PHILOSOPHY
DEPARTMENT
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
UNDERGRADUATE
AND
GRADUATE
FALL 2014
FACULTY
DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY
Bergmann, Michael
Bernstein, Mark
Bertolet, Rod
Brower, Jeffrey
Cover, Jan
Curd, Martin
Curd, Patricia
Draper, Paul
Frank, Daniel H.
Harris, Leonard
Jacovides, Michael
Kain, Patrick
Kelly, Daniel
Mariña, Jacqueline
McBride, William
Tulodziecki, Dana
Smith, Daniel
Steup, Matthias
Yeomans, Christopher
THE STUDY OF PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy courses provide the opportunity to study a wide range of philosophical issues from a diverse
array of philosophical traditions, methodologies and perspectives. Our courses develop students’ skills in
critical thinking, analysis, clear writing, and sustained reflection on important philosophical problems, both
contemporary and perennial, concerned with ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, language, logic, the
natural and social sciences, politics, aesthetics, and religion. Students engage important portions of their
intellectual heritage through the writings of influential philosophers of the past and present, and acquire a
sense of the influence of these figures on the broader society and culture. Students learn, equally
importantly, to challenge these writings, to look for hidden assumptions and presuppositions, including
those they themselves hold, and they learn how to critically scrutinize and evaluate competing positions,
arguments, and perspectives. Thus, students acquire both disciplinary knowledge and philosophical skills
needed to understand and address the global challenges facing humanity, now and in the future.
Because of the flexibility in PHIL major and minor requirements, many students tailor their elective choices
to concentrate their expertise or complement their studies in areas such as law, medicine, history,
literature, science, mathematics, engineering, religion, business, or politics and government. A philosophy
major or minor can be a valuable part of most types of pre-professional training. Many philosophy students
choose a second major in another field.
In addition to the range of ‘traditional’ courses we offer in ethics, logic, metaphysics and epistemology and
the history of philosophy, we teach a range of courses addressed to those whose primary interests are in
law, medicine, science, literature, the arts and other disciplines (consult the section “Courses of special
interest to certain areas” for this semester’s offerings).
Philosophy majors go on to successful careers in law, education, medicine, publishing, business, marketing,
management, government service, computer science, and the clergy, for example. Philosophy is quite
suitable as a major for pre-professional students, and it may well be an ideal major for those who plan to
enter law school. Pursuing graduate studies in philosophy and becoming a philosophy professor is not a
likely path for most, since the number of such positions is quite limited; nonetheless, some of our majors
successfully pursue this course, with our support.
Virtually every employer values the skills that are cultivated in philosophy courses: articulateness, clarity of
expression, logical rigor and analysis, critical reflection, and argumentation. In many careers, philosophical
knowledge and understanding are valuable assets, especially for those in leadership positions. Perhaps this
is why recent studies show that, on average, those with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy “advance” more
quickly within their careers than those of any other major. The Educational Testing Service consistently
reports that philosophy majors have the highest mean scores on both the verbal and analytical writing
sections of the GRE, of all of the 57 areas of study listed. On the LSAT, the mean score of philosophy
majors is tied for first (with economics majors) amongst the 12 largest majors taking the test, and the
average of philosophy & religion majors is consistently second only to majors in physics & math, out of 29
areas of study. Philosophy applicants consistently have had one of the best rates of acceptance to medical
school, better than majors in physics, mathematics, chemistry, or biology. On the GMAT, the mean score of
philosophy majors is consistently among the top-five or six majors (e.g., Physics, Math, Engineering,
Computer Science) out of 41 areas of study.
3
PHILOSOPHY COURSES SATISFYING
LIBERAL ARTS CORE CURRICULUM, UNIVERSITY CORE CURRICULUM,
OR GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
Liberal Arts Core Curriculum
Western Heritage: 110, 206, 231, 301, 302, 303
Global Perspective: 114
Other Cultures: 230
Aesthetic Awareness: 275
Racial & Ethnic Diversity: 242
Gender Issues: 225
Social Ethics: 111, 260, 270, 280, 290
Individual & Society (Group B): 240
University Core Curriculum
Human Cultures: Humanities: 110, 111, 114, 230, 280, 290
Information Literacy: 120, 260
Science, Technology & Society: 270
Written Communication: 260
Students in Other Schools/Colleges
Generally, any philosophy course will satisfy general humanities requirements, and many PHIL courses
qualify for “guided” humanities electives; but please see your advisor for specific restrictions imposed by
your School or College.
