Course Descriptions Undergraduate and Graduate Fall /19/19-12/07/19

DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY Course Descriptions Undergraduate and Graduate Fall 2019 08/19/19-12/07/19 *indicates Section can be taken for honors credit PHIL 11000 INTRO TO PHILOSOPHY Kelly: There are two main goals of this course. The first is to introduce student to the Western philosophical tradition, its defining themes and the way those have been developed by major historical and contemporary figures. Such themes include religion and the existence of God; perception and its relations to knowledge and the external world; the nature of personal identity and the self; the connection between mind and body, the mental and physical aspects of a person; free will; and morality. The second is to provide students with tools to refine their thinking, articulate their own views, and evaluate the arguments of others. It will give you many opportunities to sharpen your wits on Great Ideas and Meaning of Life type questions, to think systematically about The Big Picture, and to thereby help you to TurboCharge your own Bullshit Detector Bergmann: In this course you will be introduced to some methods of philosophical reflection, used in the history of philosophy and today, as they are applied to a variety of topics. Using these methods, we will try to get clear in our minds about some of the main positions and arguments relevant to these four questions: 1. Given that it doesn t seem to be literally impossible that all of a person s perceptual and memory evidence is produced artificially by a computer, can we know anything at all about the world around us and the past? 2. Is it rational to believe in God? 3. Are humans purely physical beings or do they have immaterial souls? 4. Does human life have any meaning and, if so, what is it? Readings will include works by historical figures such as Plato, Descartes, and Hume as well as selections from contemporary philosophers. The assignments will include 3 non-cumulative exams and several short writing assignments. Cover: This will be what we used to call a "first course" in philosophy, but never mind the past: looking to the future, it's a semester's worth of reflection on some pretty cool topics that will get you launched on one of three paths: the path to making more money (than you would make if you didn't take the course), the path to deeper savvy about the most important and fundamental truths there are, or the rare path to both of those. There is probably an explanation for why philosophy majors are among the most cheerful and clever conversationalists-over-a-beer that you'll find anywhere. There certainly is an explanation for why (according to the Educational Testing Service, who keeps tabs on that early, nerve-wracking step to life beyond your four years in college) philosophy graduates are at the top of all majors when it comes to the GRE, are perennially among the top five on the GMAT, come in second-highest on the LSAT (physics and mathematics ties for highest), and so on. The full explanation unpacks what starts happening to anyone who takes a good "first course" Introduction to Philosophy: basically skipping the two-paragraph explanation what happens is simply that you not-very-simply get a lot smarter while having way more fun than you'd have ever guessed that pondering the most important and fundamental questions could be. The questions, our topics, include (i) what reasoning is and how to do it well while others are making mistakes, (ii) what knowledge is, (iii) what your mind might be if it should turn out to be possible just possible, is all that God or angels have minds but no physical bodies; (iv) why it could turn out that God must exist if it's even possible just possible, is all that God exists, (v) how you could be blameworthy or praiseworthy, for doing things you didn't have to do, even if raising your hand or walking to the movies is governed by laws of nature (over which you have no control), and (vi) a few more surprises thrown in. Miss the class, and you'll miss the chance to set yourself apart from the unfortunate many who never enjoyed the payoffs of thinking about (i) - (vi). *034 15942 TR 01:30 PM-02:20 PM ARMS 1010 Kelly, Daniel R. 036 15953 03:30 PM-04:20 PM BRNG 1230 037 15954 10:30 AM-11:20 AM BRNG 1230 *038 15957 TR 09:00 AM-10:15 AM Cover, Jan A. *039 Y01 15958 57098 TR 01:30 PM-02:45 PM Arr hours DL Bergmann, Michael PHIL 11000H INTRO TO PHILOSOPHY HONORS This course is an introduction to some of the major questions and responses to them in the Western philosophical tradition. Can we prove or give good reasons for thinking that there is, or isn t, a God? Do we have knowledge or justified belief about the world around us? And what are we are we some sort of composite of a mind or soul and a body, or just complex physical beings? Do we have free will? Are there objective standards of morality that we all ought to follow? These are among the major questions in the Western tradition, and we will read both classical and contemporary authors who have offered answers to them, with careful attention to how they have tried to justify those answers. Objectives include learning to think more clearly about these issues and critically evaluate the arguments we consider, and developing the ability to think critically about your own views. H01 15846 TR 03:00 PM-04:15 PM BRNG 1248 Bertolet, Rod PHIL 11100 ETHICS Kain: Are there objective standards for human actions? Is there such