Courses


Spring 2024 Course Descriptions

PHIL 141 Introduction to Philosophy Honors 

Prof. Thomas Tuozzo 

In this course we will read select works to come to an understanding of some central philosophical problems and of the diverse ways they have been treated by philosophers in the Western tradition. Texts will be drawn from the history of western philosophy (e.g., Plato, Descartes, Du Chatelet, Kant) as well as 20th- and 21st-century philosophers (e.g., Heidegger, Fanon, Quine, Bettcher).

PHIL 148 Reason and Argument 

J. Symons 

An introduction to the theory and practice of logical analysis. Special emphasis is placed upon the logical appraisal of everyday arguments.

PHIL 150 Philosophical Communication 

Kim Soland 

This course provides an introduction to philosophy, with a focus on the traditional philosophical practice of oral communication and argument. Through exploration of perennial philosophical questions (e.g., Are there different ways of knowing? What makes for a good life? Could computers have minds? Are we obligated to obey the law? What makes you the same person over time?), students develop their ability to participate in various forms of philosophical communication. In this course, students have the opportunity to teach course material to peers, engage in class debates over philosophical issues, and craft short presentations exploring a facet of the course topic.

PHIL 160 Introduction to Ethics 

Brad Cokelet 

This course provides a topical and historical introduction to philosophic ethics.  It is divided into two main units: (1) Well-being, Good Character, and Meaning in Life and (2) Morality and Moral Progress.  Students will gain understanding of various theories of well-being, good character, meaning, and morality and learn to apply them in order to think critically about applied moral and personal topics.  Optional units will allow students to improve their critical reasoning skills and reflect on their personal values and how well they are embodying them.

PHIL 160 Introduction to Ethics 

Snow 

An introductory study of the nature of morality and of philosophical bases for the assessment of actions, agents, and institutions. Special emphasis will be placed upon the views of such important philosophers as Aristotle, Hume, Kant, and Mill. Some attention will be paid to applications of moral theory to practice.

PHIL 161 Introduction to Ethics Honors 

I. Symons 

This course provides an introduction to the kind of philosophical problems that moral philosophy, or ethics, deals with. First, we will examine major ethical theories that attempt to provide general guiding principles for specific questions of right and wrong actions. Moral theories offer strategies for approaching moral dilemmas that we encounter in our daily lives, both regarding what choices we should make in order to secure a good life for ourselves, as well as what actions we should choose in order to do right by others. Second, we will use these theories to navigate our way through moral debates relevant nowadays, pertaining to poverty, justice, animal rights, social policy, and more.  

Learning outcomes: In this class you will develop your capacity to analyze philosophical texts, to identify moral problems, to construct philosophical arguments, to present your thoughts in clear written form, and to be better moral thinkers. The main learning outcomes of this course are: (1) enhancing understanding of the central concepts and principles of ethics and (2) improving ethical reasoning, decision-making, and behavior. 

PHIL 210 Playing the Odds: Reasoning, Chance & Probability 

Wadle 

Many of the things we need to think through involve uncertainty. There may be a chance that it will rain, that a flight will get canceled, that a car accident will occur, or that a team will win. Should you buy a $10 parking pass if you know there's a 5% chance you will get a $100 fine if you don't buy one? This course will teach you how to think through uncertainty and probability, using philosophical and mathematical techniques, logic, and critical thinking. This course presupposes knowledge of pre-algebra and basic high school algebra.

PHIL 310 Introduction to Symbolic Logic 

Ben Caplan 

We will study sentential and predicate logic. We will learn three types of skills: (i) how to symbolize English sentences (e.g. “Meghan has beagles and Harry has a black Lab”, “Someone who has beagles is married to someone who has a black Lab”) in various formal languages; (ii) how to interpret those formal languages; and (iii) how to do proofs in those formal languages. These skills are learned, and we will learn them by working through examples.

