PH 101: Problems of Philosophy INSTRUCTOR: Stephen Campbell Section 005, Monday & Thursday 11:00 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. Course Description: This course seeks to help students develop their capacity to think critically, rationally, and creatively about fundamental questions about the nature of our universe, the meaning of human life, and our place in society. In the first half of the course, we will explore two age-old philosophical questions: Does God exist? How should we choose to live our lives? In the second half, we will examine a range of controversial ethical issues related to animals, the environment, medical practice, technology, and business. INSTRUCTOR: Debra Candreva Section 013, Tuesday & Friday 9:30 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. Section 014, Tuesday & Friday 11:00 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. Seeks to help the student think rationally and critically about basic questions concerning the meaning of human life and our place in society and the universe, and to recognize the bearing of these questions on contemporary social issues. Exposes students to both classical and contemporary philosophical problems. Among problems for possible discussion are the existence of God, freedom and responsibility, human nature and happiness, appearance and reality, ethics and the environment, abortion and individual rights, affirmative action and equality, love and sex, and law and authority.
INSTRUCTOR: Jacqueline Gately Section E01, Tuesday 6:30 p.m. - 9:10 p.m. This course explores issues that philosophers have traditionally considered, including morality, reality, and knowledge. We will begin by discussing what philosophy is and why people engage in it. Through an overview of the history of Western philosophy, with an emphasis on the development of ethics, we will examine three philosophical time periods (ancient, modern, and contemporary) by studying some of the major figures in each period. This will allow students to examine the similarities and differences of the philosophers arguments, as well as their own, on a variety of topics through in-class discussions as well as written work. INSTRUCTOR: James B. Hart Section 015, Tuesday & Friday 11:00 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. Section 016, Tuesday & Friday 12:30 p.m. - 1:50 p.m. This course to focus solely on moral issues. Part will be an overview of the classic ethical theories of Western philosophy (Kant, Mill, Aristotle, Hobbes, etc.). Part will be an application of these theories to contemporary moral questions (immigration, abortion, torture, among others). There will be significant student presentations and interaction with special emphasis on critical reading and writing techniques. (Spring 2018)
INSTRUCTOR: Ranjoo Herr Section 008, Monday & Wednesday 3:30 p.m. - 4:50 p.m. Section 011, Monday & Wednesday 5:00 p.m. - 6:20 p.m. The aim of the course is to help students learn to think critically, reflectively, and deeply with an open-mind. The ability to think critically, reflectively and deeply with an open-mind is highly valued by the leaders of the world, whether in academia, politics, law, or business. In order to be recognized as a leader in business or elsewhere, you must engage in critical thinking and understand the bigger picture. This is what the philosophical method enables you to do. Bentley University emphasizes ethics and social responsibility of business people. Therefore, this course is designed to help students learn and practice the philosophical method by focusing on moral philosophy, which examines fundamentals of ethics and social responsibility. Topics examined are: First, questions about egoism and relativism; second, two major ethical theories of utilitarianism and deontology; and third, the application of the two theories to highly debated contemporary ethical issues (see the schedule below). Classes are discussion-oriented following the philosophical method. You are expected to have done the reading for each class, so that class discussions are informed and focused. To ensure that everyone is prepared for each class, you are required to complete pre-class assignments before the start of class. Preparing yourself for class in this way requires self-discipline, hard work, persistence, and perseverance. The hope is that completing the coursework successfully will help you develop these essential character traits for success in life. It is up to you! LEARNING OBJECTIVES By meeting the requirements of this course, you will learn how to: evaluate whether an argument makes sense sharpen your ability to diagnose and troubleshoot flaws in an argument make your point succinctly and precisely by formulating your own argument construct as strong an argument for your position as possible think/write logically