REQUIREMENTS FOR A MAJOR AND MINOR
IN PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy major: 33 hours of courses, to include an intro course (110, 111); a course in logic (150);
work in the history of philosophy (three of the following courses--at least two of these from the first three:
301, 302, 303, 304, 306); a course in value theory (240, 411, 424); two advanced courses in a central
area of philosophy (411, 421, 424, 425, 432, 435, 465--one of the two must be 425 or 432); nine additional
hours, at least six of which must be at the 400 or 500 level.
Philosophy minor: 15 hours of philosophy courses; one must be either 301, 302, or 303, another must be
numbered 300 or above, and only one of 230, 231, 402, 430, and 431 may be used.
Philosophy students may participate in the CLA Honors Program and the University Honors Program.
Many philosophy students also study abroad.
The Philosophy Society provides a nice opportunity to discuss philosophy outside of class. Check it out at
http://www.getinvolved.purdue.edu/Community?action=getOrgHome&orgID=788
The department is also pleased to administer the annual Eric L. Clitheroe Award, the Rowe Scholarship, and
the CLA Alumni Board’s Outstanding Senior Award.
For more information about the study of philosophy and careers for philosophy majors,
check out the department website and the APA website:
http://www.cla.purdue.edu/phil/undergraduate/
http://www.apaonline.org/
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COURSES OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO UNDERGRADUATES
IN CERTAIN AREAS
FALL 2014
Computer Science
150:
Principles of Logic
Science
150: Principles of Logic
450: Metalogic
Engineering
114:
Global Moral Issues
120:
Critical Thinking
150:
Principles of Logic
Women’s Studies
225: Philosophy and Gender
Health-Related Fields
(pre-med, pre-vet, nursing)
111:
Ethics
120:
Critical Thinking
History
230:
Religions of the East
231:
Religions of the West
301:
History of Ancient Philosophy
303:
History of Modern Philosophy
319:
Classic & Contemporary
Literature & Fine Arts
219:
Introduction to Existentialism
Political Science
114:
Global Moral Issues
225:
Philosophy of Woman
Pre-Law
111: Ethics
114: Global Moral Issues
120: Critical Thinking
150: Principles of Logic
260: Philosophy and Law
280: Ethics and Animals
424: Recent Ethical Theory
Religion (pre-seminary, religious studies, etc.)
206: Philosophy of Religion
230: Religions of the East
231: Religions of the West
431: Contemporary Religious Thought
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PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT
Fall 2014
11000/H Introduction to Philosophy
11100/H Introduction to Ethics
11400
Global Moral Issues
12000
Critical Thinking
15000
Principles of Logic
20600
Philosophy of Religion
21900
Introduction to Existentialism
22500
Philosophy and Gender
23000
Religions of the East cross listed w/REL230
23100
Religions of the West cross listed w/REL231
26000
Philosophy and Law
27500
Philosophy of Art
28000
Ethics and Animals
29300
Science and Religion
30100
History of Ancient Philosophy
30300
History of Modern Philosophy
31900
Classic and Contemporary Marxism
42400
Recent Ethical Theory
43100
Contemporary Religious Thought
45000
Metalogic
49000
Advanced Topics in Philosophy
50500
Islamic/Jewish Philosophy and the Classical Tradition
52400
Contemporary Ethical Theory
53500
Studies in Philosophy of Mind
55200
Philosophy of Social Science
55500
Critical Theory
60100
Special Topics in Ancient Philosophy
62400
Seminar in Ethics
68300
Studies in Continental Rationalism
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Course Descriptions Undergraduate and Graduate
Fall 2014
PHIL 11000
INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
SEC
CRN
DAY
TIME
LOCATION INSTRUCTOR
LEC
LLEC 019 25220
TR
09:30 AM-10:20 AM WTHR 172
Kelly, D.
