Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 160 A1: Reasoning & Argumentation<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor Andrew Butler<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday 9:30 AM \u2013 10:45 AM<\/em>
\n<\/em>Knowing how to think, reason, and argue well is essential for success in all disciplines and in everyday life.\u00a0 The aim of this course is to strengthen and develop your critical thinking skills; you will learn how to make good arguments and how to critically evaluate the arguments of others.\u00a0 This course will emphasize both real everyday examples, such as those drawn from newspaper articles, and examples drawn from the scientific literature. \u00a0Course will include a\u00a0systematic study of the principles of inductive, deductive and informal reasoning, calculated to enhance students\u2019 actual reasoning and argumentation skills.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 245 A1: The Quest for God and the Good
<\/strong>Professor Diana Lobel
<\/em>Monday, Wednesday, Friday 1:25 PM <\/em>\u2013 2:15 PM
<\/em>An interactive seminar, investigating the meaning and purpose of human life, the significance of God or an Absolute, the role of contemplation and action in the spiritual quest, relationships between philosophy and religious thought, East and West. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
Prerequisites:<\/strong> WR 120 or equivalent.
BU Hub:<\/strong> Writing-Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 248 A1: Existentialism<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor <\/em>Dan Dahlstrom<\/em>
\n<\/em>Monday, Wednesday, Friday <\/em>1<\/em>2:<\/em>2<\/em>0 PM \u2013 <\/em>1<\/em>:<\/em>1<\/em>0 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>This course examines approaches to central existentialist themes such as anxiety, truth, decision, authenticity, freedom, possibility, and \u201cbad faith.\u201d The first part of the course reviews the historical context of late modern European philosophy and the views of nineteenth century thinkers (Kierkegaard, Nietzsche) whose work set the stage for existentialist thinking in the twentieth century. The second part of the course focuses on writings of those thinkers (Heidegger, Sartre) most responsible for the development of existentialism in the first half of the twentieth century.
\nPrerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
\nBU Hub:\u00a0<\/strong>Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 251 A1: Medical Ethics<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor Owen GlynWilliams<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday <\/em>9:30 AM<\/em> \u2013 <\/em>10<\/em>:<\/em>4<\/em>5 <\/em>A<\/em>M<\/em>
\n<\/em>This course will survey ethical issues that arise in connection with medicine and emerging biotechnologies. It will examine topics such as the right to healthcare, research on human subjects, euthanasia, abortion, cloning, genetic selection, disabilities, and the biomedical enhancement of human capacities. Students can expect to gain not only training in the concepts and methods of moral philosophy and the logic of argumentation, but also the resources needed for assessing ethically difficult questions that healthcare professionals routinely face.
\nPrerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 253 A1: Social Philosophy<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor <\/em>Darien Pollock<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday 2:00 PM \u2013 3:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>Through a reading of some selected texts we will examine modern and contemporary theories of society, concerning its nature and the direction of its evolution. The philosophical and sociological discussions are framed in terms of the complicated relationship between individuals and society, and between civil society and the sovereign power.
\nPrerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0At least sophomore standing or any 100-level philosophy course.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 266 A1: Mind, Brain, and Self<\/strong>
\nProfessor Derek Anderson<\/em>
\nMonday, Wednesday, Friday<\/em> 9:<\/em>05<\/em> AM \u2013 <\/em>9<\/em>:<\/em>5<\/em>5 AM<\/em>
\n<\/em>This course is devoted to exploring the relationships among consciousness, the mind, and the brain, the nature of the self or person, and other related topics. This course will also examine whether and to what extent these issues can be addressed by contemporary natural science.
\nBU Hub:\u00a0<\/strong>Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Writing-Intensive Course, Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 272 A1: Science, Technology, and Values
<\/strong><\/em>Professor Daniel Munro
<\/em>Thursday, Friday 12:30<\/em> P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>1<\/em>:<\/em>4<\/em>5 <\/em>P<\/em>M
<\/em>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.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 300 A1: History of Ancient Philosophy<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor Cinzia Arruzza<\/em>
\n<\/em>Monday, Wednesday, Friday 12:20 PM \u2013 1:10 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>A survey of ancient Greek philosophy, with an emphasis on Plato and Aristotle. Topics will include: the fundamental nature of reality, how we know anything about it, wisdom, virtue, and human happiness.
\nPrerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0One philosophy course or sophomore standing. First Year Writing Seminar (e.g. WR 100 or WR 120).
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Writing-Intensive Course, Ethical Reasoning, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Legacy.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 300 B1: History of Ancient Philosophy
\n<\/strong>Professor Marc Gasser-Wingate
\nTuesday, Thursday 9:30 PM \u2013 10:45 PM
\n<\/em>A survey of ancient Greek philosophy, with an emphasis on Plato and Aristotle. Topics will include: the fundamental nature of reality, how we know anything about it, wisdom, virtue, and human happiness.
\nPrerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0One philosophy course or sophomore standing. First Year Writing Seminar (e.g. WR 100 or WR 120).
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Writing-Intensive Course, Ethical Reasoning, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Legacy.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 300 C1: History of Ancient Philosophy<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor <\/em>Allen Speight<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday 2:<\/em>0<\/em>0 PM \u2013 <\/em>3<\/em>:<\/em>1<\/em>5 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>A survey of ancient Greek philosophy, with an emphasis on Plato and Aristotle. Topics will include: the fundamental nature of reality, how we know anything about it, wisdom, virtue, and human happiness.
\nPrerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0One philosophy course or sophomore standing. First Year Writing Seminar (e.g. WR 100 or WR 120).
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Writing-Intensive Course, Ethical Reasoning, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Legacy.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 310 A1: History of Modern Philosophy<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor Aaron Garrett<\/em>
\n<\/em>Monday, Wednesday, Friday <\/em>2<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>3<\/em>:<\/em>2<\/em>0 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>An examination of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century philosophy from Descartes to Kant, with emphasis on the nature and extent of knowledge. Readings include Descartes, Spinoza, Cavendish, Hume, and Kant.
\nPrerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Research and Information Literacy.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 310 B1: History of Modern Philosophy
\n<\/strong>Professor Ben Crowe
\nTuesday, Thursday 9:30 AM \u2013 10:45 AM
\n<\/em>A survey of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century European philosophy, focusing on epistemology, metaphysics, and natural philosophy.\u00a0 We will read selections from the works of Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, and Hume.<\/p>\n

