PHILOS 101 — INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
3-4 credits.
Introduction to various philosophical questions and to the strategies that philosophers use to address these.
PHILOS 104 — SPECIAL TOPICS IN PHILOSOPHY FOR FRESHMEN
3 credits.
Selected topics addressing various philosophical questions and to the strategies that philosophers use to address these.
PHILOS 106 — STUDY ABROAD IN PHILOSOPHY
2-4 credits.
Treatment of a topic in philosophy in a course offered at a university outside the United States.
PHILOS 141 — THE MEANING OF LIFE
3-4 credits.
Introduces the subject of philosophy through a question that is familiar to nearly every person: What is the meaning of life? This question will be approached through reading both classical philosophical works and the works of contemporary philosophers.
PHILOS 201 — INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY FOR JUNIORS AND SENIORS
3-4 credits.
Selected topics addressing various philosophical questions and the strategies that philosophers use to address these.
PHILOS 206 — STUDY ABROAD IN PHILOSOPHY
2-4 credits.
Treatment of a topic in philosophy in a course offered at a university outside the United States.
PHILOS 210 — REASON IN COMMUNICATION
3-4 credits.
Argument in familiar contexts; emphasis upon developing critical skills in comprehending, evaluating, and engaging in contemporary forms of reasoning, with special attention to the uses of argument in mass communication media.
PHILOS 211 — ELEMENTARY LOGIC
3-4 credits.
The formal characteristics of logical truth and inference.
PHILOS 220 — PHILOSOPHY AND THE SCIENCES
3-4 credits.
Emphasis will be on understanding the logic of scientific reasoning. Includes the ABCs of deductive logic and probability reasoning, and how to apply these to various central questions in philosophy of science, such as: How are causation and correlation different? What distinguishes science from pseudo-science, religion, and technology? What is a scientific explanation, and what makes one explanation better than another? How do moral issues arise in scientific research and how are they related to the question of whether a theory should be accepted? Philosophical consequences of scientific theories may also be discussed.
PHILOS 241 — INTRODUCTORY ETHICS
3-4 credits.
Nature of moral problems and of ethical theory, varieties of moral skepticism, practical ethics and the evaluation of social institutions.
PHILOS 243 — ETHICS IN BUSINESS
3-4 credits.
Case studies of moral issues in business; types or reasons appealed to for settlement.
PHILOS 304 — TOPICS IN PHILOSOPHY: HUMANITIES
3-4 credits.
Examination of selected topics in philosophy.
PHILOS 320 — PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
3-4 credits.
Focus on various central questions in philosophy of science, potentially including topics from the history of philosophy of science as well as topics important to contemporary philosophy of science. Topics might include: What is science? How does scientific explanation work? How do scientists generate and use evidence? What is the relationship between science and social or political values? What are the aims of science? May also include discussion of specific subdisciplines of philosophy of science, such as philosophy of biology, philosophy of physics, philosophy of medicine, and more.
PHILOS 340 — 19TH CENTURY PHILOSOPHY: IDEALISM AND ITS CRITICS
3 credits.
Examine debates about the legacy of idealism by discussing some of their most familiar interlocutors - Hegel, Nietzsche, Marx - as well as interlocutors who were obscured from history.
PHILOS 341 — CONTEMPORARY MORAL ISSUES
3-4 credits.
A philosophical study of some of the major moral issues in contemporary society, such as those concerning abortion, euthanasia, punishment, property, politics, sex, nuclear disarmament, and world hunger.
PHILOS/MED HIST 344 — FOOD ETHICS
3 credits.
There are many ethical issues related to food production, distribution, consumption, and policy, including animal welfare, animal rights, vegetarianism and veganism, environmental impact, treatment of workers, prospects for agricultural reform, ethical responsibilities of corporate and industry actors, and labeling issues surrounding the use of genetically engineered foods. Some are more theoretical, such as which individuals affected by agriculture deserve direct moral consideration. Other are more practical, such as how to feed a growing global population. We will begin with a brief survey of ethical theories and methods of ethical reasoning, and then explore, from both personal and policy perspectives, several food ethics issues. Among the aims of the course are the goals of helping you think critically about the ethically relevant impacts of your own food choices and improving your understanding of ethical issues implicated in food systems.
PHILOS 430 — HISTORY OF ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY
3-4 credits.
