PHIL 101-01 |
Introduction to Philosophy Instructor: Jeff Engelhardt Course Description:
An introduction to Western philosophy through an examination of problems arising in primary sources. How major philosophers in the tradition have treated such questions as the scope of human reason, the assumptions of scientific method, the nature of moral action, or the connections between faith and reason.
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01:30 PM-02:45 PM, TF DENNY 313 |
PHIL 102-01 |
Introduction to Ethics Instructor: Jim Sias Course Description:
An introduction to the philosophical study of morality, focusing on concepts of right and wrong, virtue and vice, and wellbeing. This course provides students the opportunity to hone their ethical reasoning skills by critically examining how some of historys most influential philosophers thought about issues in morality. Students will also develop more general skills, such as evaluating philosophical arguments, and expressing and defending their own ideas in writing.
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10:30 AM-11:20 AM, MWF DENNY 317 |
PHIL 103-01 |
Logic Instructor: Jeff Engelhardt Course Description:
The study and practice of forms and methods of argumentation in ordinary and symbolic languages, focusing on elements of symbolic logic and critical reasoning, including analysis and assessment of arguments in English, symbolizing sentences and arguments, constructing formal proofs of validity in sentential and quantificational logic.Offered every semester, or every three out of four semesters.
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03:00 PM-04:15 PM, TF EASTC 411 |
PHIL 104-01 |
Practical Ethics Instructor: Amy McKiernan Course Description:
This course introduces students to contemporary debates in practical ethics. Course materials investigate how theoretical approaches to ethics apply to practical issues, including discussions of animal ethics, environmental ethics, reproductive ethics, civil disobedience, and the ethics of mass incarceration and the death penalty. This course is best suited for students interested in thinking about the relationship between ethical theory and practice, with an emphasis on how power, privilege, and responsibility intersect in our everyday lives.
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11:30 AM-12:20 PM, MWF EASTC 411 |
PHIL 180-02 |
Political Philosophy Instructor: John Harles Course Description:
Cross-listed with POSC 180-02. An introduction to the history of political thought, focused on such problems as the nature of justice, the meaning of freedom, the requirements of equality, the prevalence of moral dilemmas in political life, the question of whether we ought to obey the law, and the importance of power in politics. We will also discuss how these issues continue to resonate today.This course is cross-listed as POSC 180.
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10:30 AM-11:45 AM, TR DENNY 203 |
PHIL 201-01 |
Ancient Philosophy Instructor: Chauncey Maher Course Description:
This course is an introduction to central questions, claims and arguments in ancient philosophy, centering on the work of Plato and Aristotle. Potential questions include: What is the value of reason and knowledge? What is knowledge? Is it always better to be just than unjust? What constitutes a good human life? What kind of thing is a human being?
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10:30 AM-11:45 AM, TR EASTC 411 |
PHIL 251-01 |
Philosophy of Religion Instructor: Emily Kelahan Course Description:
This course focuses on philosophical issues arising from religious belief and practice. Topics treated may include: the existence and nature of god or gods; the contested relation of a god to moral values; faith and reason as sources of belief or ways of believing, as expressed in classic texts by thinkers such as Aquinas, Hume, Kierkegaard, and William James, as well as in contemporary texts.
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09:30 AM-10:20 AM, MWF EASTC 301 |
PHIL 252-01 |
Philosophy of Art Instructor: Jim Sias Course Description:
The discipline of aesthetics is primarily concerned with philosophical questions about art and beauty. This course will examine classic and contemporary Western discussions of such questions as, What is art? How can we determine what a work of art means? Are beauty and other aesthetic qualities subjective or objective? How should the quality of a work of art be assessed? Is there a general way to describe the creative process? What are the driving forces in the unfolding of art history? We will encounter such giants of the Western intellectual tradition as Plato, Aristotle, Hume, Kant, and Hegel, and also such contemporary figures as Arthur Danto, Richard Wollheim, and Kendall Walton. This course is cross-listed as ARTH 252.
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01:30 PM-02:45 PM, MR EASTC 301 |
PHIL 258-01 |
Philosophy of Data Instructor: Chauncey Maher Course Description:
Cross-listed with DATA 198-01. This an introduction to philosophical issues arising in data science. Students will discuss, read and write about some important ethical issues that arise in the practice of data sciences, such as discrimination, privacy, consent, trust, and justice. To help clarify those issues, students will also learn about some connected issues in the epistemology and metaphysics of data science, such as the nature of statistical inference and of algorithms. Prerequisites: MATH 121 or DATA/COMP/MATH 180 or ECON 298. This course is cross-listed as DATA 198. Offered every semester.