Prerequisites<\/strong>:\u00a0 One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Research and Information Literacy.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

CAS PH 310 C1: History of Modern Philosophy
\n<\/strong>Professor Dan Dahlstrom
\n<\/em>Monday, Wednesday, Friday <\/em>10<\/em>:<\/em>1<\/em>0 <\/em>A<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>11<\/em>:<\/em>0<\/em>0 <\/em>A<\/em>M<\/em>
\n<\/em>An examination of key philosophical debates and traditions in seventeenth through nineteenth century Western European thinking, with an emphasis on metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical themes, based upon close reading of works by Descartes and Cavendish, Hume and Kant, Marx and Nietzsche.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Research and Information Literacy.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 310 <\/strong>D<\/strong>1: History of Modern Philosophy<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor <\/em>Miguel Ohnesorge<\/em>
\nTuesday, Thursday<\/em> 3<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>4<\/em>:<\/em>45<\/em> PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>An examination of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century philosophy from Descartes to Kant, with emphasis on the nature and extent of knowledge. Readings include Descartes, Spinoza, Cavendish, Hume, and Kant.
\nPrerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Research and Information Literacy.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 360 A1: Symbolic Logic<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor <\/em>Derek Anderson<\/em>
\nMonday, Wednesday, Friday<\/em> 2<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>3<\/em>:<\/em>20<\/em> PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>A survey of the concepts and principles of symbolic logic: valid and invalid arguments, logical relations of statements and their basis in structural features of statements, analysis of the logical structure of complex statements of ordinary discourse, and the use of a symbolic language to display logical structure and to facilitate methods for assessing the logical structure of arguments. We cover the analysis of reasoning with truth-functions (\u201cand\u201d, \u201cor\u201d, \u201cnot\u201d, \u201cif \u2026 then\u201d) and with quantifiers (\u201call\u201d, \u201csome\u201d), attending to formal languages and axiomatic systems for logical deduction. Throughout, we aim to clearly and systematically display both the theory underlying the norms of valid reasoning and their applications to particular problems of argumentation. The course is an introduction to first-order quantificational logic, a key tool underlying work in foundations of mathematics, philosophy of language and mind, philosophy of science and parts of syntax and semantics. It is largely mathematical and formal in character, but lectures situate these structures within the context of questions raised in contemporary philosophy of language and mind
\nPrerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
\nBU Hub:\u00a0<\/strong>Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Quantitative Reasoning I, and Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 401: Senior Independent Work<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Prerequisites:<\/strong> senior standing, consent of instructor and department, and approval of Honors Committee.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 405 A1: Aristotle I
\n<\/strong>Professor <\/em>Marc Gasser-Wingate<\/em>
\nThursday 12<\/em>:30 PM \u2013 <\/em>3<\/em>:15 PM
<\/em>What do we know from perception? How should we understand the forms of practical and theoretical knowledge we humans can develop, and how are they different from the forms of knowledge available to other animals? How do we learn to be good—what sort of knowledge, and what else does this require? This class is a survey of Aristotle’s attempt to answer these and related questions.
Prerequisites:<\/strong> CAS PH 300<\/p>\n

