PHIL 1204: Knowledge and Reality

Transcription

1 Department of Philosophy s Course Descriptions for Spring 2015 Undergraduate Level Courses (If marked with **, this is the instructor s revised description of the course content; all others are the general descriptions provided from the UG catalog.) PHIL 1204: Knowledge and Reality MW 12:20p-1:10p (Lecture) Instructor: James Klagge (Recitations: ) CRN: F 9:05a-9:55a CRN: F 10:10a 11:00a CRN: R 6:30p-7:20p CRN: F 12:20p-1:10p CRN: W 4:40-5:30p CRN: R 5:00p-5:50p CRN: F 12:20p-1:10p CRN: W 5:45p-6:35p CRN: F 1:25p-2:15p ** We will read and discuss the work of some important historical and contemporary philosophers. We will focus on questions such as: What is the nature of reality and the self? What is the relationship between mind and body? How do I know what is real, and what is misleading appearance, error, or illusion? What is knowledge? Should we fear death? What is the meaning of life? PHIL 1204: Knowledge and Reality CRN: TR 9:30a-10:45a Instructor: Ted Parent CRN: TR 12:30p-1:45p Instructor: Gregory Novack CRN: TR 11:00a-12:15p Instructor: Daniel Kraemer CRN: MWF 11:15a-12:05p Instructor: Steven Mischler **Philosophy has roughly three parts: Metaphysics/Epistemology, Value Theory, and Logic. This course is an intro to M&E. *Metaphysics *asks questions about what /exists/ and the /nature of reality/, esp. the puzzling bits of reality like time, freewill, minds, etc. *Epistemology* asks questions about /knowledge/ and related ideas. What s the difference between belief and knowledge? What makes a belief /justified/? What do we really know, if anything? We shall try to answer these and related questions. (CRN 15641) PHIL 1304: Morality and Justice MW 1:25p-2:15p (Lecture) Instructor: Michael Moehler (Recitations: ) CRN W 5:45p-6:35p CRN W 4:40p-5:30p CRN F 1:25p-2:15p CRN F 11:15a-12:05p CRN F 8:00a-8:50a CRN F 10:10a-11:00a (large lecture, with recitation sections Wed. or Fri., as noted on the timetable) ** In this course, we will discuss the works of some of the greatest thinkers in moral and political philosophy in the Western philosophical tradition, including the works of Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Hume, Mill, and Kant. The primary goal of this course is not merely to understand the ideas of these 1

2 philosophers, but rather to find our own answers to the questions they address, questions that a reflective person at any time or place might ask him- or herself. Such questions include: What does morality demand of us? Under what conditions are we morally responsible? Why be moral? What is the relationship between morality and justice? What constitutes a just society? In order to find answers to these questions, we will read, in addition to classical and classic texts, articles by contemporary moral and political philosophers. Examples of such contemporary readings include articles on John Harsanyi's rule-consequentialism and Thomas Scanlon s account of moral motivation. In some cases, these articles are primarily of exegetical value and help us better understand the original texts. In other cases, these articles advance novel answers to the questions addressed in this course. PHIL 1304: Morality and Justice CRN: TR 9:30a-10:45a Instructor: William Davis CRN: TR 11:00a-12:15p Instructor: Hannah Wildman Short A critical survey of theories concerning human nature, the meaningful life, and the moral evaluation of actions, persons, and institutions. Theories will be applied to such issues as abortion, justice, and moral problems faced by professionals. PHIL 1504: Language and Logic MW 1:25p-2:15p (Lecture) Instructor: Ben Jantzen (Recitations: ) CRN F 10:10a 11:00a CRN F 11:15a 12:05p CRN F 12:20p-1:10p CRN F 10:10a-11:00a CRN F 11:15a-12:05p CRN F 12:20p-1:10p (Large lecture, with recitation sections on Fri., as noted on the timetable) **Every day of your life, you weigh reasons to believe various claims. In other words, you evaluate arguments. These can be as mundane and automatic as evaluating reasons to take one or another route to class, or as complex and important as evaluating the statistical evidence for lifealtering medical treatment. But what makes an argument convincing? This course has two objectives: (1) to help you become a competent consumer of the variety of real-world arguments you'll encounter in your daily lives and throughout the academic disciplines; and (2) to help you recognize the relationship between common types of problem and the arguments often used to justify or produce solutions. This course is problem-based. From the first day of class you'll be using a suite of online tools to identify and evaluate arguments from public policy, science, law, business, and philosophy. PHIL 2116: Ancient through Medieval Philosophy CRN: TR 12:30p-1:45p Instructor: Eric Lewis The main trends in Post-Aristotelian Greek and Roman philosophy and medieval philosophy, including Augustine, Aquinas, and Ockham. 2

