| PHIL 101-01 |
Introduction to Philosophy
Instructor: Chauncey Maher
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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10:30 AM-11:20 AM, MWF
ALTHSE 08 |
| 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
EASTC 411 |
| 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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10:30 AM-11:45 AM, TR
BOSLER 208 |
| PHIL 103-02 |
Logic
Instructor: Chauncey Maher
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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01:30 PM-02:45 PM, TR
STUART 1104 |
| 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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09:30 AM-10:20 AM, MWF
EASTC 411 |
| PHIL 180-01 |
Political Philosophy
Instructor: John Harles
Course Description:
Cross-listed with POSC 180-01. 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-11:20 AM, MWF
DENNY 212 |
| PHIL 202-01 |
17th and 18th Century Philosophy
Instructor: Jeff Engelhardt
Course Description:
This course treats the Rationalists, Empiricists and Kant, with particular emphasis on issues in epistemology and metaphysics, such as the possibility and limits of human knowledge, the role of sense perception and reason in knowledge, the nature of substance, God and reality.Prerequisite: one prior course in philosophy or permission of the instructor.
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03:00 PM-04:15 PM, TF
EASTC 411 |
| PHIL 257-01 |
Moral Psychology
Instructor: Jim Sias
Course Description:
An investigation of philosophical issues at the intersection of ethics and psychology. For example, is there any empirical basis to beliefs about free will and moral responsibility? What are emotions, and what role do they have to play in our moral lives? How can so many intelligent and open-minded people reach such radically different moral conclusions? Are there really such things as traits of virtue and vice? These are among the issues well explore in this course.Prerequisite: One PHIL course, or permission of instructor.
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01:30 PM-02:45 PM, TF
STERN 103 |
| PHIL 261-01 |
Capital Punishment
Instructor: Kathryn Heard
Course Description:
Cross-listed with LAWP 290-01, POSC 290-01 and SOCI 230-03. Permission of instructor required.
This course examines the historical and contemporary practices of capital punishment in the United States. Indeed, the United States is one of the few constitutional democracies that retains the punishment of death for criminal wrong-doing, despite the efforts made by some Supreme Court Justices to abolish the "machinery of death" in the American legal system and the pressure placed on federal and state governments by foreign nations to formally abolish its use. This course considers: Why does the state claim the authority to kill its citizens and how does it justify this authority? How has capital punishment in the United States changed over time, such that the modern promise of a "painless death" endeavors to legitimate its continuation? How do race, gender, class, religion, disability, and location impact who is subjected to the death penalty and for what crimes? What ethical arguments can be made for and against the use of capital punishment as a criminal sentence, from the perspectives of the condemned as well as the victim? Is it even possible to execute an individual in a manner that is just? These questions and more will be taken up as we move through a rich combination of political philosophy, legal cases, and works of socio-legal analysis.
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01:30 PM-02:45 PM, MR
DENNY 313 |
| PHIL 261-02 |
Gender and Justice
Instructor: Kathryn Heard
Course Description:
Cross-listed with LAWP 234-01, POSC 234-01 and WGSS 302-02. Permission of instructor required.
This course analyzes how legal theorists have drawn upon notions of gender, sex, and sexuality in order to understand and critique the American legal system and its norms. It considers questions like: How might a feminist perspective on the law illuminate instances of systematized inequality or legalized discrimination? Can queer theorists engage with the law in order to alter it, or does the very act of engagement hinder the possibility of future socio-legal change? How can the law better represent women of color, working women, queer women, stay-at-home mothers, transgender or non-binary individuals, women seeking surrogate or abortion services, and more, without reinforcing traditional understandings of what it means to be a woman? These questions and more will be taken up as we move through a rich combination of political philosophy, legal cases, and works of socio-legal analysis.
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10:30 AM-11:45 AM, TR
DENNY 203 |
| PHIL 261-03 |
Business Ethics
Instructor: Emily Kelahan
Course Description:
Cross-listed with INBM 300-06. Historically, ethics and business have been presented as conflicting priorities if you want to be ethical, youll have to compromise the success of your business. But thats far from the truth. Now more than ever, consumers and investors are demanding ethical commitments and statements of corporate values, entrepreneurship is as much about the world at large as it is about the entrepreneur, and maintaining a positive workplace culture is as important as meeting performance metrics. Far from working against the bottom line, the ability to reason ethically and to articulate and live out your values is essential to it. In this course, we will explore the relationship between ethical theory and practice in the context of a broad array of business case studies and principles.
