{"id":8910,"date":"2022-09-22T11:20:01","date_gmt":"2022-09-22T15:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/philo\/?page_id=8910"},"modified":"2026-10-21T11:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T15:54:09","slug":"course-offerings","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/philo\/academics\/course-offerings\/","title":{"rendered":""},"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>
\nProfessor\u00a0Michaela McSweeney<\/em>
\n<\/em>Monday, Wednesday, Friday<\/em>\u00a02:30\u00a0PM \u2013\u00a03:20\u00a0PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>This course asks questions about what it is to be a person, how we, as people, come to know things, and how we should interact with the rest of the world\/one another. You will be asked to reflect upon your own answers to these questions in addition to learning what others have to say about them; the focus is on doing philosophy more so than studying philosophy. Please note that this will be a technology-free classroom (except, of course, for accommodations) and the central assignments for the course happen in the classroom.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 100 B1: Introduction to Philosophy<\/strong>
\nProfessor\u00a0Michaela McSweeney<\/em>
\n<\/em>Monday, Wednesday, Friday<\/em>\u00a012:20\u00a0PM \u2013\u00a01:10\u00a0PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>This course asks questions about what it is to be a person, how we, as people, come to know things, and how we should interact with the rest of the world\/one another. You will be asked to reflect upon your own answers to these questions in addition to learning what others have to say about them; the focus is on doing philosophy more so than studying philosophy. Please note that this will be a technology-free classroom (except, of course, for accommodations) and the central assignments for the course happen in the classroom.
BU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 150 A1: Introduction to Ethics<\/strong>
\nProfessor\u00a0<\/em>Daniel Star<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday <\/em>12<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 PM \u2013 1:<\/em>45<\/em> PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>This course is an introduction to moral philosophy: what morality is, how we should live, and how to reason well about difficult ethical questions. We examine foundational debates and study major ethical frameworks. We use these tools to think clearly about a range of concrete moral problems in personal life and public affairs. Apart from introducing you to a central branch of philosophy, this course will help you improve your skills at careful reading, rigorous argument, and clear analytical writing.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 155 A1: Politics & Philosophy<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor\u00a0Darien Pollock<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday\u00a05:00\u00a0PM \u2013\u00a06:15 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

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CAS PH 160 A1: Reasoning & Argumentation<\/strong>
\nProfessor <\/em>Aaron Berman<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday <\/em>9<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>A<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>10<\/em>:<\/em>45<\/em> A<\/em>M<\/em>
\n<\/em>An introduction to philosophical methods of inquiry and discourse with three aims. The first\u00a0aim is to understand the nature of reason and argumentation; the course will serve as an introduction to logic, epistemology, and philosophy of language. The second aim is to improve our ability to reason, construct arguments, and identify fallacies. The third aim concerns the social dimension of knowledge and processes of social change. In order to achieve a more just society, we need to reason together and argue with one another in ways that facilitate change of belief in the direction of knowledge and social justice.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 242 A1: Philosophy of Human Nature<\/strong>
\nProfessor\u00a0<\/em>Dan Dahlstrom
<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>12<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 PM \u2013\u00a0<\/em>1<\/em>:45 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>This course examines the way in which philosophers construct and undermine traditional conceptions of human nature. These thinkers teach us to question our ordinary assumptions about the human condition in regard to the status of ethics, emotions, sociality, and technology.
BU Hub:<\/strong> Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 245 A1: Philosophy and Religion: The Quest for God and the Good<\/strong>
\nProfessor\u00a0<\/em>Ben Crowe
<\/em>Monday, Wednesday, Friday<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>1<\/em>:<\/em>25<\/em> PM \u2013\u00a0<\/em>2<\/em>:15 PM
<\/em>What ultimately matters in life?\u00a0 Can reason lead us to a good life?\u00a0 How is a meaningful life possible in the face of evil?\u00a0 Do faith and reason conflict or do they complement each other?\u00a0 Why is it so hard to have a self?\u00a0 How can people learn to appreciate what is truly good?\u00a0 This class explores these and other questions through the work of Boethius (ca. 475-526), the pseudonymous writings of S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), and Iris Murdoch (1919-1999).
BU Hub: <\/strong>Writing-Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings.<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 248 A1: Existentialism<\/strong>
\nProfessor\u00a0<\/em>Paul Katsafanas<\/em>
\n<\/em>Monday, Wednesday, Friday<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>12<\/em>:<\/em>2<\/em>0 PM \u2013\u00a0<\/em>1<\/em>:10 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