Various philosophers from the presocratics to the Stoics and Epicureans; particular emphasis on Plato and Aristotle.
PHILOS 432 — HISTORY OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY
3-4 credits.
Covers various philosophers from the 17th century through early 20th century.
PHILOS/JEWISH/RELIG ST 435 — JEWISH PHILOSOPHY FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
3 credits.
A survey of major philosophers and philosophical currents within Judaism from antiquity through the seventeenth century.
PHILOS 440 — EXISTENTIALISM
3-4 credits.
Feeling like life is absurd, that existence is meaningless? Worried that you aren't living authentically? Then a course in Existentialism is just what you need. Study the classic texts of this intellectual movement that expressed despondency about Western civilization, its decadence, and its values. Along the way you'll meet the likes of Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, Camus, and De Beauvoir.
PHILOS/ENVIR ST 441 — ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
3-4 credits.
Adequacy of ethical theories in handling such wrongs as harm to the land, to posterity, to endangered species, and to the ecosystem itself. Exploration of the view that not all moral wrongs involve harm to humans. Inquiry into the notion of the quality of life and the ethics of the "lifeboat" situation.
PHILOS/JEWISH 442 — MORAL PHILOSOPHY AND THE HOLOCAUST
3 credits.
Selected moral and philosophical issues raised by the Holocaust such as when and whom to rescue; includes issues arising after the annihilation such as forgiveness and reconciliation.
PHILOS 454 — CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHERS
3 credits.
One or more classical philosophers, movements, or problems selected for intensive study.
PHILOS 481 — JUNIOR HONORS SEMINAR
3 credits.
One or more philosophers, movements, or problems selected for intensive study.
PHILOS 482 — JUNIOR HONORS SEMINAR
3 credits.
One or more philosophers, movements, or problems selected for intensive study.
PHILOS/RELIG ST 501 — PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
3-4 credits.
Analysis of religious experience and activity, and examination of principal religious ideas in light of modern psychology, philosophy, science, and anthropology.
PHILOS 503 — THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE
3 credits.
A survey of problems concerning the nature, sources, and limits of human knowledge, including such topics as scepticism, the concept of knowledge, sensory perception, evidence, justified belief, induction.
PHILOS 504 — SPECIAL TOPICS IN THE THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE
3 credits.
One or more special topics in the Theory of Knowledge or one or more major theories of knowledge. Variable content.
PHILOS/MED HIST 505 — JUSTICE AND HEALTH CARE
3 credits.
Examines ethical issues in the distribution, financing, and delivery of health care (primarily in the United States). Explores key issues in U.S. health policy and forms the empirical foundation for the rest of the class. Engages is ongoing debates in moral and political philosophy over putative entitlements to health and health care. Investigates the nature, justifiability, and methods of health care rationing (including bedside rationing by doctors) and the myriad issues implicated by the near-universally shared goal of health care cost containment.
PHILOS 506 — STUDY ABROAD IN PHILOSOPHY
2-4 credits.
Treatment of a topic in philosophy in a course offered at a university outside the United States.
PHILOS 511 — SYMBOLIC LOGIC
3 credits.
Propositional and predicate logic, with emphasis on metatheory; independence of rules and completeness theorems; discussion of technical and philosophical limitations of classical logic.
PHILOS 512 — METHODS OF LOGIC
3 credits.
Selected topics in philosophical logic and in the various applications of logic to philosophical problems. Variable content.
PHILOS/MED HIST 515 — PUBLIC HEALTH ETHICS
3 credits.
Focuses on ethical issues implicated in a population-level approach to disease prevention and health promotion. Explores prominent theoretical approaches to public health ethics and engages with several ethical tensions. Example issues include: the use of coercive or intrusive public health; the justification of patemalistic measures in societies; the extent to which societies should hold individuals responsible for their health conditions; the need to decide who receives life-saving treatment or vaccination; and climate changes and intergenerational justice; ethical issues in international pharmaceutical research.
PHILOS 516 — LANGUAGE AND MEANING
3 credits.
The nature and function of language, theories of meaning, semantic and syntactic paradoxes, proper names, private languages, rules, and linguistic relativity.
PHILOS 520 — PHILOSOPHY OF THE NATURAL SCIENCES
3 credits.
