2018-19 Courses The Oakland University philosophy department offers a wide range of courses that are of interest not only to philosophy majors, but also to any student who is studying at the University.
Oakland Introductory Courses PHL 1000: Introduction to Logic Schedule: Many sections General Education: Formal Reasoning The relationship between conclusions and statements given in support of them. In addition to elementary deductive and inductive logic, topics may include analysis of ordinary arguments, argument by analogy and informal fallacies. PHL 1070: Introduction to Symbolic Logic Schedule: Many sections General Education: Formal Reasoning Formal or symbolic logic is a study of what makes deductive arguments valid, employing symbols to represent sentences, words, phrases, etc. in order to reveal the formal structure of the arguments. PHL 1100: Introduction to Schedule: Many sections General Education: Western Civilization Study of the main types and problems of Western philosophy. Readings are chosen to illustrate the development of Western thought from the ancient Greeks to the present. Oakland University Department Course Brochure 2
PHL 1300: Introduction to Ethics Schedule: Many sections General Education: Western Civilization Major ethical analyses of right and wrong, good and evil, from the ancient Greeks to the present. Appeals to custom, theology, happiness, reason, and human nature will be examined as offering viable criteria for judgments on contemporary issues of moral concern. PHL 1310: Introduction to Ethics in Science and Engineering Schedule: Many sections General Education: Western Civilization Survey of canonical works in the history of Western ethical theory providing students a critical understanding of a plurality of viable ideas, principles, and criteria by which to evaluate and judge contemporary issues of ethical concern in the practice of science and engineering. Oakland University Department Course Brochure 3
2000 Level Courses PHL 2200: Ancient Greek Schedule: Summer 2018, Winter 2019 General Education: Knowledge Applications, Writing Intensive in the Major, and Writing Intensive in General Education Professor: Daniel Propson Development of philosophical thought in Greece, from its beginning around 600 B.C.E. to the Hellenistic period. Emphasis on Plato and Aristotle. PHL 2220: Early Modern Schedule: Summer 2018, Fall 2018 General Education: Knowledge Applications, Writing Intensive in the Major, and Writing Intensive in General Education Professor: Paul Graves Development of philosophical thought in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. Emphasis on Descartes, Locke, Hume and Kant. Oakland University Department Course Brochure 4
3000 Level Courses PHL 3000: Advanced Symbolic Logic Schedule: Fall 2018 Professor: Sharon Berry This course will cover predicate logic: a key tool used in many areas of philosophy (as well as mathematics, computer science and linguistics), and essential knowledge for students continuing on to philosophy graduate school. We will then explore key ideas from one of the most fascinating and philosophically impactful mathematical discoveries of the 20th century - Gödel s Incompleteness Theorem - in the context of big questions like, `What is a computer? and `Are there unprovable mathematical truths? Oakland University Department Course Brochure 5
PHL 3100: of Gender Schedule: Fall 2018 Professor: Phyllis Rooney In this class we will examine philosophical issues relating to gender. We will first examine questions about gender in the history of philosophy: we will focus on philosophers claims about (intellectual) differences between women and men and how those claims may have influenced philosophical thinking about morality, reason, and knowledge. The development of feminist philosophy will also be investigated, and this includes philosophical reflections on a variety of specific topics relating to gender such as sexual harassment, work roles, abortion, pornography, equal opportunity, political involvement, the politics of work and family, and the intersection between gender and other social or cultural differences such as class or race. A focus on gender includes an examination of the historical and contemporary constructions of norms of both femininity and masculinity : we will ask whether some of those norms limit the full expression of humanness for both women and men, keeping in mind that full (intellectual, moral, and political) humanness is a central topic for reflection and development in the tradition of philosophy. Open minds and respectful discussion are expected in this class. Prerequisites: Rhetoric 160, and one course in philosophy or in women s studies. Oakland University Department Course Brochure 6