PHIL 340 Women Philosophers 

Marcy P. Lascano 

This course focuses on women philosophers from the sixteenth century through the nineteenth century. We will concentrate on issues in social political philosophy and metaphysics through the works of Margaret Cavendish, Sophie de Grouchy, Mary Astell, and Émilie du Châtelet. In addition, we will examine philosophical views in a number of genres, including letters, poetry, treatises, and science fiction. The course also provides an introduction to philosophical research methods and students will do independent research and a presentation on a philosopher in the period. 

Fulfills: History of Philosophy

PHIL 350 Philosophical Issues in Religion 

Eileen Nutting 

This course primarily focuses on three epistemological topics in the philosophy of religion.  The first is religious disagreement: can people with roughly the same evidence reasonably disagree about religion, or does such disagreement require the irrationality of at least one of the parties?  The second is evidence for religious belief, especially issues related to the evidence provided by religious experience.  And the third is faith: what is it, and how is it related to belief?   

PHIL 375 Moral Issues in Computer Technology 

Osmanoglu 

After surveying the nature of ethics and morality and learning some standard techniques of moral argumentation, we shall examine such topics as: property and ownership rights in computer programs and software; privacy in computer entry and records; responsibility for computer use and failure; the "big brother" syndrome made possible by extensive personal data banks; censorship and the world-wide web; computer illiteracy and social displacement; and ethical limits to computer research.

PHIL 381 Feminism and Philosophy 

Frykholm 

An examination of topics of philosophical interest that are important in the feminist movement such as the nature of sexism, the concept of sexual equality, the ethics of sexual behavior, the nature of love, feminist analyses of the value of marriage and family, the ethics of abortion, and justifications for preferential treatment of women. (Same as WGSS 381.)

PHIL 386 Modern Philosophy from Descartes to Kant 

Marcy P. Lascano 

This is a survey course on 16th and 17th century philosophers, including Descartes, Cavendish, Spinoza, Locke, Astell, Leibniz, Hume, and du Châtelet, and Voltaire. The course proceeds topically with sections on the existence and nature of God, Substance, persons, freedom, and happiness.

Fulfils: History of Philosophy

PHIL 418 Introduction to Cognitive Science 

Wadle 

Examines the data and methodologies of the disciplines that comprise Cognitive Science, an inter-disciplinary approach to studying the mind and brain. Topics may include: consciousness, artificial intelligence, linguistics, education and instruction, neural networks, philosophy, psychology, anthropology, evolutionary theory, cognitive neuroscience, human-computer interaction, and robotics. (Same as LING 418, PSYC 418, and SPLH 418.) Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

PHIL 559 Eighteenth Century Philosophy 

Prof. Erin Frykholm 

The development of philosophy in the 18th century. Special attention will be paid to such major figures as Hutcheson, Butler, Berkeley, Mandeville, Hume, Smith, Kant, Rousseau, Bentham, Wolstonecraft and Shepherd. Prerequisite: PHIL 386 or consent of instructor.

Fulfils: History of Philosophy

PHIL 570 Nietzsche 

Jenkins 

This course is a study of Friedrich Nietzsche‚’s writings from The Birth of Tragedy (1872) to Ecce Homo (1888). We will consider Nietzsche’s doctrines of will to power and eternal recurrence, his critique of morality, his notion of life affirmation, and his views in moral psychology, aesthetics, and value. We will also devote some attention to Nietzsche’s influence on later philosophy in Europe and America.

Fulfils: History of Philosophy

PHIL 582 Existentialism 

I. Symons 

In this course we explore topics like anxiety, guilt, death, and authenticity, and their relationship to meaning and value in the human life. We will consider these topics as developed in the work of major existentialist philosophers: Søren Kierkegaard, Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, and Simone De Beauvoir, as well as in literature (Lev Tolstoy), and film (Ingmar Bergman). Students will be expected to complete the assigned readings before every class, and during lectures our aim will be to perform a close textual analysis.   

Successful completion of the course means that the student will be able to identify, analyze, and compare the major themes and figures in the history of existentialism. Most importantly, the student will be able to recognize the contributions existentialist thinkers have made to our contemporary understanding of human existence and our place in the cosmos. 