3 PHIL 2125: History of Modern Philosophy CRN: TR 2:00p-3:15p Instructor: Nate Rockwood ** Western philosophical thought from Descartes to Hume. PHIL 2304: Global Ethics CRN: MW 2:30p 3:45p Instructor: Steven Mischler CRN: MWF 10:10a-11:00a Ethical issues in international context. Application of the principles of moral theory to such issues as the obligations of richer nations toward poorer ones, cultural and other forms of relativism, emigration and immigration, nationalism, war, deterrence, intervention, environmental degradation, preservation of natural diversity, and responsibilities toward future generations. PHIL 2304: Global Ethics CRN: TR 11:00a-12:15p Instructor: Michael Zarella CRNs: MW 4:00p-5:15p Instructor: Hannah Wildman Short CRNs: MW 5:30p-6:45p Instructor: Claudio D Amato CRNs: TR 12:30p-1:45p Instructor: Melissa Schwartz CRN (ONLINE COURSE) Instructor: Grace McGee **This course surveys important moral and political topics (such as duty, virtue, justice, happiness, freedom, power, and violence) in the context of contemporary global issues (such as war, poverty, slavery, imperialism, oppression, and inequalities of race/class/gender). We will read philosophy papers, a book-length philosophical essay, and a novel. We will also watch several movies and documentaries in class, including The Hunger Games, Avatar, and An Inconvenient Truth. This course is reading-intensive, viewing-intensive, and discussion-based, so your attendance and consistent participation are required. (CRN 15662) **This course discusses various ethical issues in international context. Topics include the scope and nature of moral obligations, theories of justice, poverty, human rights, the natural environment, emigration and immigration, nationalism, political sovereignty, just war and responsibilities toward future generations. (CRN 15660) PHIL 2606: Reason and Revolution in Science CRN: TR 3:30p-4:45p Instructor: Eric Lewis The study of philosophical approaches to understanding and justifying modes of human reasoning both in science and everyday life. Justifying changing paradigms of human inquiry. PHIL 2894: Philosophy, Politics, and Economics CRNs: (PHIL); (PSCI), and (ECON) Instructor: Michael Moehler MW 4:00p-5:15p **This course encourages students to look beyond the borders of individual academic disciplines by offering an integrated study of philosophy, politics, and economics. The course allows students to develop a unique set of skills that arises from actively engaging in social science combined with philosophical reflection. In addition, the course trains students to make decisions that are not only economically sound, but also socially, ethically, and politically informed. No prerequisites are required for this course, apart from intellectual curiosity and a sound grounding in at least one of the three core disciplines of this course. 3

4 PHIL 2964: Field Study CRN: Work with instructor overseeing the course to complete paperwork first. Pass/Fail only. Variable credit course. PHIL 2974 or 2974H: Independent Study CRN: for 2974 CRN: for 2794H Work with instructor overseeing the course to complete paperwork first. PHIL 2984 (SS: Empericism) CRN: Instructor: Nate Rockwood TR 11:00a-12:15p **The British Empiricists, including Locke, Berkeley, and Hume, helped shape the modern worldview on reason, science, and religion. These theorists all held that reason requires us to believe only what is supported by empirical evidence available to us. The empiricist worldview thus pushed science towards relying on experiments and observations, rather than theoretical speculation, which proved to be an enormously successful model for science. They also took religious belief to be justified only if it can be justified by empirical evidence. Locke and Berkeley argued that empirical evidence does support religious belief, whereas Hume famously argued that religious belief lacks any empirical evidence. This course will trace out these developments in the history of philosophy, and show how many of these views continue to be an attractive way to think about the world today. PHIL 3015/PSCI 3015: Political Theory CRN: (PSCI CRN: 16130) Instructor: B. Koch MW 2:30p-3:45p **The course provides an overview of nearly 2000 years of Western political thinking; it covers the period from the Ancient Greeks to early modern times. In this course, we investigate many different concepts, which still determine contemporary political language, with regard to their origins and transformations in political practice. What does the concept of democracy mean in ancient Greece? What determines their understanding of a well-organized commonwealth? Who is (and who not) involved in the political process? How do the Greek ideas influence later political thinking? What are the main concerns in the medieval period, how do they differ from ancient concepts, and what new meanings do they acquire during the early modern period? What is the impact of the Reformation on moral and political thought? How do the earlier concepts differ from our contemporary accounts? PHIL 3016/PSCI 3016: Political Theory CRN: (PSCI CRN: 16131) TR 3:30p-4:45p Instructor: R. Kalyan CRN: (PSCI CRN: 16133) TR 9:30a-10:45a Instructor: Amy Shuster CRN: (PSCI CRN: 19517) TR 3:30p- 4:45p Instructor: Amy Shuster CRN: (PSCI CRN: 19732) (ONLINE COURSE) Instructor: Christian Matheis **This course is an advanced survey of modern social and political thought. While we focus on five authors this semester (Hobbes, Rousseau, Kant, Marx and Arendt), the course is organized thematically with the aim of understanding how various authors respond to the same problem, 4