PHL 3120: of Law Schedule: Fall 2018 Professor: Mark Navin This course introduces central philosophical problems and questions in law. We will first look at some questions about legal reasoning: What do judges do or what should they do when they reason about the law? What are the roles of particular cases, statutes, precedents, and other rules in judicial reasoning? How and when does legal reasoning need to rely upon workedout philosophical ideas? We will also explore some general philosophical questions about the status of law: How does law relate to morality? Can unjust laws be legally valid? We will then examine some theoretical issues that arise in particular areas of the law: What is the correct conception of responsibility for the law of torts? Which ideas about intent or consent are appropriate to the law of contract? How does the law create and respond to property rights? Oakland University Department Course Brochure 7
PHL 3155: Philosophies and Religions of Asia Schedule: Winter 2019 Professor: John Park "This class will be a general survey of in the Asian tradition. We will examine issues such as whether there is objective moral rightness and wrongness, what is a just political state, how we should live our lives, the nature of the self, military ethics, and whether or not there is objective truth. Some philosophers and schools of thought that we will discuss are Confucius, Mohism, Chuang Tzu, Lao Tzu, Sun Tzu, and Buddhism. Required Texts: - Reading in Classical Chinese, 2nd edition, Ed. By Ivanhoe and Norden - An Introduction to Buddhist, By Laumakis - The Art of War, By Sun Tzu - Pdf articles posted online Oakland University Department Course Brochure 8
PHL 3210: Twentieth Century British and American Schedule: Fall 2018 Professor: John Halpin Philosophers from this century's Anglo-American tradition have often seen the study of language as fundamental to the main concerns of philosophy. So, for example, Bertrand Russell argued that a study of logic would lead us to a metaphysics of nature: ""logical atomism"" (~1920). Others like Carnap and Wittgenstein thought that metaphysics (= the study of ultimate reality) was a muddle; philosophy, they thought, needed to be brought down to Earth (1930-50). But later 20th c. philosophy was metaphysically more permissive. We will see that some of this may have led to the foundation of the metaphysics of necessity, essential properties, and mind. Still, there is concern about how so much knowledge can be had by philosophy., from the armchair, tells us what s real? Central to all these philosophers thought is the theory of reference and meaning. All readings in this course are related to this topic. But we will always try to get clear on how this study of language bears on traditional philosophical concerns. (Just to take one example, realism presupposes reference and meaning. If words failed to be significant, then the realist could not truthfully say that tables, humanity, stars, gods, numbers, or electrons are real. Yet a number of philosophers do claim that reference and meaning are nonsense: deconstructionists, postmodernists, positivists to name a few! So, theory of language significance is clearly relevant to philosophical realism.) Oakland University Department Course Brochure 9
PHL 3210 (Continued) Central to all these philosophers thought is the theory of reference and meaning. All readings in this course are related to this topic. But we will always try to get clear on how this study of language bears on traditional philosophical concerns. (Just to take one example, realism presupposes reference and meaning. If words failed to be significant, then the realist could not truthfully say that tables, humanity, stars, gods, numbers, or electrons are real. Yet a number of philosophers do claim that reference and meaning are nonsense: deconstructionists, postmodernists, positivists to name a few! So, theory of language significance is clearly relevant to philosophical realism.) We will begin this course by reading from a pair of precursors to the 20th century Anglo-American tradition: John Stuart Mill and Gottlob Frege. We will go on to read from some of this century's best known British and American philosophers including Russell, Wittgenstein, Strawson, Quine, Kripke, Putnam, and Jackson. We will end with concerns of the philosophy of philosophy, in part the study of how philosophy is possible. TEXTS Wittgenstein, Blue & Brown Books, 1958 edition, 9780061312113 Kripke, Naming & Neccesity, 1981 edition, 9780631128014 Kripke, Wittgenstein on Rules & Private Language, 1982 edition, 9780674954014 Jackson, From Metaphysics to Ethics, 1998 edition, 9780198250616 Halpin (of all people!) The Logic Café Review (See our Moodle page for this link: moodle.oakland.edu) Oakland University Department Course Brochure 10
PHL 3310: Ethics, Language, and Reality Schedule: Fall 2018 Professor: Fritz McDonald We will consider theories of the nature of morality. What are the meanings of moral terms such as good, ought, and right? Are moral claims capable of being true? Is the truth of moral claims relative to societies or individuals? Do moral properties such as rightness and goodness exist, and if so, what are their natures? How is morality dependent upon or independent of emotions? How are people motivated to do the right thing? PHL 3400: Metaphysics Schedule: Winter 2019 Professor: Paul Graves Study of selected influential attempts to characterize the basic features of the world. Emphasis on reformulations of metaphysical problems in the light of modern advances in scientific knowledge. Oakland University Department Course Brochure 11