022 58231
MWF
12:30 PM-01:20 PM BRNG 1268
Staff
024 58233
MWF
03:30 PM-04:20 PM BRNG 1268
Staff
025 58234
MWF
02:30 PM-03:20 PM BRNG 1268
Staff
026 58235
TR
03:00 PM-04:15 PM BRNG 1268
Staff
DIS/Y01 57098
ARR HRS
Staff
REC
001 25205
W
08:30 AM-09:20 AM BRNG B268
Staff
002 25202
W
12:30 PM-01:20 PM BRNG B268
Staff
003 25206
W
11:30 AM-12:20 PM BRNG B268
Staff
004 25203
W
10:30 AM-11:20 AM BRNG B268
Staff
005 25207
W
09:30 AM-10:20 AM BRNG B268
Staff
006 25204
W
01:30 PM-02:20 PM BRNG B268
Staff
The basic problems and types of philosophy with special emphasis on the problems of knowledge and the
nature of reality.
LLEC/KELLY: There are two main goals of this course. The first is to introduce students to the Western
philosophical tradition, its major figures and defining themes. Those themes include religion and the existence
of God, perception and the nature of knowledge, the nature of the self, the mind-body problem, free will, and
morality. The second is to provide students with the tools to think clearly, articulate their own views, and
evaluate the arguments of others.
PHIL 11000H
LEC
SEC/CRN
INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY/HONORS
Day
Time
Location
1
H27/68125
MWF
11:30AM-12:20PM
BRNG 1230
INSTRUCTOR
Mariña, J.
This course is an introduction to the basic problems of philosophy, paying special attention to questions
concerning 1) the fundamental nature of reality 2) whether, and how, we should govern our beliefs and 3) the
nature of morality and what it requires. The class will explore these themes through attention to some of the
writings of historical figures such as Plato and Descartes, as well as a sampling of contemporary philosophy.
PHIL 11100
INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS
CRN
Day
Time
Location
INSTRUCTOR
LEC
015 45414
TR
12:00 PM-01:15 PM BRNG 1268
Staff
016 45413
TR
01:30 PM-02:45 PM BRNG 1268
Harris, L.
018 25236
MWF
08:00 AM-09:20 AM BRNG 1230
Staff
019 45411
MWF
03:30 PM-04:20 PM BRNG 1230
Staff
LLEC/021 25242
TR
12:30 PM-01:20 PM ME 1061
Kain, P.
DIS/YO1 57099
ARR HRS
Staff
001 25225
F
10:30 AM-11:20 AM BRNG B268
Staff
REC
002 25224
F
09:30 AM-10:20 AM BRNG B268
Staff
003 25226
F
01:30 PM-02:20 PM BRNG B268
Staff
004 25222
F
12:30 PM-01:20 PM BRNG B268
Staff
005 25227
F
08:30 AM-09:20 AM BRNG B268
Staff
006 25223
F
11:30 AM-12:20 PM BRNG B268
Staff
A study of the nature of moral value and obligation. Topics such as the following will be considered:different
conceptions of the good life and standards of right conduct; the relation of nonmoral and moral goodness;
determinism, free will, and the problem of moral responsibility; the political and social dimensions of ethics;
7
SEC
the principles and methods of moral judgment. Readings will be drawn both from contemporary sources and
from the works of such philosophers as Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Butler, Hume, Kant, and J. S. Mill.
LLEC/KAIN Are there any objective standards for evaluating human actions or character traits? Is there such
a thing as moral obligation? What makes a human life good? In this course, we will grapple with these
philosophical questions by examining some classical and contemporary attempts to answer them. We will
study, and discuss and argue with, philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Immanuel Kant,
John Stuart Mill, and others.
HARRIS: Normative ethics seeks to answer such questions as the following: Why be moral? What is wrong
with racism? Why, and to what extent, should a person care about strangers? What is privacy (e.g., an IP
address) and why, if at all, is it important? What types of beings have rights, if any, e.g., robots, aliens,
children, animals, terminally ill patients?This section of the Introduction to Ethics will consider controversial
issues with a particular emphasis on contemporary problems and conditions. The course will consider both
classical and contemporary ethical theories and the way they answer normative ethical questions. Answers,
as we shall see, may promote amoralism, moral relativism, hedonism, pragmatism, utilitarianism or some
version of virtue ethics. In so doing, a given approach may be more or less compatible with a duty to make
moral choices regarding benevolent behavior toward others, insurrection, quietism or a special form of selfdiscipline.