5 sometimes in similar but often in (subtly) different ways. We examine arguments about the origin of state power and the legitimate extent of such power; the nature of politics and political action; and the extent to which the structures of modern society and government reproduce relations of oppression and domination rather than equality and freedom. How does progress in the modern era (technological, institutional, cultural, etc.) impact the pursuit of human individuality and excellence? How fixed is human nature and how does an answer to that question impact the structure and nature of society and government? This course aims to trace the development of ideas over time, and to build the conceptual and argumentative skills necessary to clarify and deepen our own views about self-government in its fullest possible expression. (CRN & ) **In this upper-level course we primarily examine important themes in the tradition of Western, Anglo- American political thought from the 19th century through the late 20th century. Major topics include political liberalism, libertarianism, cosmopolitanism, post-colonialism/anti-colonialism, feminist political theory, anarchism, liberation politics, and related fields. Sub-topics include political obligations, sovereignty, freedom, equality, power, community, property, capitalism, socialism, Marxism, social relations, and democracy, as well as interventionism, and a wide array of philosophical and practical questions. Political theorists we will study include Mill, Marx, Nietzsche, Schmitt, Du Bois, MacKinnon, Rawls, Fanon, and Dussel, as well as a few late-twentieth century scholars. Evaluation will consist of weekly short analytical writing assignments, short essays, and a final essay. Two questions will guide us through the course materials: 1) What ought we to do with power, given social circumstances and relationships? 2) What ought political philosophy/theory take as its primary purpose and/or subject? (CRN 17184) PHIL 3314: Ethical Theory CRN: MW 4:00p-5:15p Instructor: Nate Adams Careful examination of some important historical or contemporary ethical theories. Includes coverage of such topics as the assessment of character and action, the foundations of ethical theories, their justification, their relationship to scientific theories, and their objective or subjective status. 3 Philosophy credits required. PHIL 3324: Biomedical Ethics CRN: MW 2:30p-3:45p Instructor: Tristram McPherson Philosophical analysis of ethical issues in medicine and biotechnology, such as problems arising in connection with the relations between physicians and patients, the challenges of cultural diversity, practices surrounding human and animal research, decisions about end of life care, embryonic stem cell research, genetic engineering, biotechnological human enhancement, and social justice in relation to health-care policy. PHIL 3414: Aesthetics CRN: MWF 1:25p-2:15p Instructor: Joe Pitt **Aesthetics is the area of philosophy whose subject matter is the arts. What is beauty? What is art? Are there objective criteria by which to judge a work of art as good or bad or is it all a matter of taste? We will examine some attempts to answer these questions and try to formulate our own responses as well. 5