a thing as moral obligation? What makes a human life good? In this course, we will grapple with these philosophical questions by examining some classical and contemporary attempts to answer them. We will study, and argue with, some great philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Immanuel Kant, and John Stuart Mill. Harris: Get a morning dose of ethics to start your day!!! It helps build strong bones, minds, and behaviors!!! A good dose of rationalism (good reasons tell us what to do), a spoon full of empiricism (facts and experiences tell us what to do) and a healthy supply of virtues we discovered in the universe or your amoralism (morals are just what we make up) will get your morning going!!! Readings drawing on competing classical ethical theories. The assignments will include several short writing assignments and a longer final paper. 1

*001 12003 TR 10:30 AM-11:20 AM BRWN 1154 Kain, Patrick P. 006 19980 09:30 AM-10:20 AM 007 19981 10:30 AM-11:20 AM 008 19982 01:30 PM-02:20 PM 009 19983 TR 07:30 AM-08:45 AM Harris, Leonard Y01 57098 02:30PM-03:20 PM PHIL 114 Global Moral Ethics A systematic and representative examination of significant contemporary moral problems with a focus on global issues such as international justice, poverty and foreign aid, nationalism and patriotism, just war, population and the environment, human rights, gender equality, and national self-determination. 001 003 004 Y01 54086 58631 15850 58320 09:30 AM-10:20 PM 02:30 PM-03:20 PM 03:30 PM-04:20 PM Arr hours DL BRNG 1230 PHIL 120 CRITICAL THINKING This course is designed to develop reasoning skills and analytic abilities, based on an understanding of the rules or forms as well as the content of good reasoning. This course will cover moral and scientific reasoning, in addition to ordinary problem solving. This course is intended primarily for students with nontechnical backgrounds. 001 25246 TR 04:30 PM-05:45 PM BRNG 1230 Mollison, James A. PHIL 15000 PRINCIPLES OF LOGIC Tulodziecki: This course is an introduction to the basic concepts and methods of modern logic, with emphasis on the construction and appraisal of complex patterns of reasoning. Some of the things expected will be the recognition and reconstruction of arguments in ordinary language, the symbolization of propositions and arguments from English into logical notation, the testing of arguments for validity, and understanding and constructing proofs. You will be expected to know the notation and the techniques of propositional and predicate logic. Put less formally, you will learn what it means for a claim to follow from others, and to recognise and construct good arguments of your own. *003 63152 TR 04:30 PM-05:45 PM Tulodziecki, Dana *004 68228 TR 03:00 PM-04:15 PM Tulodziecki, Dana PHIL 20600 PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION The goal of this course is to introduce students to philosophical inquiry about the nature and existence of God. The course has two main parts. In the first part, an attempt is made to articulate the idea of God and to defend its coherence. In the second part, arguments and evidence both for and against the existence of God are analyzed and evaluated. Students of all religious and non-religious viewpoints are welcome in this course and will be treated with respect. *001 14676 TR 12:00 PM 01:15 PM Draper, Paul PHIL 21900 PHILOSOPHY & THE MEANING OF LIFE A survey of both the philosophical and more literary writings of the existentialist movement. Readings will be chosen from among the following writers: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, Kafka, Marcel, Heidegger, Camus, Sartre, Jaspers, de Beauvoir, Ortega, and Merleau-Ponty. 001 15066 11:30 AM 12:20 PM BRNG 1230 PHIL 22100 INTRO TO PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE An introduction to the scope and methods of science and to theories of its historical development. Topics include scientific revolutions, theories of scientific method, the nature of scientific discovery, explanation, and the role of values in scientific change. 001 16099 01:30 PM - 02:20 PM BRNG 1230 PHIL 22500 PHILOSOPHY AND GENDER An examination of the beliefs, assumptions, and values found in traditional and contemporary philosophical analyses of women. A range of feminist approaches to knowledge, values, and social issues will be introduced. 001 25259 12:30 PM 01:20 PM BRNG 1230 PHIL 23000/REL23000 RELIGIONS OF THE EAST The purpose of this course is to provide a systematic survey of those religions variously described, in the West, as Eastern Religions or Religions of the East. Immediately, a problem arises because both descriptions are problematic. On one hand, the descriptions Eastern or of the East have been understood as designating not only a geo-cultural location which, itself, is not easy to define but also a homogeneous style of religious thought. Contemporary scholars of religion, and indigenous believers, often contest this imputed 2

