Spring 2009 Courses

PHIL 100: Introduction to Philosophy
Randle, MWF 9:35-10:25, Max: 40

Content: Philosophy addresses significant but difficult questions:  What does it mean to be human?  What is humankind's highest good?  What is the nature of reality?  What can we know?  Philosophy does not necessarily provide definitive answers to these questions, but it does teach its students how to think about them.  The objective of this course is for students to learn how to thinkrigorously about significant philosophical questions.  Accordingly, in this course, we will explore the different methods philosophers have used to address philosophy's questions, and we will ourselves put these approaches into practice through class discussions and writing assignments.

Texts:

• Plato, Five Dialogues
• Descartes, Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy
• Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
• Kant, Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics
• Selections from Kierkegaard and Rawls

Particulars: Participation and three 5-6 page papers.

PHIL 100: Introduction to Philosophy
Lobo, TT 8:30-9:45, Max: 40

Content: This course aims to introduce students to the discipline of philosophy by examining how it both arises in and disassociates itself from myth.  We will begin by considering primitive man's speculations about the nature of the universe and the self as expressed in myth.  We will then turn to how these same issues are taken up by "philosophical" man in both ancient and modern times.  Through a close reading of several classics of the western tradition, we will see how philosophy raises and responds to fundamental questions about reality, knowledge, and the good in a way that subsumes the original concerns of myth.

Texts:

• Hyland, The Origins of Philosophy
• Curd, A Presocratics Reader
• Plato, Phaedo
• Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics (selections)
• Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy
• Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy
• Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (selections)
• Additional short readings available on eReserve

Particulars: Grading will be based on several short writing assignments and participation in written and oral discussions.

PHIL 100: Introduction to Philosophy
Cooper, MWF 2:00-2:50, Max: 40

Content: What is philosophy? - Why should we do philosophy? - These deceptively simple questions will be the topic of this course. In order to find an answer to this question we will turn to the philosophers and great thinkers, in the history of western civilization, who have sought to give answers these questions.

Texts:

• Jasper, Way to Wisdom
• Descartes, Discourse on Method
• Heidegger, What is Philosophy?
• Ayer, Language, Truth and Logic
• The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy

Selections from:

• Plato, Alcibiades and Phaedo
• Cicero, Tusculan Disputations
• Montaigne, That to Philosophize is to Learn to Die
• Fichte, First Introduction to the Wissenschaftslehre
• James, The Present Dilemma in Philosophy
• Heisenberg, The Revolution in Modern Science

Particulars: Grades will be based on three short essays (2-4 pages) and a final paper (ca. 5 pages). Attendance and class participation will also be taken into account.

PHIL 100: Introduction to Philosophy
McQuillan, TT 1:00-2:15, Max: 40

Content: What is philosophy? This course supposes that asking and trying to answer that question is the best possible introduction to philosophy. Instead of a broad survey of the history of philosophical thought, this course concerns itself with the close reading, examination, and discussion of a few exemplary texts. These texts stand at the beginning of the philosophical tradition. More importantly, however, they reflect on the nature of philosophy. By reading them and discussing them in the context of this class, you will come to a better understanding of what philosophy is, what it is like, and what it is not like.

Texts:

• Sophocles, Oedipus the King
• Aristophanes, Clouds
• Plato, Symposium
• Plato, Apology
• Plato, Five Dialogues
• Plato, Phaedo
• Plato, Republic

Particulars: Grades will be based on two 1500 word essays, a series of short reflection papers, and participation.

Phil 110: Introduction to Logic
Fotion, MWF 8:30-9:20, Max: 40

Content: This course aims to help the student identify both correct and incorrect ways of thinking. We will analyze both formal and informal reasoning. We will also study the difference between deductive and inductive reasoning. When it is over you should be able to think a tad more clearly than before.

Texts:

• Copi and Cohen, Introduction to Logic

Particulars: There will be three major examinations and numerous small quizzes. No papers will be assigned. Your grade will be figured mainly from your test and quiz scores. However, class participation will count some as well. If you participate often (and well) in class, you will be given the benefit of the doubt when it comes to your final grade. No participation, no benefit of the doubt.