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08:30 AM-09:20 AM, MWF
ALTHSE 206 |
| PHIL 270-01 |
Philosophy and Literature
Instructor: Alyssa DeBlasio, Marc Mastrangelo
Course Description:
Cross-listed with CLST 200-01 and RUSS 270-01.
The characters of Sophocles and Dostoevsky lie, steal, scheme, and murder. What is it about these authors depictions of their characters lying, cheating, and murdering ways that makes their writing not just literary but philosophical? And what is it about philosophical works like Nietzsches that makes them literary? More generally, does literature shape its audiences ethical education, emotional health, and ability to discern truth from falsity? Where do the overlapping realms of literature and philosophy begin and end? This course investigates the intersections of philosophy and literature across various cultural contexts, historical periods, and schools of thought, with an emphasis on ancient Greek and Russian literature; authors include Fyodor Dostoevsky, Sophocles, Euripides, Ralph Ellison, Friedrich Nietzsche, Plato, Aristotle, Leo Tolstoy, and contemporary philosophers (Murdoch, Rorty, Scanlan, etc.). We will look at how arguments transform and are transposed from one style of writing to another, thereby raising the contentious question of whether philosophy can achieve things that literature cannot, and vice versa. We will also ask ourselves fundamental questions about the role of literature in the 21st century: why should we care about fictional stories, how and why are we moved by great writing, and what role (if any) does literature play in moral imagination? Dostoevsky's characters lie, steal, scheme, and murder. What is it about Dostoevsky's depictions of their lying, cheating ways that makes his novels not just literary but philosophical? And what is it about philosophical works like Kierkegaard's and Nietzsche's that makes them literary? More generally, where do the overlapping realms of literature and philosophy begin and end? This course investigates the intersections of philosophy and literature across different schools of thought, paying special attention to the work of Dostoevsky, Kierkegaard, Leibniz, Plato, Tolstoy, Voltaire, and others. We will pair the treatment of philosophical issues in fiction with their treatment in more traditional philosophical genres, thereby raising and discussing the contentious question of whether philosophy can achieve things that literature cannot, and vice versa. Prerequisite: one course in PHIL or permission of the instructor. Offered every two years. This course is cross-listed as RUSS 270.
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01:30 PM-02:45 PM, TF
EASTC 411 |
| PHIL 301-01 |
Metaphysics
Instructor: Jeff Engelhardt
Course Description:
This seminar will treat key issues in metaphysics, such as the self and personal identity, free will, universals and particulars, causation, reductionism, naturalism, realism and anti-realism, and the very possibility of metaphysics. Prerequisites: three prior courses in philosophy, at least two at the 200 level, or permission of the instructor.
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03:00 PM-04:15 PM, MR
EASTC 410 |
| PHIL 302-01 |
Ethical Theory
Instructor: Amy McKiernan
Course Description:
Cross-listed with WGSS 301-05. This seminar will explore major issues or texts in classical or contemporary moral philosophy. Prerequisites: three prior courses in philosophy, at least two at the 200 level, or permission of the instructor. Offered at least once every two years.
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01:30 PM-02:45 PM, MR
DENNY 21 |
| PHIL 500-01 |
Feminist Care Ethics
Instructor: Amy McKiernan
Course Description:
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| PHIL 500-02 |
Critical Disability Studies and Bioethics: Forming a Working Relationship
Instructor: Amy McKiernan
Course Description:
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| PHIL 500-03 |
Feminist Ethics and Consumption
Instructor: Amy McKiernan
Course Description:
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| PHIL 500-04 |
Hume's Scepticism
Instructor: Jeff Engelhardt
Course Description:
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| PHIL 550-01 |
Nominalism and Fictionalism About Mathematics
Instructor: Jeff Engelhardt
Course Description:
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