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CAS PH 251 A1: Medical Ethics<\/strong>
\nProfessor TBD<\/em>
\n<\/em>Monday, Wednesday, Friday<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>9<\/em>:05 <\/em>A<\/em>M\u00a0\u2013\u00a09:<\/em>55<\/em>\u00a0<\/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

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CAS PH 254 A1: Political Philosophy<\/strong>
\nProfessor\u00a0<\/em>Susanne Sreedhar
<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>3<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 PM \u2013\u00a0<\/em>4<\/em>:45 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>A study of western political philosophy that may include texts by authors such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Rawls, Robert Nozick, Virginia Held, Carole Pateman and Charles Mills (as well as others).
Prerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0 At least sophomore standing or any 100-level philosophy course.<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 256 A1: <\/strong>Philosophy of Gender and Sexuality (Cross-listed as WS 396 and PO 396)
<\/strong>Professor Derek Anderson
<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday 9:30 AM <\/em>\u2013\u00a010:45 AM
<\/em>Philosophizing about gender and sexuality from an intersectional perspective, we explore issues in the metaphysics, semantics, epistemology, and politics of gender and sexuality, engaging with both classic and contemporary readings. We focus on such questions as: What is gender? How is gender constructed and how is it related to sexuality? How must concepts of sexuality change within a non-binary understanding of gender? How do identities and conceptions of gender and sexuality interact with intersecting systems of oppression?
BU Hub:<\/strong> Social Inquiry I, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 266 A1: Mind, Brain, and Self<\/strong>
\nProfessor Victor Kumar<\/em>
\n<\/em>Monday, Wednesday, Friday\u00a012:20\u00a0PM \u2013\u00a01:10 PM<\/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

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CAS PH 275 A1: Philosophy in the Digital Age<\/strong>
\nProfessor Daniel Munro<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday 11<\/em>:00 <\/em>A<\/em>M\u00a0\u2013\u00a012:<\/em>15<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>P<\/em>M<\/em>
\n<\/em>Developments in digital technology have dramatically changed human life over the past few decades. Philosophical analysis can help us better understand how emerging technologies are shaping the world and our values, as well as how we should navigate these changes.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Critical Thinking, Ethical Reasoning, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings.<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 300 A1: History of Ancient Philosophy<\/strong>
\nProfessor Cinzia Arruzza<\/em>
\nTuesday, Thursday <\/em>12:30 PM \u2013 1:45 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

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CAS PH 300 B1: History of Ancient Philosophy<\/strong>
\nProfessor Allen Speight
<\/em>Monday, Wednesday, Friday\u00a0<\/em>9:05 AM \u2013 9:55 AM<\/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

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CAS PH 300 C1: History of Ancient Philosophy<\/strong>
\nProfessor Ben Crowe<\/em>
\n<\/em>Monday, Wednesday, Friday\u00a0<\/em>2:30 PM \u2013 3:20 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>This class explores classical Greek and Roman philosophy by tracing how his successors developed Socrates’s philosophical gambit.\u00a0 Socrates literally bet his life that a happy life is a life of virtue and, for that reason, a life of wisdom.\u00a0 We will study works by Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus and his followers, and Sextus Empiricus.
Prerequisites:<\/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

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CAS PH 310 A1: History of Modern Philosophy<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor Aaron Garrett<\/em>
\n<\/em>Monday, Wednesday, Friday 12:20\u00a0PM \u2013\u00a01:10 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, the relation of mind to body, the nature of personal identity, the problem of free will, and the problem of evil. Readings from Rene Descartes, Princess Elizabeth, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Benedict Spinoza, David Hume, and Immanuel Kant.
Prerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
\nBU Hub:<\/strong>\u00a0Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings, Research and Information Literacy.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

CAS PH 310 B1: History of Modern Philosophy<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Professor Dan Dahlstrom<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday 9:30 AM \u2013 10:45 AM<\/em>
\n<\/em>An examination of seventeenth through nineteenth century philosophy from Descartes to Nietzsche, with emphasis on the nature and extent of knowledge, the relation of mind to body, the problem of free will, the status of property, and the foundations of ethics. Readings from Rene Descartes, John Locke, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and Friedrich Nietzsche.
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