CAS PH 415 A1: Nineteenth-Century Philosophy<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor <\/em>Ben Crowe<\/em>
\nTuesday, Thursday 2<\/em>:<\/em>0<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>3<\/em>:<\/em>15<\/em> PM
<\/em>A survey of nineteenth-century European philosophy, focused on G.W.F. Hegel and the critical reception of his work by S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard and Karl Marx.
<\/strong>Prerequisites:<\/strong> CAS PH 310 and one other philosophy course.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 420 A1: Contemporary Philosophy
\n<\/strong>Professor Victor Kumar
\nTuesday 12:30 PM \u2013 3:15 PM
<\/em>This course responds to the current moment in American political\u00a0culture by exploring why we’re so polarized and how knowledge and\u00a0ignorance are shaped by social organization and psychology. We’ll begin by studying theories of misinformation, echo chambers, tribalism, and populism (including Trumpism) before entering into debates about politically\u00a0contentious topics such as trans rights, immigration, and policing.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 421 A1: Frege, Moore, Russell
\n<\/strong>Professor Peter Hylton
\nTuesday, Thursday 11:00 AM \u2013 12:15 PM
<\/em>This course concerns the work of the philosophers who are usually credited with founding the tradition of analytic philosophy: Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, and G. E. Moore. (Moore\u2019s work will play much less of a role than that of Frege and Russell.) If time permits we may also read some of the early work of Ludwig Wittgenstein, which continues and revolutionizes the thought of Frege and of Russell.\u00a0<\/span>Frege and Russell are the philosophers who first formulated modern logic, and each of them tried to use it to give an account of arithmetic, a project known as \u201clogicism\u201d. The philosophical ramifications of logic and of the logicist project will occupy a significant amount of our attention.\u00a0<\/span>Exactly how we distribute our time will be decided in consultation with those taking the course.<\/span><\/p>\n

CAS PH 436 A1: Gender, Race, and Science<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor <\/em>Sam Hesni<\/em>
\n<\/em><\/strong>Tuesday<\/em> 1<\/em>2<\/em>:<\/em>30<\/em> PM \u2013 <\/em>3<\/em>:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>How do race and gender intersect when it comes to social identity, marginalization, privilege, and scientific engagement? We will start to address these questions by engaging with questions about the metaphysics and epistemology of race and gender. What is a racial category? What is gender? How do racism and sexism affect people from different ethnic, racial, and gender backgrounds differently? How does being gendered or racialized influence what we know and how we are treated as knowers? What is it like and what does it mean to \u2018pass\u2019 as one gender or racial and identify as another? Finally, we will address applied issues in science and ethics.
\nPrerequisites:\u00a0<\/strong>Two previous PH courses, or consent of instructor.
\nBU Hub:\u00a0<\/strong>Ethical Reasoning, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 44<\/strong>3<\/strong> A1: Philosophy <\/strong>of Mind<\/strong>
\nProfessor <\/em>Michelle Montague<\/em>
\nWednesday<\/em> 2:30 PM \u2013 5:15 PM
<\/em>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.
Prerequisites:<\/strong> two courses in philosophy or consent of instructor.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