Phil 110: Introduction to Logic
Rothstein, TT 10:00-11:15, Max: 40

Content: This course covers the fundamental canons of correct reasoning and argument analysis in both formal and informal logic, with an emphasis on examples and applications in everyday discourse. Students will gain the ability to distinguish and evaluate various types of arguments (deductive, inductive, analogical, etc.) and identify common logical fallacies, while learning the basics of classical syllogistic logic and modern propositional logic. The central aim of this course is to help students hone their critical thinking ability and capacity for rational inference—vital skills that are sure to be of later use.

Texts:

• Copi and Cohen, Introduction to Logic

Particulars: Grades will be based on homework problem sets, in-class examinations, attendance and participation, and a final exam.

Phil 110: Introduction to Logic
McAndrew, MWF 11:45-12:35, Max: 40

Content: The terms “logic” and “logical” occur frequently, both in our private conversations and public debates, sometimes by speakers who display little understanding of the principles of proper reasoning.  However, what does it mean to be logical?  This course will answer this question, and provide an introduction to Logic, the science of correct thinking.  It will examine both formal and informal logic.  Informal logic examines arguments as they appear in natural language.  Formal logic represents them symbolically in order to analyze their structure.  Students will learn both methods in order to improve their ability to reason correctly and to identify what constitutes a valid argument.

Texts:

• Copi and Cohen, Introduction to Logic

Particulars: Grades will be based upon homework assignments, three exams, and one final exam.

PHIL 110: Introduction to Logic
Traut, TT 11:30-12:45, Max: 40

Content: Studying logic involves studying the conventions of correct thinking.  There are two general aspects of the study of logic, formal and informal.  Formal logic utilizes abstract symbols to focus on the structural features of reasoning.  The focus on everyday reasoning is the advantage of informal logic.  We will begin our study of logic by looking at informal logic.  This section will help us understand how the formal logic relates to these actual arguments.

Texts:

• Nolt, Logics

Particulars: TBA

Phil 110: Introduction to Logic
Martin-Livingston, MWF 2:00-2:50, Max: 40

Content: The aim of this course is to help you become a more precise and critical thinker. Thinking logically is a skill which anyone can develop, and it is one which you can use in every facet of your life. We will examine a variety of methods for evaluating arguments, distinguishing between various types of arguments, and recognizing fallacies. The main areas covered include informal fallacies, traditional syllogistic logic and modern propositional logic.

Texts:

• Copi and Cohen, Introduction to Logic

Particulars: Grades will be based on homework assignments, three exams and one final exam.

Phil 115: Introduction to Ethics
McQuillan, TT 11:30-12:45, Max: 40

Contents: Introductions to ethics usually stage a confrontation between different ethical theories. Virtue ethics, utilitarianism, and deontology are defined, compared, and contrasted. Yet the reasons one would commit oneself to such a theory or hold one of these positions often remain obscure. This course will introduce students to the different kinds of ethical reflection that stand behind the theories. By focusing on different ways of thinking about the “good” life and the “right” way to live, this course will examine different conceptions of ethics, the reasons why different philosophers approach the subject differently, and the theoretical and practical consequences of their conclusions.

Texts:

• Plato, Meno
• Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics
• Epictetus, Handbook
• Epicurus, The Epicurus Reader
• Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus
• Augustine, On the Freedom the Will
• Spinoza, Ethics
• Hume, An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals
• Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals
• Nietzsche, Genealogy of Morals

Particulars: Grades will be based on two 1500 word essays, a series of short reflection papers, and participation.

Phil 115: Introduction to Ethics
Causey, TT 2:30-3:45, Max: 40

Content: We all have to make choices and decisions every day.  This course will examine moral theory and decision making.  We will explore various philosophical and literary texts (and maybe even some films) to think about various moral issues and how we make ethical decisions.  We will examine the moral theory from Socrates to Sartre and beyond.

Texts:

• Pojman, The Moral Life: An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature
• Camus, The Plague

Particulars: Grades will be based on class participation, a series of short reaction papers (2-3 pages) and one longer final paper (5-7 pages).

Phil 115S: Introduction to Ethics (Freshmen Seminar)
Sullivan, TT 11:30-12:45, Max: 15

Content: What does it mean to be moral?  Is it a matter of achieving happiness, obeying the moral law, respecting the rights of individuals, or promoting the overall utility of a society?  Or, is "morality" really nothing more than the expression of personal taste unconnected to any deeper account of right and wrong?  We will investigate how several important philosophers address these questions and consider the consequences of employing their theories in response to a variety of pressing moral issues, including civil disobedience, abortion, and euthanasia.