homogeneity. At the same time, the term religion is a description whose applicability to Asian institutions has been contested, as well. Aware of the challenges such descriptions present, we, in this course, will engage in a comparative study of the systems of belief, thought, and practice traditionally termed Eastern Religions by Western scholars of religions. This will be accomplished through a series of readings on these systems histories, philosophies, and scriptures. 001 20637 12:30 PM 01:30pm BRNG 1260 Ryba, Thomas W. PHIL 23100/REL23100 RELIGIONS OF THE WEST The purpose of this course is to provide a systematic survey of those religions variously described, in the West, as Western Religions or Religions of the West. Immediately, a problem arises because the adjective, Western, is questionable. The descriptions Western or of the West have been understood as designating a problematic geo-cultural location but also a homogeneous style of religious thought because of their common origins as Abrahamic monotheisms. Contemporary scholars of religion, and indigenous believers, often contest this imputed homogeneity and have pointed to the incredible complexity and fluidity of these traditions, characteristics which resist simplistic classification. Well aware of the challenges such descriptions present, we, in this course, will engage in a comparative study of the systems of belief and thought traditionally termed Religions of the West by Western scholars of religions. This will be accomplished through a series of readings on these systems histories, philosophies, and scriptures. 001 68741 11:30 AM-12:20 PM Ryba, Thomas W. PHIL 24000 SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY A study of some major social and political philosophers from Plato to contemporary authors. Issues such as justice, rights and freedoms, community, and the globalized future will be considered. *001 15852 02:30 PM-03:20 PM BRNG 1230 Bernstein, Mark PHIL 24200 PHILOSOPHY, CULTURAL, AFRICAN AMERICAN A study of competing philosophical concepts of racism. The purpose of this course is to consider African American based or inspired conceptions of Western philosophy and new visions of what it is to do philosophy sensitive to culturally rooted diversity. The assignments will include several short writing assignments and a longer final paper. *001 15857 TR 09:00 AM-10:15 AM BRNG 1230 Harris, Leonard PHIL 26000 PHILOSOPHY AND LAW What is law? Can a law be unjust? If a law is unjust are you obligated to obey it? What is the relation between morality and the law? What are the limits, if any, of freedom of expression? Should personal behaviors be restricted by social conventions? In this introductory course in philosophy and law, we shall discuss the nature of law and explore juridical issues as they arise from the confluence of political philosophy, social philosophy, and legal philosophy. Civil disobedience will emerge from social contract theory, and legal constraints on freedom of expression will emerge from libertarian considerations. 004 11694 TR 03:30 PM-04:20 PM PHYS 114 Parrish, Stephanie L. PHIL 28000 ETHICS AND ANIMALS We investigate ONE question: What is the nature and extent of our moral obligations to nonhuman animals. The investigation consists of reading some of the most important texts in this area in the last 40 years. *001 25263 12:30 PM-01:20 PM SC 239 Bernstein, Mark H. PHIL 29000 ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS An introduction to philosophical issues surrounding debates about the environment and our treatment of it. Topics may include endangered species, "deep ecology," the scope and limits of cost-benefit analyses, and duties to future generations. DIS 001 15859 Arr 3 Hrs PHIL 30100 ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY This is a first course in the history of philosophy in antiquity, covering a period of almost a thousand years. The course divides into three main parts. We begin at the beginning (where else?) when philosophy emerged from non-philosophical modes of thought in the 6th century BCE. We will trace the intellectual paths blazed by the first philosophers, Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Xenophanes, Heraclitus, and Parmenides. Thanks to them we became skeptical about the nature, even the reality and value, of the world around us, no longer confident that what we perceive maps on to what there really is, and that what seems good to us really has value. With such skepticism in the air we turn to the giants of philosophy in antiquity, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, who, each in his own way, attempts to respond to the fear that knowledge about the sensible world is unattainable and that the reality of a realm of values is a vain imagining. Finally, we will spend some time on philosophy after Aristotle, a very rich intellectual period that saw the rise of Epicureanism, Stoicism, and Skepticism--competing schools of philosophy, indeed ways of life. The post-aristotelian philosophical movements developed through discussions and disagreements with each other, but they will be presented here as a set of intelligent responses to Aristotle and his views about the nature of human well-being. The course will proceed by lecture and discussion, and two (2) in-class essay examinations will determine the grade. Required texts: 1. CDC Reeve and PL Miller (eds), Introductory Readings in Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy (2 nd ed). Hackett, 2015 ISBN: 9781624663529 2. Aristophanes, Clouds [tr. P Meineck]. Hackett, 2000 ISBN: 9780872205161 3