CAS PH 44<\/strong>5<\/strong> A1: Philosophy <\/strong>of Love<\/strong>
\nProfessor <\/em>Daniel Star<\/em>
\nTuesday, Thursday<\/em> 2:<\/em>0<\/em>0 PM \u2013 <\/em>3<\/em>:15 PM
<\/em>What is love? What different forms does it take (e.g. parental love, romantic love)? Is love non- rational or are there reasons of love? We aim to answer these and other philosophical questions by focusing on contemporary philosophical writings on love.
Prerequisites:<\/strong> two philosophy courses, or consent of instructor<\/p>\n

CAS PH 44<\/strong>6<\/strong> A1: Philosophy of Religion<\/strong>
\nMichael Zank
<\/em>Monday, 6:30 PM <\/em>\u2013 9:15 PM
<\/em>Critical investigation of the limits of human knowledge and the theoretical and practical\u00a0demands for meaning attached to notions of God, providence, immortality, and other\u00a0metaphysical conditions of human thriving, from Plato to modern philosophies of religion.\u00a0This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking<\/p>\n

CAS PH 4<\/strong>51<\/strong> A1: <\/strong>Contemporary Ethical Theory<\/strong>
\nProfessor <\/em>Paul Katsafanas<\/em>
\nMonday<\/em> 2:<\/em>3<\/em>0 PM \u2013 <\/em>5<\/em>:15 PM
<\/em>Topic: Commitment and Meaning in Life
Many of the things that give our lives meaning and significance involve long-term, challenging, costly activities.\u00a0 You might want to succeed in a career, sustain close friendships, achieve an athletic goal, learn a new language, write a book. These things take time and effort: you won\u2019t accomplish them if you give up the moment things get tough.\u00a0 But many of them are optional.\u00a0 You decide to pick one career rather than another.\u00a0 You chose to learn French instead of German.\u00a0 You decided to spend your free hours mastering chess instead of reading great Victorian novels.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing wrong with those choices\u2014they make sense.\u00a0 They\u2019re rational.\u00a0 But they\u2019re also\u00a0optional:\u00a0<\/em>you could have done something else, and, if you had, that would have made sense.\u00a0 And many of the activities you\u2019ve chosen remain optional, even when chosen.\u00a0 In this course, we will examine these rationally optional, meaningful commitments.\u00a0 What is a commitment?\u00a0 How do we maintain commitments when faced with uncertainty about their status? \u00a0Can it be rational or praiseworthy to maintain commitments even when we in some sense lack reason for doing so? \u00a0How are commitments related to meaning and significance?\u00a0 We\u2019ll look at recent work on grit (persevering in the face of indications of potential failure); faith (believing a proposition or being committed to something in a way that is in certain ways impervious to counterevidence); hope (focusing on certain aspects at the expense of others); devotion (actively insulating a commitment from dialectical considerations); and the shape of a life (how certain commitments configure life as a whole).\u00a0 Readings will include work by Harry Frankfurt, Cheshire Calhoun, Michael Bratman, Sarah Paul, Jennifer Morton, Ruth Chang, Lara Buchak, Andrew Chignell, Antti Kauppinen, Josiah Royce, and others.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>CAS PH 4<\/strong>54<\/strong> A1: <\/strong>Liberty and Justice\/Community, Liberty, and Morality<\/strong>
\nProfessor <\/em>Derek Anderson<\/em>
\nFriday<\/em> 11<\/em>:<\/em>15<\/em> A<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>2<\/em>:<\/em>00<\/em> PM
<\/em>This course will study the relationship between liberalism and fascism, framed in light of the Foucauldian concept of \u201cpolitics as war by other means.\u201d What is power and how is it related to politics? What is fascism and when does a state count as becoming fascist? Liberalism vs. neoliberalism; ideal theory vs. non-ideal theory; freedom, rights, equality, democracy\u2014what are they and what does it take to ensure they exist in the future?<\/p>\n