Texts:

• Plato, Five Dialogues
• Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics
• Epictetus, The Enchirldion
• Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals
• Mill, Utilitarianism
• Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil
• Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling
• Camus, Myth of Sisyphus
• Aurelius, The Meditations

Particulars: Short papers due weekly, two essays of approximately five pages, a project on a contemporary ethical issue which includes making an oral presentation to the class, and a final exam.

Phil 190: Music, Art, Mind, and Brain (Freshmen Seminar)
Patterson, TT 10:00-11:15, Max: 15

Content: Topics will include the purposes of art and music, factors (emotional, intellectual, cultural) involved in responding to particular works, creativity in the arts, and how these  matters might be related to the human mind and the human brain.   A variety of guests will demonstrate and discuss their work as creators or performers.

Texts:

• Levitin, This Is Your Brain on Music
• Musical, artistic works on eReserve
• Articles on eReserve concerning emotional and cognitive responses to art and music

Particulars: Should not exceed one paragraph.  Include grading details here.  Include any pre-requisites here.

PHIL 230: Philosophies of Human Nature: Global Justice
Tucker, TT 4:00-5:15, Max: 15

Content: Who we are and who we can be are questions which are determined in large part by the circumstances in which we live, and whether or not those circumstances are just. Many issues of justice today are global in scope, and yet our institutions and political theory still focus on the state as the primary agency for ensuring justice. In this class, we will focus on five areas where questions of justice outstrip the resources of the nation-state and are best understood as problems and areas where we need to think of justice in global terms. This course will be organized into five thematic units:

I. Human Rights, Development, and Global Institutions

II. War and Violence as Issues of Global Justice

III. Democracy and Communication

IV. Immigration and Refugees

V. Gender and Justice in Global Perspective

Each student in the class will be expected to engage in an internship with an organization which focuses on issues of justice in one of the five areas. Internships have been organized with local organizations which focus on one or more of our key areas: Human Rights, Communication, Immigration and Refugee issues, Gender Justice, Peace and Justice. In the first week of class, students will be able to choose their internship assignment.

Students are expected to have some background in political theory and in political philosophy. We will be reading classic texts in political philosophy as well as documents like the Human Development Reports and policy documents. Students will be expected to organize time to meet with their internship mentors and complete a major programmatic or research project which will be developed together with the internship organization.

Texts:

• All readings will be available in a course packet, which can be purchased after the first day of class from the Copy Center in the Woodruff Library.

Particulars: Attendance, Participation in Internship, Presentation, Final Project.

PHIL 235: Military Ethics
Fotion, MWF 9:35-10:25, Max: 40

Content: Ethical issues in war have recently received lots of attention.  Witness what happened on September 11, 2001.  Some say that the attacks on New York and Washington are as immoral as the Pearl Harbor attack.  Are they?  Are they perhaps more immoral?  Others say that we would be acting immorally if we didn't get involved in kosovo militarily.  Who is right?

Texts:

• Coppieters and Fotion, eds., Moral Constraints on War 2nd edition
• Fotion, War and Ethics: A New Just War Theory
• Fotion, Terrorism: The New World Disorder

Particulars: Grading will be based on three exams (part essay and part objective 75% and a journal (a series of short essays) (25%).  Class participation is recommended; it will help your grade if your final grade is in doubt.

Phil 250: History of Western Philosophy I
Hartle, TT 1:00-2:15, Max: 65

Content: We will examine the origins of philosophy in ancient Greece with the pre-Socratic philosophers and the philosophical practice of Socrates as a response to pre-Socratic "natural philosophy" and Sophistry.  We will consider Aristotle's view of the world and man's place in the world, and the Christian response to that classical view.  The guiding question of the course is:  what is the best way of life for a human being?

Texts:

• Hyland, The Origins of Philosophy
• Plato, The Republic
• Plato, The Trial and Death of Socrates
• Aristotle, The Philosophy of Aristotle
• St. Augustine, The Confessions
• Aquinas, On Faith and Reason

Particulars: Quizzes, midterm and final essay exams.