INSTRUCTOR: Jesse Hughes Section 001, Monday & Wednesday 8:00 a.m. - 9:20 a.m. This is a broad introduction to philosophy, in which we will touch on many traditional subjects. We will begin with a section on epistemology (What stuff can we know and how?) and metaphysics (What stuff is there anyway?). This section includes an introduction to philosophy of self (Did yesterday really happen?) and artificial intelligence (Can a machine think?). Our second section is an overview of classical ethical theories (What should one do? Why should one try to be good anyway?), and our final section discusses certain problems of applied ethics (Is abortion morally acceptable? What moral duties apply in a state of war?) INSTRUCTOR: Pengbo Liu Section 018, Tuesday & Thursday 5:00 p.m. - 6:20 p.m. How should we live? What makes a good life? What considerations make our actions right or wrong? How can we justify our moral beliefs? You must have pondered over these questions at some point in your life; and, unsurprisingly, they are also among the oldest and biggest questions in philosophy. In this class, we will examine philosophers attempts to answer these questions and the reasons they give. We will begin by discussing several theories of the good life, including hedonism, desirefulfillment theories, and objective theories. In section two, we will turn to normative ethics, and examine different moral theories of right and wrong, such as cultural relativism, consequentialism, and deontology. Along the way, we will apply these theories to some practical ethical issues, such as animal rights, euthanasia, and abortion. (Spring 2018)
INSTRUCTOR: Will Barnes Section 017, Tuesday & Thursday 3:30 p.m. - 4:50 p.m. This introduction to philosophy will be primarily author oriented, sampling a few of the great thinkers in the European tradition from Plato to Judith Butler, with an emphasis on Ethics and Social and Political Philosophy. Featuring the Pre-Socratics, Socrates, St. Anselm, Descartes, Kant, Kierkegaard, Marx, and Nietzsche the course will finish with a focus on contemporary social and political philosophy. The course will allow us to consider an interesting range of approaches to enduring philosophical questions, including: What is duty? What are our obligations to ourselves, to our nation, and to our world? What is the relationship between the subject and power? We will think deeply about these questions, and see the relevance of philosophy for modern life. The purpose of the course is to encourage thoughtful engagement with philosophical ideas; this will involve close reading, in class discussion, and imaginative written argumentation. This course will therefore require you to read, understand, and respond argumentatively to a variety of challenging texts, excerpts, and commentaries that will be made available electronically. Your work will be assessed by two short papers and a longer final paper, as well as in-class quizzes/exams. There will also be movie review homework assignments. I also had a question. I am very keen to contribute to the Philosophy movie club, with whom should I correspond to do so? I would happily be the organizer of the series should it be desired by the department. I am giving a presentation at the American Philosophical Association on philosophy and the visual arts, and would love to give a student talk on this as part of that series. I would also like to hold a talk on my research for the faculty at some point this semester, again, to whom am I best to direct this inquiry? (Spring 2017) INSTRUCTOR: Stephen Martin Section 012, Tuesday & Friday 8:00 a.m. - 9:20 a.m. Section E02, Wednesday 6:30 p.m. - 9:10 p.m.
What should I do? How should I live? Who am I supposed to be? These questions are ethical questions. Philosophical ethics is the attempt to figure out whether and how they ought to be answered, and, if they have answers to them, just what those answers are. Because these questions are such important questions, theirs is not the province of philosophy alone. Rather, they figure prominently in all areas of art and literature as well. In this course, we shall approach them as they appear in both the works of great philosophers and contemporary filmmakers alike. (Spring 2018) INSTRUCTOR: Jason L. Megill Section 009, Monday & Wednesday 3:30 p.m. - 4:50 p.m. Section 010, Monday & Wednesday 5:00 p.m. - 6:20 p.m. We will study several of the core areas of Philosophy, though there will be a special emphasis on Ethics. We start by examining most of the major ethical theories: Utilitarianism, Kant, Aristotle, Ethical Subjectivism, and Divine Command Theory. We then consider a number of topics in Applied Ethics, including abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, genetic enhancement, and just war theory. We will also cover some topics in Political philosophy (e.g., how should wealth be distributed), Philosophy of Religion (e.g., does God exist), and Metaphysics and Philosophy of Mind (e.g., could a machine think?). PH 101: Problems of Philosophy INSTRUCTOR: Jessica Payson