CAS PH 4<\/strong>65<\/strong> A1: <\/strong>Philosophy of the Cognitive Sciences<\/strong>
\nProfessor <\/em>Daniel Munro<\/em>
\nTuesday, Thursday<\/em> 3<\/em>:<\/em>30<\/em> P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>4<\/em>:<\/em>45<\/em> PM
<\/em>The course begins with in-depth study of leading scientific work on the evolution of cognition and culture. Next, we draw on this work as we think about social conflict and social change, especially in the context of American political culture.
Prerequisites:<\/strong> CAS PH 310 & CAS PH 360 and one other philosophy course; or consent of instructor.
BU Hub:<\/strong> Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Scientific Inquiry II, Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>CAS PH 4<\/strong>72<\/strong> A1: <\/strong>Philosophy of Biology<\/strong>
\nProfessor <\/em>Rachell Powell<\/em>
\nTuesday 12<\/em>:<\/em>30<\/em> P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>3<\/em>:<\/em>15<\/em> PM
<\/em>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.
Prerequisites:<\/strong> two previous PH courses, or consent of instructor.<\/p>\n

CAS PH 489 A1: Henry James and New Media<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor Juliet Floyd<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday 3:30 PM \u2013 6:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>James\u2019s writing exposed the moral and aesthetic dimensions of social status, wealth, and romance. Exploring James\u2019s works and film adaptations of them, as well as contemporaneous philosophy, we address how they anticipate the social media of our time. Students complete a video, graphic novel, or other form of \u201cnew media\u201d for a final project.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Digital\/Multimedia Expression, Aesthetic Exploration, Creativity\/Innovation<\/p>\n

CAS PH 491 A1-G1: Directed Study<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>CAS PH 495 A1: <\/strong>Philosophy and Mysticism: Jewish and Islamic Perspectives
<\/strong>Professor Diana Lobel
<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday 12:30 PM \u2013 1:45 PM
<\/em>A thematic introduction to mysticism and philosophy, with a focus on the dynamics of religious experience. Readings will be drawn from medieval Jewish and Islamic philosophy; Sufi mysticism and philosophy; Kabbalah, Sufi poetry, Hebrew poetry from the Golden Age of Muslim Spain.
Prerequisites:<\/strong> First-Year Writing Seminar; and one course from among the following: Philosophy, Religion, Core Curriculum CC 101 and\/or CC 102<\/p>\n

GRS \u2013 GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES<\/strong><\/h1>\n

GRS PH 525 A1: Judith Butler
\n<\/strong>Professor <\/em>Petrus Liu<\/em>
\nThursday 3<\/em>:30 PM \u2013 <\/em>6<\/em>:15 PM
<\/em>An intensive study of Judith Butler\u2019s philosophical thought and social theory from the 1990s to the present, with an emphasis on the continuities and discontinuities between Butler\u2019s early work on gender performativity and more recent writings on racial justice, war, and violence.
Prerequisites:<\/strong> two previous XL, WS, or PH courses; or consent of instructor.
Graduate prerequisites:<\/strong> graduate standing.
BU Hub:<\/strong> Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, The Individual in Community, and Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>GRS PH 605 A1: Aristotle I
\n<\/strong>Professor <\/em>Marc Gasser-Wingate<\/em>
\nThursday 12<\/em>:30 PM \u2013 <\/em>3<\/em>:15 PM
<\/em>A careful study of the philosophy of Aristotle conducted primarily through a close reading of several of his major works.<\/p>\n

GRS PH 615 A1: Nineteenth-Century Philosophy<\/strong><\/em>
\n<\/strong>Professor <\/em>Ben Crowe<\/em>
\nTuesday, Thursday 2<\/em>:<\/em>0<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>3<\/em>:<\/em>15<\/em> PM
<\/em>We will ask: To what extent is a practical agent free or autonomous? We examine answers to these questions by figures such as Kant, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche and Freud.
Prerequisites:<\/strong> CAS PH 310 and one other philosophy course.<\/p>\n

GR<\/strong>S PH <\/strong>6<\/strong>18 A1: Marx and Marxism\u00a0<\/strong>
\n<\/em>Professor Tian Cao<\/em>
\n<\/em>Thursday 6:30 PM \u2013 9:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>In this introductory course, Marxism will be treated mainly as a conceptual framework for understanding history and society (including economy, politics and culture), and also as a critique of capitalism and a program of transforming the capitalist society for human emancipation, with an analysis of both its philosophical and ethical presuppositions and its conceptions of a post-capitalist society. The evolution of its theoretical bases, through its three stages (classical Marxism of Marx and Engels; the Soviet orthodoxy and its critics; and contemporary Marxisms) will be critically examined, and its practical (political, economic and cultural) impacts on the historical course since its inception briefly outlined.
\nPrerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0two previous PH courses, or consent of instructor.
\nBU Hub:\u00a0<\/strong>Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