Nature and functions of science; the logic of scientific method; clarification of such concepts as cause, law, theory, probability, determinism, teleology.
PHILOS 521 — PHILOSOPHY OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
3 credits.
Problems in applying methods and concepts of science to the study of social behavior.
PHILOS 522 — SPECIAL TOPIC
3 credits.
Selected from logic of theory construction, theoretical entities, models, applied mathematics, nature of laws, conventionalism, probability, etc. Variable content.
PHILOS/ENVIR ST 523 — PHILOSOPHICAL PROBLEMS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
3 credits.
Problems raised by genetics, evolutionary theory, and taxonomy: patterns of explanatory force and dispensability of teleology; objectivity of taxonomy.
PHILOS/ECON 524 — PHILOSOPHY AND ECONOMICS
3 credits.
Economics examined from the viewpoint of the philosophy of science. Normative and positive aspects of economic theory. Deterministic and statistical explanation. Arrow impossibility theorem. Radical economics.
PHILOS 530 — FREEDOM FATE AND CHOICE
3 credits.
An examination of the philosophical problems associated with free will.
PHILOS/MED HIST 534 — ETHICS AND THE BRAIN
3 credits.
In-depth analysis of ethical issues arising from the practices and advances of brain science in clinical, research, legal, and consumer contexts. Includes a foundation in ethical theory and philosophical methodology.
PHILOS 541 — MODERN ETHICAL THEORIES
3 credits.
Ethical theories and problems as discussed in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
PHILOS 543 — SPECIAL TOPICS IN ETHICS
3 credits.
Intensive study of ethical theory, or of one or more ethical theories or moral philosophers of the present or modern period. Variable content.
PHILOS/ED POL 545 — PHILOSOPHICAL CONCEPTIONS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING
3 credits.
Examination and analysis of conceptions of teaching and learning in classical philosophical works and in contemporary literature in the philosophy of education.
PHILOS 549 — GREAT MORAL PHILOSOPHERS
3 credits.
Major themes of moral philosophy, from Plato and Aristotle to Bentham and Mill, with critical study of outstanding works.
PHILOS/ED POL 550 — PHILOSOPHY OF MORAL EDUCATION
3 credits.
Critical examination of classical and contemporary conceptions of moral education.
PHILOS 551 — PHILOSOPHY OF MIND
3 credits.
Nature of mind (mental states such as thinking and feeling) and its relation to physical states, with emphasis on recent advances in philosophy and psychology.
PHILOS 553 — AESTHETICS
3 credits.
Analysis of current philosophies of art and of criticism.
PHILOS 555 — POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
3 credits.
Philosophical doctrines involved in justification of political decisions; analysis of some fundamental concepts, e.g. the common good, authority, justice, natural law, natural rights.
PHILOS 556 — TOPICS IN FEMINISM AND PHILOSOPHY
3 credits.
Topics from historical and contemporary feminist thought; attention to one or more feminist philosophers, historical movements, philosophical frameworks, or sets of philosophically related issues.
PHILOS 557 — ISSUES IN SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY
3 credits.
Specific topics in social and political philosophy such as war and peace, property and industry, individualism and collectivism, freedom and justice.
PHILOS/MED HIST 558 — ETHICAL ISSUES IN HEALTH CARE
3 credits.
Ethical issues apparently created by new biomedical technologies, such as genetic screening, prenatal diagnosis, prolongation of life, treatment of severe birth defects, in vitro fertilization, behavior modification, psychosurgery, and transplantation.
PHILOS 560 — METAPHYSICS
3 credits.
Major problems in metaphysics, such as: existence, universals and particulars, space and time, individuals, categories, substance and attribute, necessity.
PHILOS 562 — SPECIAL TOPICS IN METAPHYSICS
3 credits.
An intensive study of one or more topics such as: existence, universals and particulars, space and time, individuals, individuation, categories, substance and attribute, necessity, events and processes.
PHILOS/AGRONOMY/C&E SOC/MED HIST 565 — THE ETHICS OF MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGY
3 credits.
An in-depth study of a selection of ethical issues arising from the application of modern biotechnology to microorganisms, plants, non-human animals, and human beings. We will aim at a discussion that is informed by empirical research and by work done in ethical theory, political philosophy, and other relevant disciplines, and whose character is rigorous, clear, nuanced, and unbiased.