*001 25264 TR 10:30 AM-11:45 AM Frank, Daniel H. PHIL 30200 HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY A survey of the main trends and figures of medieval philosophy, with an emphasis on metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Readings (in English translation) may include Augustine, Boethius, Avicenna, Anselm, Abelard, Maimonides, Aquinas, Scotus, Ockham and Suarez. 001 14679 12:30 PM-01:20 PM Löwe, Can Laurens PHIL 30300 HISTORY OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY Philosophy flourished in the early modern period (for us, between 1633 and 1783). We shall examine the central doctrines of Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant. Our central epistemic topics will be the problem of skepticism, whether we have any innate ideas, and how we can know anything about the outside world. Our central metaphysical topics will include the nature of minds, the nature of bodies, and the relation between them. We shall also consider how these philosophers attempted to fit God into their newly scientific worldviews. Three papers will be assigned, along with a requirement to write a question or comment on the reading for most classes. *001 25267 TR 03:00 PM-04:15 PM BRNG 1230 Jacovides, Michael L. PHIL 32200 PHILOSOPHY OF TECHNOLOGY A philosophical examination of the nature and history of technology, as well as its complex impact on humans and the world. Typically offered Fall Spring. *001 15866 TR 12:00 PM-01:15 PM BRNG 1230 Smith, Daniel W. PHIL 35000 PHILOSOPHY AND PROBABILITY The aim of this course is to use mathematical probability to explicate the concept of (supporting) evidence or "confirmation" and then use that explication to address a variety of foundational problems in the philosophy of science. Topics include: (1) the rules of mathematical probability; (2) the "relevance theory" of confirmation and the structure of scientific reasoning; (3) the raven paradox: why do positive instances confirm universal generalizations to such different degrees? (4) the asymmetry question: why does strong or conclusive evidence against a scientific theory seem so much easier to come by than strong or conclusive evidence for it? (5) what's wrong with statistical significance testing? (6) theories of intrinsic probability; (7) the problem of simplicity: what is simplicity and why are simpler theories not just easier to use, but more likely to be true? (8) Goodman's paradox and the new riddle of induction: how can one theory be more likely to be true than all competing theories even though that theory fits the data no better or even worse than some of those competing theories? (9) Hume's problem of induction: is it possible to justify induction? *001 15926 TR 01:30 PM-02:45 PM BRNG 1230 Draper, Paul R. PHIL 43200 THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE This course will focus, for the most part, on three problems concerning knowledge and rationality. Problem 1: It seems that our knowledge of the physical world around us is mediated by our sense experiences and our memories. But isn t it possible (even if unlikely) for our sense experiences and (apparent) memories to be exactly as they are even though there is no physical world and even though we have existed for only five minutes? Can we somehow rule out these possibilities? If not, why just assume that what our senses and memories incline us to believe is the truth? This is the challenge of the skeptic. Her answer to the question What do we know about the world around us? is Little or nothing. How shall we (is there a we?) respond to this sort of skeptical worry? Problem 2: Suppose we do have rational beliefs. Initially, it seems that a belief can t be rational unless the person holding it has a reason for it. But it seems the reason for it must itself be something the person rationally believes. So she must have a reason for that reason (if rationality requires having a reason). However, she can t go on giving reasons forever. Eventually she must stop giving reasons or she must come back to some reason she has already used before (thereby reasoning in a circle). Thus, either it is appropriate to reason in a circle or else some of our beliefs are rational despite the fact that we don t have reasons for them. Which of these two options is most plausible? Problem 3: Suppose that some of our beliefs can be rational despite the fact that we don t infer them from other beliefs. Still, they must have something or other going for them if they are to be rational. But now consider this question: can my beliefs be rational (due to the fact that they have something or other going for them) if I have no idea what it is that they have going for them? Or are they rational only if I m aware of what it is they have going for them? The assignments will include several short writing assignments, a longer paper and a take-home final exam. *001 15928 TR 10:30 AM-11:45 AM BRNG 1230 Bergmann, Michael A. PHIL 54000 STUDIES IN SOCIAL POLITICAL This course will begin with an analysis of Hegel s Philosophy of Right and then focus on writings of Marx, notably his early manuscripts and then Capital, Volume One. It will conclude with a study of one or more Western Marxists, based on students choices and depending on time available. Each participant will also be expected to present one relevant book that is not part of the common readings. 4