GRS PH 619 A1: Nietzsche
\n<\/strong>Professor Paul Katsafanas
\nWednesday 6:30 PM \u2013 9:15 PM
\n<\/em>An intensive study of Nietzsche\u2019s philosophical thought. Topics to be addressed may include Nietzsche\u2019s claim that modern morality is dangerous; that the death of God brings with it the possibility of the \u201clast man\u201d; that modern culture exhibits or leads to nihilism; that we have lost \u201chigher values\u201d; that all organisms manifest a \u201cwill to power\u201d; that the will to truth is an expression of the ascetic ideal; that we need a \u201crevaluation of all values\u201d; that we must affirm the eternal recurrence of our lives; and that we have a superficial understanding of the nature of happiness. Readings will include a combination of primary and secondary sources.
\nPrerequisites:\u00a0<\/strong>Two philosophy courses, or consent of instructor.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings.<\/p>\n

GRS PH 620 A1: Contemporary Philosophy
\n<\/strong>Professor Victor Kumar
\nTuesday 12:30 PM \u2013 3:15 PM
<\/em>This course responds to the current moment in American political\u00a0culture by exploring why we’re so polarized and how knowledge and\u00a0ignorance are shaped by social organization and psychology. We’ll begin by studying theories of misinformation, echo chambers, tribalism, and populism (including Trumpism) before entering into debates about politically\u00a0contentious topics such as trans rights, immigration, and policing.<\/p>\n

GRS PH 621 A1: Frege, Moore, Russell
\n<\/strong>Professor Peter Hylton
\nTuesday, Thursday 11:00 AM \u2013 12:15 PM
<\/em>This course concerns the work of the philosophers who are usually credited with founding the tradition of analytic philosophy: Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, and G. E. Moore. (Moore\u2019s work will play much less of a role than that of Frege and Russell.) If time permits we may also read some of the early work of Ludwig Wittgenstein, which continues and revolutionizes the thought of Frege and of Russell.\u00a0<\/span>Frege and Russell are the philosophers who first formulated modern logic, and each of them tried to use it to give an account of arithmetic, a project known as \u201clogicism\u201d. The philosophical ramifications of logic and of the logicist project will occupy a significant amount of our attention.\u00a0<\/span>Exactly how we distribute our time will be decided in consultation with those taking the course.<\/span><\/p>\n

GR<\/strong>S PH <\/strong>633<\/strong> A1: Symbolic Logic<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor <\/em>Derek Anderson<\/em>
\nMonday, Wednesday, Friday<\/em> 2<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>3<\/em>:<\/em>20<\/em> PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>A survey of the concepts and principles of symbolic logic: valid and invalid arguments, logical relations of statements and their basis in structural features of statements, analysis of the logical structure of complex statements of ordinary discourse, and the use of a symbolic language to display logical structure and to facilitate methods for assessing the logical structure of arguments. We cover the analysis of reasoning with truth-functions (\u201cand\u201d, \u201cor\u201d, \u201cnot\u201d, \u201cif \u2026 then\u201d) and with quantifiers (\u201call\u201d, \u201csome\u201d), attending to formal languages and axiomatic systems for logical deduction. Throughout, we aim to clearly and systematically display both the theory underlying the norms of valid reasoning and their applications to particular problems of argumentation. The course is an introduction to first-order quantificational logic, a key tool underlying work in foundations of mathematics, philosophy of language and mind, philosophy of science and parts of syntax and semantics. It is largely mathematical and formal in character, but lectures situate these structures within the context of questions raised in contemporary philosophy of language and mind
\nPrerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
\nBU Hub:\u00a0<\/strong>Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Quantitative Reasoning I, and Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