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CAS PH 350 A1: History of Ethics
<\/strong>Professor Ben Crowe
<\/em>Monday, Wednesday, Friday\u00a010:10\u00a0PM \u2013\u00a011:00 AM
<\/em>This course examines fundamental concepts and fault lines in the history of ethics, beginning with the debate about the good life in the classical era (Epicureanism, Stoicism, Aristotelianism), moving on to the epoch-making work of Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), and concluding with F.H. Bradley’s (1846-1924) dialectical treatment of ethical theories.
Prerequisites:<\/strong> Either two philosophy classes or one 300-level philosophy class.
BU Hub:<\/strong> Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 360 A1: Symbolic Logic<\/strong>
\nProfessor <\/em>Derek Anderson<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday<\/em> 12<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>1<\/em>:45 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>An introduction to first-order quantificational logic, a key tool underlying work in mathematics, philosophy of language and mind, philosophy of science and parts of syntax and semantics. We will review basic concepts of logic, including validity and proof theory, and progress from there into more advanced topics.<\/span>
Prerequisites:<\/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

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CAS PH 403 A1: Plato 1<\/strong>
\nProfessor <\/em>Marc Gasser-Wingate<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday<\/em> 12<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>3<\/em>:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>A close reading of Plato’s Meno<\/em>.
Prerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0PH 300 or consent of instructor
\nBU Hub:\u00a0<\/strong>Critical Thinking, Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings.<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 412 A1: Philosophy of the Enlightenment. (<\/strong>Cross-listed as CAS PO 592 and CAS HI 514)
\nProfessor TBD<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday<\/em> 12<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>3<\/em>:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>A critical examination of that family of philosophical and political movements that called itself “the Enlightenment.” Students analyze key texts by Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Smith, Rousseau, Voltaire, Diderot, Jefferson, Madison, Kant, and Hegel.
Prerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0CAS PH 310<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 413 A1: Kant
<\/strong>Professor Sally Sedgwick<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday<\/em> 5<\/em>:<\/em>0<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>6<\/em>:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>The focus of this course is Kant\u2019s metaphysics and theory of knowledge.\u00a0We will begin with a brief review of some of David Hume\u2019s skeptical arguments concerning human knowledge, then explore how the\u00a0<\/span>Critique of Pure Reason<\/em>\u00a0is Kant\u2019s effort to \u201csave\u201d metaphysics from Hume\u2019s skepticism. \u00a0In the final weeks of the course, we will explore his claim that his particular form of idealism provides the foundation for human freedom.
Prerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0PH 310 and two previous PH courses, or consent of instructor.<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 418 A1: Marx and Marxism
<\/strong>Professor Cinzia Arruzza<\/em>
\n<\/em>Thursday<\/em> 3<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>6<\/em>:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>Marxism is treated as a conceptual framework for understanding history and society, as a critique of capitalism and a program of transforming it, with an analysis of both its philosophical and ethical presuppositions. The evolution of its theoretical bases is critically examined.
Prerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0Two previous PH courses, or consent of instructor.
BU Hub: <\/strong>Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 419 A1: Nietzsche
<\/strong>Professor Paul Katsafanas<\/em>
\n<\/em>Monday<\/em> 2<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>5<\/em>:15 PM<\/em>
\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.
Prerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0CASPH 310 and two other philosophy courses, or consent of instructor.
BU Hub: <\/strong>Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 424 A1: Wittgenstein
<\/strong>Professor Juliet Floyd<\/em>
\n<\/em>Thursday<\/em> 3<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>6<\/em>:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>An intensive (line by line) study of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and Philosophical Investigations.
Prerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0CASPH 310 and two other philosophy courses, or consent of instructor.<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 445 A1: Philosophy of Love
<\/strong>Professor Daniel Star
<\/em>Tuesday, <\/em>Thursday<\/em> 3<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>4<\/em>:45 PM<\/em>
\n<\/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>\u00a0Two philosophy courses, or consent of instructor.
BU Hub:<\/strong> Philosophical Inquiry and Life\u2019s Meanings<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 458 A1: <\/strong>Crime and Punishment: Philosophical Perspectives (Cross-listed as PO 497)
<\/strong>Professor Susanne Sreedhar
<\/em>Tuesday <\/em>6:30\u00a0PM \u2013\u00a09:15\u00a0PM
<\/em>This course will explore philosophical questions about the criminal justice system, both in its ideal form and as it exists today. We will examine historical and contemporary writings on punishment, focusing on concepts of punishment, justifications for punishment, preventative detention, the death penalty, and alternatives to punishment. We will also ask how deep historical and contemporary injustices, including institutionalized racism, affect how we should theorize about institutions of punishment, their possible reform, or perhaps even their abolition.
Prerequisites:<\/strong> First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120), two previous PH courses, and<\/em> consent of instructor.<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 463 A1: Philosophy of Language
<\/strong>Professor Darien Pollock
<\/em>Thursday<\/em> 12<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>3<\/em>:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>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.
Prerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0(CASPH310 & CASPH360) and one other course in philosophy or consent of instructor.<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 465 A1: Philosophy of Cognitive Science
<\/strong>Professor Daniel Munro
<\/em>Tuesday<\/em> 3<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>6<\/em>:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>This course focuses on the blurry boundaries between philosophical and scientific study of the mind. Philosophers sometimes appeal to findings from empirical psychology to support views in philosophy of mind and epistemology. To what sorts of philosophical debates are empirical findings about the mind relevant? To what extent should we allow these findings to constrain our philosophical theorizing?
Prerequisites:<\/strong>\u00a0Two previous PH courses, or consent of instructor.
BU Hub: <\/strong>Critical Thinking, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Scientific Inquiry 2.<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 477 A1: Philosophy of the Social Sciences (<\/strong>The Philosophy of Culture)
<\/strong>Professor Allen Speight
<\/em>Friday <\/em>11:15\u00a0AM \u2013\u00a02:00 PM
<\/em>What do we mean by the term \u201cculture\u201d?\u00a0 What counts as cultural identity and how does it shape us?\u00a0 This course will explore a range of historical and contemporary perspectives on the philosophy of culture, from Kant, Herder, Hegel and Freud to contemporary work on cultural evolution, extended cognition and material culture.
BU Hub:<\/strong> Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Social Inquiry II, Critical Thinking.<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 484 A1: Speculative Philosophy
<\/strong>Professor Walter Hopp
<\/em>Thursday <\/em>12:00\u00a0PM \u2013\u00a02:45 PM
<\/em>This class will be dedicated to the work of the phenomenologist Max Scheler, particularly his ethics, his theory of value-consciousness, and his phenomenological psychology. It will be co-taught with Professor Susanna Siegel from Harvard University’s Department of Philosophy. Please note that half of the class meetings will take place at BU and the other half at Harvard.
<\/strong>BU Hub:<\/strong> Any one philosophy course from CAS PH 440-447, or consent of instructor.<\/p>\n