*001 15927 TR 09:00 AM-10:15 AM BRNG 1248 McBride, William L. PHIL 58000 LOGIC A graduate-level introduction to metatheoretic studies of formal axiomatic systems. Basic set theory is developed for use as a tool in studying the propositional calculus. Further topics include many-valued logics and metatheory for modal or predicate logic. Undergraduate students may be admitted to the course with special consent of the instructor in charge. *002 15930 M 11:30 AM-02:20 PM BRNG 1248 Tulodziecki, Dana PHIL 58000A LAWS and CAUSES Laws and causes are the springs and principles of the universe. We ll examine them from both a historical and a contemporary perspective with a focus on issues in metaphysics and philosophy of science. The course will begin with a discussion of the origin of the concept of a law of nature, and then treat modern analyses of laws and the place of laws in the social sciences. We ll also consider the proper analysis of causation and its place in a world of laws, including the question of whether fundamental physical laws make any appeal to causation. The course will finish with a discussion of various puzzles associated with causes, including problems about causation in the legal system. Two papers, a class presentation, and an analytical bibliography will be assigned. Depending on the papers you write, this course could count as satisfying either a metaphysics requirement or a philosophy of science requirement. Undergraduates may be admitted to the course if they have taken PHIL 221, PHIL 421, or PHIL 425 or if they have the consent of the instructor. *001 15929 M 02:30 PM-05:20 PM BRNG 1248 Jacovides, Michael L. PHIL 66500 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE This will be an advanced tour of some of the most important issues in parts of the philosophy of language. Topics will include a basic distinction between meaning and reference, and issues regarding names and natural kind terms, definite descriptions, demonstratives and indexicals, and propositional attitude ascriptions. You should not expect a definitive treatment of these matters we could easily spend the entire semester on nearly any of them. We will read classic papers in A. P. Martinich & D. Sosa s anthology The Philosophy of Language, Oxford University Press, 6 th ed. 2013 (unless a new edition appears before the fall semester starts). Reading those original sources is what makes the tour advanced, but no previous background in the philosophy of language will be assumed. You will write three medium-length papers, around 8-10 pages, that critically engage some of the readings in the relevant portion of the course. 001 15931 W 02:30 PM-05:20 PM BRNG 1248 Bertolet, Rodney J. PHIL 68300 CONTINENTAL RATIONAL Here are some pairs: (A) Plato s Meno has Socrates telling us that knowledge isn t acquired but recovered, since it s already within us. To the question Whence has the mind all the materials of knowledge? Locke would later answer in his Essay only experience. (B) In the Phaedo, Socrates reports his pleasure at encountering a claim of Anaxagoras to the effect that a mental being is the only true cause. Hobbes would later deny any causes other than mechanical ones, and indeed reckoned mind as nothing but motions in certain parts of an organic body. (C) In his Physics and Metaphysics alike Aristotle was at pains to argue that individual substances must be understood as containing within them a principle of change, and accordingly that form was to play a crucial role in proper causal explanations of change. Hobbes would claim in De Corpore that scarce anything can be more absurdly said in natural philosophy than has been said in Aristotle s Metaphysics, and in a letter to Regius of 1642 Descartes described the doctrine of forms in Aristotelian scholasticism as explaining that which is obscure through that which is more obscure. (D) The Socrates of Plato s Euthyphro is happy enough with the claim that the gods love something because it is pious rather than the other way round (pious because the gods love it). In the Sixth Replies, Descartes tells us that just because God resolved to prefer those things which He did, for this very reason, in the words of Genesis, they are very good; the reason for their goodness depends on the fact that He exercised His will to make them so. Alright here s one more pair: (E) In urging that nature always acts for an end Aristotle bequeathed to the scholastics a notion of final cause, which figured centrally in their efforts to understand both divine action and changes in nature. In his Meditations Descartes says that I consider the customary search for final causes to be totally useless in physics, and Spinoza after him claimed that Nature has no end before it, and all final causes are nothing but human fictions. The extent of divergence between Ancient and medieval thinkers, on the one hand, and the 17 th -century moderns, on the other, is famously vast and wide. Curiously, Leibniz disagreed with many of his modern contemporaries on these and other central issues making up a longstanding philosophical agenda in epistemology, metaphysics, and philosophical theology. Leibniz s philosophy thus serves well as a spring-board for better understanding these themes in the hands of the so-called continental rationalists about the sources of knowledge, individual substance, moral voluntarism in God, divine and creaturely causation, necessity and human freedom, the place of evil in the world, and a good deal more. Some assigned reading in Descartes and Spinoza will accompany close attention to a number of central and peripheral Leibnizian texts, including primarily the Discourse on Metaphysics, parts of the New Essays, and parts of the Theodicy; but I ll hold book (required text) purchases to a bare minimum. Students taking the class for credit can expect to read little, think much, and write a few short (say, 2-page) papers over the course of the term. A final paper wraps up the semester, just in time for restful Holidays. 001 15932 W 11:30 AM-02:20 PM BRNG 1248 Cover, Jan A. 5