Fulfils: History of Philosophy

PHIL 607 The Philosophy of Aristotle 

Prof. Thomas Tuozzo 

Aristotle's philosophy is alive in contemporary Anglophone philosophy -- in ethics, in moral psychology, in metaphysics -- in a way that cannot be rivaled by any other ancient philosopher. This course will provide a broad survey of Aristotle's system, focusing on Aristotle's deployment throughout of such central concepts as substance, accident, actuality, activity, and power. We will treat Aristotle's theory of language, the main themes of his metaphysics, his view of nature and of the soul, and his account of the good human life in both its individual and social-political dimensions.

Fulfils: BA/BGS: History 

Fulfils: MA: History of philosophy 

Fulfils: PhD: Ancient Philosophy

PHIL 610 Metalogic 

Eileen Nutting 

This course works through some central results in metalogic, focusing on results about the classical logical system students learn to use in PHIL 310.  Key results include proofs of the soundness (everything derivable is valid) and completeness (everything valid is derivable) of classical first-order predicate logic.  

In format and content, this course is basically a pure (theoretical) math class. Grades are determined by problem sets and exams, not essays.  

Fulfils: Formal Philosophy Requirement (Grad).  

Fulfils: Symbolic Logic (Undergrad)

PHIL 668 Political Philosophy 

Raibley 

A systematic analysis of the concepts of politics, with reference to representative political theories. Topics include human nature; the basis of political authority; the legitimacy of states; consent; individual and public rights; competing conceptions of freedom; distributive justice; protest and rebellion; and civic virtue. Authors will include Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Marx, J.S. Mill, Rawls, C. Mills, E. Anderson, and others. Course requirements: attendance, weekly quizzes, three papers on assigned topics. Prerequisite: A course in philosophy and a course in political science.

Fulfils: Value Theory (Undergrad & Grad)

PHIL 670 Contemporary Ethical Theory 

Brad Cokelet 

Introduction to contemporary theoretical work on well-being, agency, meaning, morality, and virtue, through the study of current debates. Possible topics include: Does living well require us to follow an authoritative impartial moral standard or should we sometimes put self-interest and loyalty to others ahead of impartial moral concerns? Are hope for the future and faith in humanity’s goodness ethically necessary and rational? How should the rejection of religion impact our understanding of morality and the hope for a good meaningful life? Is ethical knowledge or practical wisdom needed to be a good person or to live well? Can we know what is objectively good and bad, right and wrong, admirable and shameful? Do oppressed people have special access to moral knowledge? Should we rely on authorities or traditions on evaluative matters? Can the study of philosophy help us live better lives? Should we use technology to enhance human beings?  

Fulfils: Value Theory (Undergrad & Grad)

PHIL 820 Topics in the History of Phil: History of Ethics 

Snow 

This course may be offered by different instructors under different subtitles, and may be taken more than once if the subject matter varies sufficiently. Topic, instructor, and specific prerequisites to be announced in the Schedule of Classes. Prerequisite: 500-600 level course as specified or permission of instructor.

Fulfils: Value Theory (Grad)

PHIL 877 Topics in Philosophy of Mind: Pain 

Kim Soland 

What is pain? Intuitively, pain has both a perceptual dimension and a subjective, negative-affective one: pain seems to report on a state of the body, and it feels bad. Standard philosophical accounts of phenomenal experience struggle to accommodate this folk conception of pain, and empirical evidence raises more questions than it settles about pain’s underlying nature. In this course we will examine contemporary perspectives on pain, both philosophical and empirical, with a focus on the puzzles and assumptions that guide theorizing about pain. 

Fulfils: Metaphysics & Epistemology (Grad)

PHIL 880 Topics in Ethics: Well Being & the Good (Year-Long) 

Dorsey/Raibley 

This course may be offered under different subtitles, and may be taken more than once if the subject matter varies sufficiently. Topic and instructor and specific prerequisite to be announced in the Schedule of Classes. Prerequisite: PHIL 670 or PHIL 672 or permission of instructor.

Fulfils: Value Theory (Grad) 

 

Courses