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CAS PH 487 A1: Topics in the Philosophy of Science
<\/strong>Professor Victor Kumar
<\/em>Monday 2:30 PM \u2013 5:15 PM<\/em>
\nThis course is about AI and how individual users should engage with it.\u00a0We’ll cover questions like this: How should you think with AI, if at all? Which uses sharpen your intellect and which dull it? Can AI foster creativity? Are human-AI relationships valuable? Can AI provide worthwhile therapy or emotional support? Do we have any moral duties to AI? Could AI be conscious?<\/p>\n

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

GRS PH 603 A1: Plato 1<\/strong>
\nProfessor <\/em>Marc Gasser-Wingate<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday<\/em> 12<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>3<\/em>:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>A close reading of Plato’s Meno<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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GRS PH 613 A1: Kant
<\/strong>Professor Sally Sedgwick<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday<\/em> 5<\/em>:<\/em>0<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>6<\/em>:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>The focus of this course is Kant\u2019s metaphysics and theory of knowledge.\u00a0We will begin with a brief review of some of David Hume\u2019s skeptical arguments concerning human knowledge, then explore how the\u00a0<\/span>Critique of Pure Reason<\/em>\u00a0is Kant\u2019s effort to \u201csave\u201d metaphysics from Hume\u2019s skepticism. \u00a0In the final weeks of the course, we will explore his claim that his particular form of idealism provides the foundation for human freedom.<\/p>\n

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GRS PH 618 A1: Marx and Marxism
<\/strong>Professor Cinzia Arruzza<\/em>
\n<\/em>Thursday<\/em> 3<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>6<\/em>:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>Marxism is treated as a conceptual framework for understanding history and society, as a critique of capitalism and a program of transforming it, with an analysis of both its philosophical and ethical presuppositions. The evolution of its theoretical bases is critically examined.<\/p>\n

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GRS PH 619 A1: Nietzsche
<\/strong>Professor Paul Katsafanas<\/em>
\n<\/em>Monday<\/em> 2<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>5<\/em>:15 PM<\/em>
\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.<\/p>\n

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GRS PH 624 A1: Wittgenstein
<\/strong>Professor Juliet Floyd<\/em>
\n<\/em>Thursday<\/em> 3<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>6<\/em>:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>An intensive (line by line) study of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and Philosophical Investigations.<\/p>\n

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GRS PH 633 A1: Symbolic Logic<\/strong>
\nProfessor <\/em>Derek Anderson<\/em>
\n<\/em>Tuesday, Thursday<\/em> 12<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>1<\/em>:45 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>An introduction to first-order quantificational logic, a key tool underlying work in mathematics, philosophy of language and mind, philosophy of science and parts of syntax and semantics. We will review basic concepts of logic, including validity and proof theory, and progress from there into more advanced topics.<\/span><\/p>\n