Section 004, Monday & Thursday 11:00 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. Section 006, Monday & Thursday 12:30 p.m. - 1:50 p.m. Section 007, Monday & Thursday 2:00 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. What is a problem and what does it mean to fix it? How does one identify a problem, and what should motivate us to remedy it? Should problems be solved by any means necessary? If not, what are the constraints and how are they justified? The course will focus on these and related questions to do with recognizing and resolving problems. In addressing these questions, the section will introduce students to prevailing philosophical theories in epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics, as well as alternatives and challenges to these theories by non-western, post-colonial, feminist, race, class, and/or disability theorists. INSTRUCTOR: Axel Seemann Section H01, Tuesday & Thursday 3:30 p.m. - 4:50 p.m. Two of the most important questions in philosophy are: 1) What is the mind? 2) What is moral responsibility? The two questions are interconnected. We need to understand what the mind is in order to understand what it means to have free will. And we need to understand free will in order to explain the possibility of moral responsibility. In this course, we will explore this connection. INSTRUCTOR: Jerry Steinhofer
Section 002, Monday & Wednesday 8:00 a.m. - 9:20 a.m. Section 003, Monday & Wednesday 9:30 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. Seeks to help the student think rationally and critically about basic questions concerning the meaning of human life and our place in society and the universe, and to recognize the bearing of these questions on contemporary social issues. Exposes students to both classical and contemporary philosophical problems. Among problems for possible discussion are the existence of God, freedom and responsibility, human nature and happiness, appearance and reality, ethics and the environment, abortion and individual rights, affirmative action and equality, love and sex, and law and authority. (Spring 2018) PH 140: DISABILIITY, VALUES & SOCIETY INSTRUCTOR: Stephen Campbell Thursday 6:30 p.m. - 9:10 p.m. Disability is and always has been a universal aspect of human experience. Every year, millions of people live with some form of physical or cognitive disability, and all of us have the potential to become disabled at any time. But what is disability exactly? Is it simply a medical problem? Or do disabilities arise from a mismatch between a person s body and her social environment? Is having a disability necessarily bad for you? What value does disability contribute to society? Drawing upon philosophy, memoirs, film, and other sources, this course will explore these and related questions with a particular focus on disability in the United States. Potential topics include different models of disability, the disability rights movement in the U.S., the ethics of causing and preventing disability, feminist perspectives on disability, disability in popular culture, and the relationship between disability and technology. PREREQUISITE: PH 101 OR INSTRUCTOR'S PERMISSION (Spring 2018)
PH 251: ETHICS INSTRUCTOR: Jesse Hughes Monday & Wednesday 9:30 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. Is morality fundamentally a matter of opinion, or are some actions objectively wrong? Do we ever act selflessly or do we merely pretend to do so in order to gain a good reputation? Who, if anyone, is morally responsible? Whose interests count, morally speaking? In this course, we will examine these and other questions about the nature of ethics, carefully thinking about and discussing deep moral issues. PREREQUISITE: PH 101 OR INSTRUCTOR'S PERMISSION PH 270: CONSCIOUSNESS & EXPERIENCE INSTRUCTOR: Axel Seemann Monday & Thursday 2:00 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. When you see another person, you think of that person as having a mind. What, though, entitles you to hold that belief? After all, you could have encountered a zombie, or you could be the only mind in the universe and everything you experience is just a matter of your imagination. This problem has a longstanding history in philosophy. It is called the Problem of Other Minds. In recent years, it has seen renewed interest, partly because of psychological and neurophysiological work that sheds new light not so much on why we should take it there are other minds but rather on how we come to understand others as minded creatures, and their movements as actions, on the basis of perceptual experience. In this course, we will read some classic papers on the problem. We will then consider the various modes of argument in favour of the thesis that there are other minds. In the second half of the course, we will ask how we come to understand the states of mind of others. Towards the end of the course, we will consider some recent psychological and neurophysiological work that may help answering this question.
PREREQUISITE: PH 101 OR INSTRUCTOR'S PERMISSION PH 301: ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS INSTRUCTOR: Jessica Payson Wednesday 11:00 a.m. - 1:50 p.m. What is valuable about the environment? How should humans think about their relations to non-human animals and the natural world? What ought to be done in response to current environmental problems? This course will address philosophical approaches to these and related questions. Topics may include animal rights, GMOs, scarcity, and/or climate change. PREREQUISITE: PH 101 OR INSTRUCTOR'S PERMISSION (Spring2018