PHIL 251: History of Western Philosophy II
Marcus, MWF 12:50-1:40, Max: 65

Content: G. W. F. Hegel observed that philosophy strives for absolute knowing by “the work of the negative.”  In light of that observation, we will see how the Renaissance and the Reformation gave rise to a tension between scepticism and certainty that resulted in a new concept of human reason.  We will follow this notion of reason as it develops through four movements—the certainty of René Descartes, the scepticism of David Hume, the critical idealism of Immanuel Kant, and the speculative idealism of Hegel.  Throughout our journey, we will attend to questions of method, knowing, reality, morality, consciousness, and self as we ask, what is the nature of philosophy in the modern age?

Texts:

• Descartes, Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy
• Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature
• Kant, Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics and Critique of Practical Reason
• Hegel, The Hegel Reader

Particulars: Three examinations, question cards and participation.

Phil 251: History of Western Philosophy II
Goldenbaum, MWF 2:00-2:50, Max: 65

Content: Early modern history started with great discoveries changing our understanding of the world dramatically. The discovery of America questioned the Old World in its religious and political understanding; the telescope and the discovery of the Jupiter moons provided new arguments in favor of the Copernican system. But by founding the brand new science of mechanics on geometry and experiment, Galileo opened the door to a new model of science which challenged traditional philosophy, religion, epistemology, and morals. As a consequence, not even state and society were seen anymore as depending on God’s will but ruled by natural laws which became subject of study. We will discuss the conflict of the new science with religion, the relation of reason and experience, the possibility of human freedom, the "Molyneux-Problem", state power vs. civil rights, and last but not least the "social question" arising in the 19th century.

Texts:

• Galileo, The Assayer
• Galileo, Letter to the Princess Christina
• Hobbes, The Leviathan
• Spinoza, Ethics
• Locke, An Essays Concerning Human Understanding
• Diderot, Letter about the Blinds
• Rousseau, On the Origin of Inequality
• Kant, Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics
• Marx, The German Ideology
• Marx and Engels, The Communist Manifesto
• Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals
• Sartre, Existentialism is a Humanism
• Almost all texts can be found on the web

Particulars: Particulars: Class attendance, two short essays (5-8 pp.), mid-term and final exams, and occasional quizzes.

PHIL 320: Philosophy of Law
Sullivan, TT 2:30-3:45, Max: 30

Content: This course is an introduction to a variety of important issues and problems in the philosophy of law.  Specifically we will discuss the following questions:  (1) What is law? (2) What are the proper goals of law! (3) What makes law legitimate?, (4) What is the relationship between morality and law?, and (5) How would the implementation of particular legal theories function to foster or hinder the development of individuals and the American community at large?  In addition to asking these questions, we will investigate the public policy consequences of several contemporary approaches to legal theory, such as liberalism, libertarianism, feminism, pragmatism, critical legal studies, and law and economics.

Texts:

• Dworkin, Taking Rights Seriously
• Epstein, Forbidden Grounds
• Calabresi, Tragic Choices
• Coleman and Feinberg, Readings in Philosophy of Law
• MacKinnon, Feminism Unmodified
• Ackerman and Alstott, The Stakeholder Society
• Balkin, What Roe v. Wade Should Have Said
• Solove, The Digital Person

Particulars: Several short essays, a term project and presentation, and a final exam.

PHIL 330: Existentialism & Phenomenology
Flynn, MWF 10:40-11:30, Max: 35

Content: Existentialism is a person-centered philosophy.  It challenges each person to live authentically by accepting responsibility for his/her own freedom and for the consequences of his/her choices.

Texts:

• Barrett, Irrational Man
• Bretall, Kierkegaard Anthology
• Kaufman, The Portable Nietzsche
• Heidegger, Basic Writings
• Cumming, The Philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre - Photocopied materials

Suggested readings:

• Flynn, Sartre and Marxist Existentialism
• Sokolowski, Introduction to Phenomenology

Particulars: Grading will be based on three written exams, each counting one-third of final grade.  Participation will be crucial in grading borderline cases.