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GRS PH 645 A1: Philosophy of Love
<\/strong>Professor Daniel Star
<\/em>Tuesday, <\/em>Thursday<\/em> 3<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>4<\/em>:45 PM<\/em>
\n<\/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.<\/p>\n

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GRS PH 663 A1: Philosophy of Language
<\/strong>Professor Darien Pollock
<\/em>Thursday<\/em> 12<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>3<\/em>:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>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.<\/p>\n

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GRS PH 665 A1: Philosophy of Cognitive Science
<\/strong>Professor Daniel Munro
<\/em>Tuesday<\/em> 3<\/em>:<\/em>3<\/em>0 <\/em>P<\/em>M \u2013 <\/em>6<\/em>:15 PM<\/em>
\n<\/em>This course focuses on the blurry boundaries between philosophical and scientific study of the mind. Philosophers sometimes appeal to findings from empirical psychology to support views in philosophy of mind and epistemology. To what sorts of philosophical debates are empirical findings about the mind relevant? To what extent should we allow these findings to constrain our philosophical theorizing?<\/p>\n

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GRS PH 677 A1: Philosophy of the Social Sciences (<\/strong>The Philosophy of Culture)
<\/strong>Professor Allen Speight
<\/em>Friday <\/em>11:15\u00a0AM \u2013\u00a02:00 PM
<\/em>What do we mean by the term \u201cculture\u201d?\u00a0 What counts as cultural identity and how does it shape us?\u00a0 This course will explore a range of historical and contemporary perspectives on the philosophy of culture, from Kant, Herder, Hegel and Freud to contemporary work on cultural evolution, extended cognition and material culture.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

GRS PH 684 A1: Speculative Philosophy
<\/strong>Professor Walter Hopp
<\/em>Thursday <\/em>12:00\u00a0PM \u2013\u00a02:45 PM
<\/em>This class will be dedicated to the work of the phenomenologist Max Scheler, particularly his ethics, his theory of value-consciousness, and his phenomenological psychology. It will be co-taught with Professor Susanna Siegel from Harvard University’s Department of Philosophy. Please note that half of the class meetings will take place at BU and the other half at Harvard.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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GRS PH 687 A1: Topics in the Philosophy of Science
<\/strong>Professor Victor Kumar
<\/em>Monday 2:30 PM \u2013 5:15 PM<\/em>
\nThis course is about AI and how individual users should engage with it.\u00a0We’ll cover questions like this: How should you think with AI, if at all? Which uses sharpen your intellect and which dull it? Can AI foster creativity? Are human-AI relationships valuable? Can AI provide worthwhile therapy or emotional support? Do we have any moral duties to AI? Could AI be conscious?<\/p>\n

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GRS PH 850 A1: Topics in Philosophy of Value\/Ethics
<\/strong>Professor Aaron Garrett
<\/em>Monday 2:30 PM \u2013 5:15 PM<\/em>
\nThis seminar will focus on Henry Sidgwick\u2019s\u00a0Methods of Ethics<\/em>\u00a0and W. D. Ross\u2019s\u00a0The Good and the Right<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0They are widely considered two of a handful of the most important English-language works of ethics (by some the most important works of ethics full stop) and have been enormously influential on contemporary ethics. Sidgwick\u2019s\u00a0Method of Ethics<\/em>\u00a0offers a systematic account of what ethics is, how it guides action, and how to understand the fundamental commitments shared by deontic and utilitarian theories to impartiality and other tacit principles. Derek Parfit claimed that\u00a0Methods of Ethics<\/em>\u00a0had the largest number of true and important claims of any work in the history of ethics. Ross\u2019s\u00a0The Good and the Right<\/em>\u00a0provides an approach to morality which critically develops elements of Aristotelian and Kantian ethics \u2013 in contrast with Sidgwick\u2019s utilitarianism — to argue for a very sophisticated pluralist approach to duties and right action. Thomas Hurka and others have suggested that it is the most important deontic ethical theory. The seminar will consequently be ideal for getting a rigorous background in contemporary ethics. This seminar counts towards the \u201cModern\u201d Distribution requirement.<\/p>\n

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

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GRS PH 994 A1: Placement Seminar
<\/strong>Professor Michaela McSweeney
<\/em>Monday 2:30 PM \u2013 5:15 PM<\/em>
\nA continuation of GRS PH 993. 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":933,"featured_media":0,"parent":24,"menu_order":13,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/philo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8910"}],"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\/933"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/philo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8910"}],"version-history":[{"count":50,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/philo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10506,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/philo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8910\/revisions\/10506"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/philo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/philo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}