PHIL 11100H
LEC
SEC/CRN
INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS/HONORS
Day
Time
LOCATION
H01/63149
TR
9:00AM TO 10:15AM
BRNG 1268
INSTRUCTOR
Kain, P.
Are there any objective standards for evaluating human actions or character traits? Is there such a thing as
moral obligation? What makes a human life good? In this course, we will grapple with these philosophical
questions by examining some classical and contemporary attempts to answer them. We will study, and
discuss and argue with, philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Immanuel Kant, John Stuart
Mill, and others.
PHIL 11400
GLOBAL MORAL ISSUES
LEC
SEC/CRN
Day
Time
Location
INSTRUCTOR
001/54086
MWF
10:30AM-11:20AM
BRNG 1230
Staff
003/58631
MWF
9:30AM-10:20AM
BRNG 1230
Staff
004/68226
MWF
4:30PM-5:20PM
BRNG 1230
Staff
DIS
Y01/58320
ARR HRS
BRNG 1230
Staff
A systematic and representative examination of significant contemporary moral problems with a focus on
global issues such as international justice, poverty and foreign aid, nationalism and patriotism, just war,
population and the environment, human rights, gender equality, and national self-determination.
PHIL 12000
CRITICAL THINKING
SEC/CRN
Day
Time
Location
INSTRUCTOR
001/25246
MWF
10:30AM-11:20AM
BRNG 1268
Curd, M.
003/63150
MWF
11:30AM-12:20AM
BRNG 1268
Staff
MCURD: This course is designed for people who are interested in applying reasoning skills to everyday issues
and debates. The goal is to enable you to reconstruct and evaluate arguments from a wide variety of sources
and to invent good arguments of your own. The sources range from newspaper editorials, letters to the
editor, and public policy debates to legal cases, reports of experiments, and public opinion polls. Among
other things, you will learn to recognize arguments when they are present (not all persuasive writing contains
arguments); reconstruct them (by identifying their premises and conclusion, and outlining their structure);
evaluate them (that is, decide whether they are valid or invalid, sound or unsound, inductively strong or
weak, reliable or unreliable); diagnose what is wrong with bad arguments; construct good arguments of your
own. Though the approach is largely informal, we will study two areas of logic in some depth, namely,
propositional logic (“Symbolic Sentential Logic”) and the theory of the categorical syllogism (“Arguments
about Classes”). Some parts of the course also involve simple applications of concepts from statistics and
probability theory.
LEC
8
PHIL 15000
PRINCIPLES OF LOGIC
SEC/CRN
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
001/25248
TR
10:30AM-11:45AM
BRNG 1268
Tulodziecki, D.
003/63152
MWF
9:30AM-10:20AM
BRNG 1268
Staff
004/68228
MWF
4:30PM-5:20PM
BRNG 1268
Staff
TULODZIECKI:This course is an introduction to the basic concepts and methods of modern logic, with
emphasis on the construction and appraisal of complex patterns of reasoning. Some of the things expected of
you will be the recognition and reconstruction of arguments in ordinary language, the translation of
propositions and arguments from English into logical notation, the testing of arguments for validity, and
understanding and constructing proofs. You will be expected to know the notation and the techniques of
propositional (sentential) and predicate (quantificational) logic. Put less formally, you will learn what it means
for a claim to follow from others, and to recognise and construct good arguments of your own.
LEC
PHIL 20600
LEC
SEC/CRN
001/25250
Day
TR
PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
Time
Location
1:30PM -2:20PM
BRNG 2290
Instructor
Bergmann, M.
004/25255
M
9:30AM-10:20AM
BRNG B268
Staff
005/25253
M
11:30AM-12:20PM
BRNG B268
Staff
007/25251
M
8:30-9:20AM
BRNG B268
Staff
Is belief in God rational? The first part of this course will deal with this question that has loomed so large in
the philosophical history of western monotheism (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). Our focus will be on
arguments for God’s existence (e.g., the argument from the fact that the universe seems to have been
designed), on arguments against God’s existence (e.g., the argument that a loving God wouldn’t permit
horrific suffering of the sort we find in the world), and on whether belief in God can be rational if it isn’t
supported by argument. The second part of our course looks at the plurality of religions in the world, most of
which claim to be the only religion that is right about the most important truths. Our main concern here will
be to consider whether belief in such claims can be rational. Finally, we will also discuss some questions in
philosophical theology. One such question asks whether we can be free if God foreknows what we will do.