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12:30 PM-01:20 PM, MWF ALTHSE 08 |
PHIL 261-01 |
Philosophy of Work Instructor: Emily Kelahan Course Description:
Philosophy of Work Yard work. Housework. Working out. Working it. Work seems to be much more than performing a job for compensation. Work is central to our modern lives, but what exactly is it? What's its value? Under what conditions is it performed, by whom, and are those conditions acceptable? What are the various working relationships in which we find ourselves and what do we owe to whom? How is it different from play and leisure? Is there too much work? Is there enough? Who gets to work? Who has to work? What is the proper place of work in a human life? Philosophy of Work will guide students through a variety of answers to these questions and will hone their ability to develop their own positions through consideration of normative case studies (e.g., mouse jigglers and mouse jiggler surveillance, intellectual property litigation, FTC banning noncompetes, paying student athletes, etc.)
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09:00 AM-10:15 AM, TR EASTC 301 |
PHIL 261-02 |
Foucault Instructor: Dan Schubert Course Description:
Cross-listed with EDST 391-01, LAWP 290-02, SOCI 313-02, and WGSS 302-01. Michel Foucault was perhaps the most influential social thinker of the late 20th century. His arguments about the panopticon, historical epistemes, the medical gaze, governmentality, sexuality, and power now permeate the social sciences and humanities. He once wrote, "Do not ask me who I am and do not ask me to remain the same: leave it to our bureaucrats and our police to see that our papers are in order." These words will inform our semester of reading and discussing a variety of his primary works, including Madness and Civilization, Discipline and Punish, and The History of Sexuality, v.1, as well as some of his lectures and interviews. While our primary focus in this WID course will be Foucault's work itself, we will read a small selection of secondary literature that explicates and critiques some of his arguments.
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01:30 PM-02:45 PM, MR DENNY 204 |
PHIL 280-01 |
Recent Political Thought Instructor: Toby Reiner Course Description:
Cross-listed with POSC 202-01. This class aims to show the breadth and vitality of the field of political theory today. It does this by deepening and broadening the account of the discipline offered in POSC 180, discussing the most important recent accounts of justice, freedom, and equality, and adding consideration of democracy, rights, power, culture, community, and cosmopolitanism. We will also explore issues of exploitation and exclusion relating to gender, class, race, and human interaction with the natural environment, and consider how recent theorists have tried to challenge these practices. The class also explores the contours of political theory as an academic field of study, considering the disciplinary contributions of fields such as philosophy, political science, international relations, legal studies, and history, and major ideologies such as liberalism, conservatism, socialism, anarchism, and feminism. This course is cross-listed as POSC 202.
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01:30 PM-02:45 PM, TF DENNY 203 |
PHIL 285-01 |
Justice in World Politics Instructor: Toby Reiner Course Description:
Cross-listed with POSC 208-01. An examination of how states ought to make ethical decisions about policies of global scope. Should asylum seekers and economic migrants be granted access to social services? How must states fight wars? How ought resources to be distributed between countries? We will explore the philosophical underpinnings of the arguments that have been developed in response to at least two of these questions. This course is cross-listed as POSC 208. Prerequisite: 180 or POSC 170, 180, or permission of the instructor.
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03:00 PM-04:15 PM, TF DENNY 203 |
PHIL 303-01 |
Epistemology Instructor: Chauncey Maher Course Description:
This seminar will probe key issues in epistemology, such as: the nature of knowledge and justification, the challenge of skepticism, the relation of sense perception to conceptual thought. Prerequisites: three prior courses in philosophy, at least two at the 200 level, or permission of the instructor.
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01:30 PM-02:45 PM, MR EASTC 108 |
PHIL 401-01 |
Fiction and Moral Philosophy Instructor: Amy McKiernan Course Description:
A seminar focusing in depth on a selected philosophical topic, author or text with special emphasis on student philosophical writing and voice. Prerequisites: three prior courses in philosophy, at least one at the 300-level, or permission of the instructor.
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01:30 PM-04:30 PM, W EASTC 301 |
PHIL 500-01 |
Advanced Metaphysics I Instructor: Jeff Engelhardt Course Description:
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