PHILOS 566 — PHILOSOPHY OF ACTION
3 credits.
Human beings, and perhaps other kinds of creatures, are agents: we can make things happen. We do things intentionally, guide our behavior in light of our reasons, exhibit self-control, and plan for the future. What is it to be an agent, and what makes an event an intentional action? As Wittgenstein put the question, "What is left over if I subtract the fact that my arm goes up from the fact that I raise my arm?" Emphasis on contemporary readings, including Donald Davidson and G.E.M. Anscombe.
PHILOS 567 — TOPICS IN CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY
3 credits.
One or more specific topics in contemporary philosophy bridging two or more areas such as epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, or moral philosophy.
PHILOS/MATH 571 — MATHEMATICAL LOGIC
3 credits.
Basics of logic and mathematical proofs; propositional logic; first order logic; undecidability.
PHILOS 581 — SENIOR HONORS SEMINAR
3 credits.
Individual study for seniors completing theses for honors in the major, as arranged with a faculty member.
PHILOS 582 — SENIOR HONORS SEMINAR
3 credits.
Individual study for seniors completing theses for honors in the major, as arranged with a faculty member.
PHILOS 599 — DIRECTED STUDY
1-3 credits.
Independent study as arranged with a faculty member.
PHILOS 681 — SENIOR HONORS THESIS
1-3 credits.
Individual mentored study for seniors completing theses for honors in the major, as arranged with a faculty member.
PHILOS 682 — SENIOR HONORS THESIS
3 credits.
Individual mentored study for seniors completing theses for honors in the major, as arranged with a faculty member.
PHILOS 691 — SENIOR THESIS
3 credits.
Individual mentored study for seniors completing theses, as arranged with a faculty member.
PHILOS 692 — SENIOR THESIS
3 credits.
Individual mentored study for seniors completing theses, as arranged with a faculty member.
PHILOS 698 — DIRECTED STUDY
2-3 credits.
Independent study as arranged with a faculty member.
PHILOS 699 — DIRECTED STUDY
2-3 credits.
Independent study as arranged with a faculty member.
PHILOS 701 — READING SEMINAR
3 credits.
An examination of select topics in philosophy.
PHILOS 799 — DIRECTED STUDY
1-3 credits.
Independent study as arranged with a faculty member.
PHILOS 830 — ADVANCED HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY
3 credits.
Seminar on the history of philosophy focusing on a period or figure(s).
PHILOS 835 — ADVANCED HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY
3 credits.
Seminar on the history of philosophy focusing on a period or figure(s).
PHILOS 902 — PROSEMINAR IN PHILOSOPHY
3 credits.
Survey of various texts with an emphasis on close reading and developing writing skills.
PHILOS 903 — SEMINAR: EPISTEMOLOGY
3 credits.
Seminar on epistemology.
PHILOS 904 — TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
1 credit.
Focuses on the conceptual and ethical recognition of the importance of good teaching, and skills and knowledge drawn from up-to-date pedagogical research. Engages with complex questions about the purposes of higher education and your role in it to better understand your own beliefs, attitudes, and values regarding higher education. Use best practices in teaching and learning in a low-stakes environment to practice and receive feedback on your performance of those skills.
PHILOS 911 — SEMINAR-LOGIC
3 credits.
Seminar on logic.
PHILOS 916 — SEMINAR-PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE
3 credits.
Seminar on philosophy of language.
PHILOS 920 — SEMINAR-PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE:CAUSATION, EXPLANATION & PROBABILITY
3 credits.
Seminar on philosophy of science.
PHILOS 941 — SEMINAR-ETHICS
3 credits.
Seminar on ethics.
PHILOS 951 — SEMINAR-PHILOSOPHY OF MIND
3 credits.
Seminar on philosophy of mind.
PHILOS 955 — SEMINAR SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
3 credits.
Seminar on social and political philosophy.
PHILOS 960 — METAPHYSICS SEMINAR
3 credits.
Seminar on metaphysics.
PHILOS 990 — RESEARCH AND THESIS
2-9 credits.
Individual mentored study for graduate students completing theses, as arranged with a faculty member.
PHILOS 999 — INDEPENDENT WORK
2-9 credits.
Individual mentored study for graduate students, as arranged with a faculty member.