Another question is whether it makes sense to make requests of God in prayer given that, whether we pray
or not, a perfect being would know what we want and would do what is best. Grades are based on several
short quizzes, a midterm exam and a final exam.
PHIL 21900
INTRODUCTION TO EXISTENTIALISM
SEC/ CRN
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
001/25258
MWF
12:30PM-1:20PM
BRNG 1230
Staff
A survey of both the philosophical and more literary writings of the existentialist movement. Readings will
be chosen from among the following writers: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, Kafka, Marcel, Heidegger,
Camus, Sartre, Jaspers, de Beauvoir, Ortega, and Merleau-Ponty.
LEC
PHIL 22500
PHILOSOPHY AND GENDER
SEC/ CRN
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
001/25259
MWF
1:30PM-2:20PM
BRNG 1268
Staff
An examination of the beliefs, assumptions, and values found in traditional and contemporary philosophical
analyses of women. A range of feminist approaches to knowledge, values and social issues will be introduced.
LEC
PHIL 23000/REL230
RELIGIONS OF THE EAST
LEC
SEC/ CRN
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
001/68740
MWF
2:30PM-3:20PM
WTHR 172
Purpura, A.
This course offers an interdisciplinary introduction to the academic study of Indian, Southeast Asian, Chinese,
and Japanese religious traditions including: Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism,
9
Shintoism, and Zoroastrianism. The philosophical and religious contexts of each tradition will be considered by
examining its history, primary texts, key teachings, rituals, present practice and diverse cultural expressions.
Students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their learning through two objective exams, a group
research presentation, and two brief analysis papers. This course meets the Other Cultures requirement of
the CLA Core Curriculum.
PHIL 23100/REL 231
RELIGIONS OF THE WEST
SEC/ CRN
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
001/68741
MWF
1:30PM-2:20PM
WTHR 160
Ryba, T.
The purpose of this course is to provide a systematic survey of those religions variously described, in the West, as
‘Western Religions’ or ‘Religions of the West.’ Immediately, a problem arises because the adjective, ‘Western,’ is
questionable. The descriptions ‘Western’ or ‘of the West’ have been understood as designating a problematic
geo-cultural location—but also a homogeneous style of religious thought because of their common origins as
Abrahamic monotheisms. Contemporary scholars of religion, and indigenous believers, often contest this imputed
homogeneity and have pointed to the incredible complexity and fluidity of these traditions, characteristics which
resist simplistic classification. Well aware of the challenges such descriptions present, we, in this course, will
engage in a comparative study of the systems of belief, thought, and practice traditionally termed ‘Western
Religions’ by Western scholars of religions. This will be accomplished through a series of readings on these
systems’ histories, philosophies and scriptures. The approach adopted in this course is phenomenological and
comparative. Adopting the phenomenological method in the academic study of religion means that we shall try to
study these religions objectively and empathetically. Adopting the comparative method in the academic study of
religion means that we shall try to compare and contrast the features of these religions with the intent of
observing similarities, dissimilarities and regularities, where meaningful points of comparison occur. The
phenomenological method (properly applied) gives us access to a religion’s rationale; the comparative method
(properly applied) gives us access to the rationale of Religion. The systems of belief, thought and practice which
will be studied and compared in this course are: (1) the Judaic tradition, (2) the Christian tradition, and (3) the
Islamic tradition. This survey and comparison will take place according to a fixed set of categories. Surveyed for
each of these traditions will be: (a) its worldview, (b) its scriptures, (c) its hierology, (d) its cosmology, (e) its
anthropology, (f) its soteriology, and (g) its most important schools of thought (or forms of scholasticism). This
course meets the Western Heritage requirement of the CLA Core Curriculum. Prerequisites: None. Course
requirements: four objective examinations; six optional extra-credit assignments.