GR<\/strong>S PH <\/strong>6<\/strong>36 A1: Gender, Race, and Science<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor <\/em>Sam Hesni<\/em>
\n<\/em><\/strong>Tuesday<\/em> 1<\/em>2<\/em>:<\/em>30<\/em> PM \u2013 <\/em>3<\/em>:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>How do race and gender intersect when it comes to social identity, marginalization, privilege, and scientific engagement? We will start to address these questions by engaging with questions about the metaphysics and epistemology of race and gender. What is a racial category? What is gender? How do racism and sexism affect people from different ethnic, racial, and gender backgrounds differently? How does being gendered or racialized influence what we know and how we are treated as knowers? What is it like and what does it mean to \u2018pass\u2019 as one gender or racial and identify as another? Finally, we will address applied issues in science and ethics.
\nBU Hub:\u00a0<\/strong>Ethical Reasoning, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

GR<\/strong>S PH <\/strong>6<\/strong>4<\/strong>3<\/strong> A1: Philosophy <\/strong>of Mind<\/strong>
\nProfessor <\/em>Michelle Montague<\/em>
\nWednesday<\/em> 2:30 PM \u2013 5:15 PM
<\/em>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.
Prerequisites:<\/strong> two courses in philosophy or consent of instructor.<\/p>\n

GRS<\/strong> PH <\/strong>6<\/strong>4<\/strong>5<\/strong> A1: Philosophy <\/strong>of Love<\/strong>
\nProfessor <\/em>Daniel Star<\/em>
\nTuesday, Thursday<\/em> 2:<\/em>0<\/em>0 PM \u2013 <\/em>3<\/em>:15 PM
<\/em>What is love? What different forms does it take (e.g. parental love, romantic love)? Is love non- rational or are there reasons of love? We aim to answer these and other philosophical questions by focusing on contemporary philosophical writings on love.
Prerequisites:<\/strong> two philosophy courses, or consent of instructor<\/p>\n

GRS PH 64<\/strong>6<\/strong> A1: Philosophy of Religion<\/strong>
\nMichael Zank
<\/em>Monday, 6:30 PM <\/em>\u2013 9:15 PM
<\/em>Critical investigation of the limits of human knowledge and the theoretical and practical\u00a0demands for meaning attached to notions of God, providence, immortality, and other\u00a0metaphysical conditions of human thriving, from Plato to modern philosophies of religion.\u00a0This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking<\/p>\n

GR<\/strong>S PH <\/strong>651<\/strong> A1: <\/strong>Contemporary Ethical Theory<\/strong>
\nProfessor <\/em>Paul Katsafanas<\/em>
\nMonday<\/em> 2:<\/em>3<\/em>0 PM \u2013 <\/em>5<\/em>:15 PM
<\/em>Topic: Commitment and Meaning in Life
Many of the things that give our lives meaning and significance involve long-term, challenging, costly activities.\u00a0 You might want to succeed in a career, sustain close friendships, achieve an athletic goal, learn a new language, write a book. These things take time and effort: you won\u2019t accomplish them if you give up the moment things get tough.\u00a0 But many of them are optional.\u00a0 You decide to pick one career rather than another.\u00a0 You chose to learn French instead of German.\u00a0 You decided to spend your free hours mastering chess instead of reading great Victorian novels.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing wrong with those choices\u2014they make sense.\u00a0 They\u2019re rational.\u00a0 But they\u2019re also\u00a0optional:\u00a0<\/em>you could have done something else, and, if you had, that would have made sense.\u00a0 And many of the activities you\u2019ve chosen remain optional, even when chosen.\u00a0 In this course, we will examine these rationally optional, meaningful commitments.\u00a0 What is a commitment?\u00a0 How do we maintain commitments when faced with uncertainty about their status? \u00a0Can it be rational or praiseworthy to maintain commitments even when we in some sense lack reason for doing so? \u00a0How are commitments related to meaning and significance?\u00a0 We\u2019ll look at recent work on grit (persevering in the face of indications of potential failure); faith (believing a proposition or being committed to something in a way that is in certain ways impervious to counterevidence); hope (focusing on certain aspects at the expense of others); devotion (actively insulating a commitment from dialectical considerations); and the shape of a life (how certain commitments configure life as a whole).\u00a0 Readings will include work by Harry Frankfurt, Cheshire Calhoun, Michael Bratman, Sarah Paul, Jennifer Morton, Ruth Chang, Lara Buchak, Andrew Chignell, Antti Kauppinen, Josiah Royce, and others.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