6 PHIL 3454: Philosophy of Religion CRN: MWF 11:15a-12:05p Instructor: Hannah Wildman Short A consideration of religious belief and its justification with attention to such philosophical issues as the nature and existence of God, the problem of evil, and the notion of faith. PHIL 3506: Modern Logic and Development CRN: MWF 12:20p-1:10p Instructor: Gregory Novack Metalogic and the history and philosophy of modern logical theory. Decidability and undecidability, completeness and incompleteness of formal systems. Developments from Cantor to Geodel. PHIL 4015: Special Topics in Philosophy (TS: Ontology) CRN: TR 12:30p-1:45p Instructor: Ted Parent **This is a course in Ontology, the sub-discipline of philosophy concerned with questions about /existence/. We will start with the question Why is there something rather than nothing?, and consider answers from James, Parfit, van Inwagen, among others. This shall naturally lead to the question What does it mean to exist in the first place?, and here we will study Quine, Carnap, Lewis, and some Eastern philosophy (selections from Chuang Tzu, from the P/ā/li cannon, etc.). Third, we shall consider the question of realism does a true theory depict reality as it is in itself? Or does language always divvy up reality in a way that is artificial or distorting? We may also consider ontological issues in mereology, time permitting. PHIL 4015: Special Topics in Philosophy (TS: History and Phil Science) CRN: T 3:30p-6:15p Instructor: Lydia Patton **A course on the history and philosophy of science. We will aim to investigate the central issues in history and philosophy of science as it is practiced, including: how to evaluate and to assess scientific theories, the significance and philosophical impact of scientific theory change, the differences and continuities between historical, sociological, and philosophical approaches to evaluating science and its significance, and the question of whether there is any rational method valid to use in the investigation of the history of science. While we cover this material, we will read and discuss substantive texts from the history of science. Readings include Thomas Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions and Paul Feyerabend's Against Method; selections from philosophical and historical work by Martin Rudwick, Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer, Imre Lakatos, and others; and selections from original texts in the history of science. PHIL 4016: Special Topics in Philosophy (TS: Wittgenstein) CRN: TR 9:30a-10:45a Instructor: James Klagge **Ludwig Wittgenstein ( ) is widely considered to be the most important philosopher of the 20th Century. He produced two influential yet very different philosophies in his lifetime, and he was thought by most everyone who knew him to be a genius. Though his work is often alluded to by philosophers as well as other intellectuals, it is not easily read and understood. In this course we will carefully read and study his two most significant works, the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921), and the Philosophical Investigations (1953), as well as a recent biography. Among the philosophical topics we will discuss are: the nature of language, the relationship between language and reality, the nature of philosophy and its relationship to science, the place of value, and the nature of thought and the mind. The aim is to give students an understanding of his main philosophical ideas, the place of his ideas in the history of philosophy, and the relationship between his life and his work. 6

7 PHIL 4204: Philosophy of Mind CRN: TR 3:30p-4:45p Instructor: Daniel Kraemer Current issues in the philosophy of mind such as relation of mind and body, status of the mental, knowledge of one's own and other minds, personal identity, consciousness, mentality of animals and machines, topics in the philosophy of psychology. 3 Philosophy credits required. PHIL 4214: Metaphysics CRN: MWF 9:05a-9:55a Instructor: Kelly Trogdon **What is the world like, fundamentally speaking? This is a central question perhaps the central question in metaphysics. The physicalist claims to have an answer, and our goal is to try to get clear on how we should understand the thesis of physicalism. One question concerns scope: the physicalist claims that the world is ultimately physical in nature, but what is the scope of this claim? Is it, for example, supposed to rule out the existence of abstract objects? Another question concerns determination and explanation: the physicalist claims that the mental is determined and explained by the physical, but what does determined by and explained by mean here? And another question concerns its modal status: many claim that physicalism if true is contingently true, but why should we not instead think of physicalism as a necessary thesis? In this course we will address these and related questions. PHIL 4334: Jurisprudence CRN: TR 12:30p-1:45p Instructor: Nate Adams **This course is an advanced philosophical investigation of the law, particularly concerning the moral justification of the law's impact on our lives as individuals and communities. We will look at the complex moral issues surrounding whether citizens have a duty to obey the law, under what conditions the state is justified in punishing people for disobeying the law and whether contemporary American law meets those conditions, and the differential impact of modern American legal practices on communities and citizens of color. PHIL 4604: Philosophy of Biology CRN: TR 9:30a-10:45a Instructor: Daniel Kraemer This course is designed primarily for students of biology or philosophy students with a strong interest in biology. Topics vary from year to year, but include the changing character of biology as a science, the special character of biological explanations and methods, and the place and value of reduction (e.g., of Mendelian to molecular genetics) in biology. One course at the 3000 level or higher in biology and 3 credits in philosophy required. PHIL 4974 or 4974H: Independent Study CRN: for 4974 CRN: for 4974H Work with instructor overseeing the course to complete paperwork. PHIL 4994H: Undergraduate Research Instructor: Jim Klagge CRN: Work with instructor overseeing the course to complete paperwork. 7