PHL 3500: Bioethics Schedule: Fall 2018 Professor: Elysa White This course explores both the philosophical underpinnings of moral issues relevant to the practice of medicine and research, and the practical rules and laws that constrict our moral choices when faced with these issues. Topics include informed consent, passive and active euthanasia, futility, the definition of disease and health care rationing. PHL 3500: Bioethics Schedule: Winter 2019 Professor: Joyce Havstad Central ethical issues in modern health care and research. Included are the distribution and allocation of health resources, the right to life and death, informed consent and eugenics. More information about this course as it is taught by Prof. Havstad is available at http://classes.joycehavstad.com/bioethics, including a sample syllabus and all readings in PDF form. No books are required for purchase. Oakland University Department Course Brochure 12
PHL 3600: Poltical Schedule: Winter 2019 Professor: Mark Navin This course traces the development of some fundamental political ideas including justice, liberty, equality, and property from the ancient and modern periods to the contemporary world. The organizing theme of the course is liberalism, which is the idea that individual persons are the fundamental units of moral concern and that they possess rights they may invoke against each other and against government. The early part of the course examines some historical alternatives to liberalism. The middle part of the course focuses on the two major traditions in modern liberal political philosophy: social contractarianism and utilitarianism. The later part of the course examines recent and contemporary challenges to liberalism. Oakland University Department Course Brochure 13
PHL 3610: of International Relations: Law, War, and Peace Schedule: Summer 2018 Professor: Mark Rigstad Considers competing theories of global ethics, diplomacy, international law, just warfare, nationalism, military duty, disarmament, pacifism, nonviolent resistance, civil strife, and terrorism. PHL 3800: of Mind Schedule: Winter 2019 Professor: Eric LaRock This course explores key areas in the philosophy of mind, including the mind-body problem, theories of mind, artificial intelligence, the nature of consciousness, supervenience and mental causation, emotion, and the nature of persons. Oakland University Department Course Brochure 14
PHL 3810: Consciousness and Persons Schedule: Fall 2018 Professor: Eric LaRock This course explores central philosophical and scientific questions about the nature of consciousness and persons. What is consciousness? How does consciousness relate to the physical world? Do all characteristics of consciousness reduce to structures and functions? What is the unity of consciousness? Does consciousness reside at a specific level of neural organization? Are attention and working memory necessary for consciousness? Are some recent theories of consciousness better than others, and why? Can we learn something about the neural correlates of consciousness by discovering the neural correlates of anesthetic-induced unconsciousness? What is the difference between a philosophical zombie and an inverse zombie? Are philosophical and inverse zombies possible? What are persons? How do persons relate to their bodies? Are persons constituted by their bodies? Are persons generated by (and reducible to) their brains? Do persons persist over time? What strategies can persons deploy to enhance subjective well-being? Can persons survive biological death? Required Books: Michael Tye, Consciousness and Persons: Unity and Identity. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2003. Antti Revonsuo, Consciousness: the Science of Subjectivity. New York: Psychology Press, 2010. Susan Schneider and Max Velmans, The Blackwell Companion to Consciousness. Second Edition. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2017. Oakland University Department Course Brochure 15
PHL 3910: Ethics Bowl Preparation and Competition Schedule: Fall 2018 Professor: Mark Rigstad Students selected through competitive try-outs to be members of Oakland University s Ethics Bowl teams prepare for and participate in intercollegiate competition in philosophically informed debate over controversial issues. New cases are examined each year. Instructors guide students in independent theoretical research and in the art of public speaking. PHL 4970: Realism and Truth Schedule: Winter 2019 Professor: Fritz McDonald What is truth? What is reality? What sort of things do exist, and what sort of things do not exist? Are the unobservable theoretical entities of the sciences real? Are moral facts real? Do certain things exist only relative to observers? Are the issues of truth and realism related? Can we give an independent account of truth? Is truth a matter of a relation to reality, such as resemblance or correspondence? Is what is true instead what is best to believe overall? Is truth what we would discover at the end of all inquiry? Is there truth at all? Is truth worth pursuing? Is truth valuable? If so, why? We will answer at least a few of these questions. Oakland University Department Course Brochure 16