PHIL 364: Philosophy of History
Mitchell, TT 11:30-12:45, Max: 30

Content: History is commonly relegated to a concern with the past. And while that past is commonly thought to have brought us to where we are today, it is possible to think history apart from such a linear and progressive model. By philosophically addressing the question of the past and its relation to the present (and future) alongside the question of how the present understands or interprets that past, we inquire into what it means to be at a particular time and place. The philosophy of history is consequently not so much a philosophy of some reified past as a philosophy of event and transition, a philosophy of passing as such. In short, the philosophy of history is a philosophy of non-presence. This course explores the philosophical consequences of and challenges to such a view. By examining 18th-20th century conceptions of the philosophy of history we will address issues such as: the relationship between event and interpretation, progress in history, history as narrative, history’s relation to life, world-historical individuals, and other related topics. Authors covered include the German Romantics, Herder and Hegel, the 19th century philosophers of history, Burckhardt and Nietzsche, and, in conclusion, 20th century views from Benjamin, Foucault, and White.

Texts:

• Hegel, Introduction to the Philosophy of History
• Nietzsche, The Uses and Disadvantages of History for Life, in Untimely Meditations
• Readings on eReserve from Herder, Burckhardt, Benjamin, Foucault, and White.

Particulars: Participation and three 5-6 page papers.

Phil 482SWR: Subjectivity & Transcendence in Phenomenology
Carr, M 2:00-4:00, Max: 18

Content: In this class we will investigate the works of two major figures in phenomenology – Edmund Husserl and his student Martin Heidegger. In order to understand their projects, while revealing and questioning the nature of phenomenology, we will focus on their accounts of subjectivity and transcendence. Since this attempt must take into account the roots of the philosophical discussion of the ego, we will begin our investigation by looking at Descartes’ Mediations and tracing their impact on Husserl’s and Heidegger’s thought.

Texts:

• Descartes, Meditations of First Philosophy
• Husserl, Cartesian Meditations
• Heidegger, History of the Concept of Time
• Heidegger, Being and Time

Particulars: Students will be responsible for a class presentation and a term paper, of which preliminary drafts must be circulated and evaluated. Grading: 50% on class participation, 50% term paper.

PHIL 490SWR: Self and Responsibility? (Senior Seminar)
Carr, T 2:00-4:00, Max: 15

Content: In this course we will begin by examining three contemporary philosophers working on different topics: education, ethics, and the reform of philosophy itself. These examinations will serve as the basis for students to develop their own ideas of the prospects for philosophy by composing a series of papers and circulating and discussing drafts in class.

Texts:

• Nussbaum, Cultivating Humanity
• Rorty, Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity
• Taylor, The Ethics of Authenticity

Particulars: Two class presentations and a term paper.  Grading: Participation 50%, term paper 50%.

PHIL 490SWR: What can I know? What ought I to do? (Senior Seminar)
Flynn, W 2:00-4:00, Max: 15

Content: By considering the mutual implications of certain fundamental philosophical options in metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics, the student will be encouraged to frame a comprehensive view of philosophy itself while at the same time coming to terms with his/her own philosophical position.

Texts:

• Bambrough, The Philosophy of Aristotle
• Kant, Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics
• Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals
• Hume, An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Moral
• Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

Recommended but not required:

• Dancy and Sosa, A Companion to Epistemology
• Singer, A Companion to Ethics

Particulars: No examination.  Two short papers for class participation, a longer one (circa 15 pages) in lieu of a final exam.  Class participation will count heavily (30%), as will the two short seminar papers (15% each).  But the final paper will be the most important single factor (40%).

PHIL 490SWR: What is Rationality? (Senior Seminar)
Livingston, F 10:00-12:00, Max: 15

Content: The problem of the course is to gain an understanding of what can be meant by reason and rational criticism.  Using the writings of Michael Oakeshott, Alasdair MacIntyre and John Gray, we will examine the argument of Enlightenment liberalism that reason is independent of tradition and the argument that reason is tradition-laden.  In doing so we will work through the idea of reason as it appears in ancient Greek philosophy, medieval philosophy.  The Sottish Enlightenment and various post-modern conceptions.

Texts:

• MacIntyre, Whose Justice? Which Rationality?
• MacIntyre, Three Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry
• Oakeshott, Rationalism in Politics

Particulars: Seminar participation and term paper.

PHIL 495A: Honors Directed Reading
TBA

PHIL 495BWR: Honors Directed Reading
TBA

PHIL 497R: Directed Reading
TBA