GR<\/strong>S PH <\/strong>654<\/strong> A1: <\/strong>Liberty and Justice\/Community, Liberty, and Morality<\/strong>
\nProfessor <\/em>Derek Anderson<\/em>
\nFriday<\/em> 11<\/em>:<\/em>15<\/em> A<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>2<\/em>:<\/em>00<\/em> PM
<\/em>This course will study the relationship between liberalism and fascism, framed in light of the Foucauldian concept of \u201cpolitics as war by other means.\u201d What is power and how is it related to politics? What is fascism and when does a state count as becoming fascist? Liberalism vs. neoliberalism; ideal theory vs. non-ideal theory; freedom, rights, equality, democracy\u2014what are they and what does it take to ensure they exist in the future?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>GRS PH 6<\/strong>65<\/strong> A1: <\/strong>Philosophy of the Cognitive Sciences<\/strong>
\nProfessor <\/em>Daniel Munro<\/em>
\nTuesday, Thursday<\/em> 3<\/em>:<\/em>30<\/em> P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>4<\/em>:<\/em>45<\/em> PM
<\/em>The course begins with in-depth study of leading scientific work on the evolution of cognition and culture. Next, we draw on this work as we think about social conflict and social change, especially in the context of American political culture.
Prerequisites:<\/strong> CAS PH 310 & CAS PH 360 and one other philosophy course; or consent of instructor.
BU Hub:<\/strong> Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Scientific Inquiry II, Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

GRS PH 6<\/strong>72<\/strong> A1: <\/strong>Philosophy of Biology<\/strong>
\nProfessor <\/em>Rachell Powell<\/em>
\nTuesday 12<\/em>:<\/em>30<\/em> P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>3<\/em>:<\/em>15<\/em> PM
<\/em>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.
Prerequisites:<\/strong> two previous PH courses, or consent of instructor.<\/p>\n

GRS PH 6<\/strong>76<\/strong> A1: <\/strong>Philosophy of the Earth Sciences<\/strong>
\nProfessor <\/em>Alisa Bokulich<\/em>
\nTuesday, Thursday<\/em> 3<\/em>:<\/em>30<\/em> P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>4<\/em>:<\/em>45<\/em> PM
<\/em>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.
Prerequisites:<\/strong> two previous PH courses, or consent of instructor.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>GRS PH 689 A1: Henry James and New Media<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor Juliet Floyd<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday 3:30 PM \u2013 6:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>James\u2019s writing exposed the moral and aesthetic dimensions of social status, wealth, and romance. Exploring James\u2019s works and film adaptations of them, as well as contemporaneous philosophy, we address how they anticipate the social media of our time. Students complete a video, graphic novel, or other form of \u201cnew media\u201d for a final project.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Digital\/Multimedia Expression, Aesthetic Exploration, Creativity\/Innovation<\/p>\n

GRS PH 870 A1: Seminar: Philosophy of Science<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor Miguel Ohnesorge<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday 2:00 PM \u2013 3:15 PM<\/em><\/p>\n

GRS PH 990 A1: Dissertation Workshop<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor Marc Gasser-Wingate<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday 12:30 PM \u2013 3:15 PM
<\/em>Intended for Philosophy PhD students working toward a dissertation prospectus or dissertation. Students present their research and discuss each other’s research projects.<\/p>\n

GRS PH 993 A1: Philosophy Proseminar 1<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor Victor Kumar<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday 12:30 PM \u2013 3:15 PM
<\/em>A workshop seminar offering advanced graduate students the opportunity to present and discuss work-in- progress (dissertation chapters, papers for job applications, journal submissions). A serious commitment to regular and continuing attendance is expected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Please proceed to\u00a0MyBUStudent\u00a0for the most up-to-date information, class locations, and to register for classes. For more detailed descriptions and access to previously offered courses, please proceed to the\u00a0Academic Bulletin. Course offerings from previous semesters can be found on the sidebar. Please note that Philosophy offers lecture\/discussion style courses, which means that in order to complete […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23543,"featured_media":0,"parent":8910,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/philo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10062"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/philo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/philo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/philo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23543"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/philo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10062"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/philo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10150,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/philo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10062\/revisions\/10150"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/philo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/philo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}