LEC
PHIL 26000
PHILOSOPHY AND LAW
SEC/ CRN
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
001/25261
TR
1:30PM-2:20PM
ME 1009
Yeomans, C.
This course weaves philosophy and law together by taking a philosophical approach to law and a legal
approach to philosophy. We will take a philosophical approach to law through a critical examination of such
basic concepts in law as property, civil liberty, punishment, right, contract, crime and responsibility; and by
surveying the main philosophical theories about the nature and justification of legal systems. We will take a
legal approach to philosophy by using legal research, reading and writing as the medium for this critical
examination: the philosophical course readings will be accessed through online legal research tools, and all
assignments will be written in the legal formats of briefs, pleadings and decisions. This course meets the
Social Ethics requirement of the CLA Core Curriculum and both the Written Communication and Information
Literacy requirements of the University Core Curriculum.
LEC
PHIL 27500/crosslisted w/COMPL 2300
PHILOSOPHY OF ART
LEC
SEC/ CRN
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
001/45406
TR
3:00PM-4:15PM
BRNG 1268
Smith, D.
A survey of the principal theories concerning the nature, function, and value of the arts from classical times to
the present.
10
PHIL 28000
ETHICS AND ANIMALS
SEC/ CRN
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
001/25263
MWF
11:30AM-12:20PM
LWSN B155
Bernstein, M.
The aim of this class is to identify our justified moral relationship with nonhuman animals. Since 10 billion
animals are annually killed for human consumption in the US alone, the urgency of this investigation can
hardly be exaggerated.
LEC
PHIL 29300
SCIENCE AND RELIGION
LEC
SEC/ CRN
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
001/68278
MWF
2:30PM-3:20PM
LWSN B155
Curd, M.
Most people look either to science or to religion as their best guide to what to believe about the fundamental
nature of the world. Many look to both; some look to just one. The course examines the relations between
science and religion, the two main institutions that have shaped human civilization and continue to influence
the way we think about the world. Our focus will be on philosophically interesting relations such as logical
implication, inductive or probabilistic relevance, confirmation (and disconfirmation), conceptual connections,
and shared or competing principles concerning methodology, rationality, and epistemology, and metaphysical
assumptions. Topics include the Copernican, Newtonian, and Darwinian revolutions (and what they tell us
about the complex ways in which science and religion interact), miracles, attempts to test the efficacy of
prayer, design arguments for theism (both traditional and fine-tuning arguments from modern cosmology),
naturalism (in its various guises), and recent efforts to explain religion scientifically using evolutionary biology
and psychology (and their possible significance for the cognitive content of religion). Figures whose views we
will discuss include David Hume, Alvin Plantinga, Daniel Dennett, Ernan McMullin, David Wilson, Elliott Sober,
and many more. The course will be non-sectarian, neither theistic nor anti-theistic. Its main aim is to get a
little clearer about some fascinating arguments and debates.
PHIL 30100
HISTORY OF ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY
SEC/ CRN
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
001/25264
TR
10:30AM-11:45AM
BRNG 1230
Frank, D.
This is a first course in the history of philosophy in antiquity, covering a period of almost a thousand years.
The course divides into three main parts. We begin at the beginning (where else?) when philosophy emerged
from non-philosophical modes of thought in the 6th century BCE. We will trace the intellectual paths blazed
by the first philosophers, Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Xenophanes, Heraclitus, and Parmenides.
Thanks to them we became skeptical about the nature, even the reality and value, of the world around us, no
longer confident that what we perceive maps on to what there really is, and that what seems good to us
really has value. With such skepticism in the air we turn to the giants of philosophy in antiquity, Socrates,
Plato, and Aristotle, who, each in his own way, attempts to respond to the fear that knowledge about the
sensible world is unattainable and that the reality of a realm of values is a vain imagining. Finally, we will
spend some time on philosophy after Aristotle, a very rich intellectual period that saw the rise of
Epicureanism, Stoicism, and Skepticism--competing schools of philosophy, indeed ways of life. The postAristotelian philosophical movements developed through discussions and disagreements with each other, but
they will be presented here as a set of intelligent responses to Aristotle and his views about the nature of
human well-being. The course will proceed by lecture and discussion, and two (2) in-class essay
examinations will determine the grade.
Required texts:
1. CDC Reeve and PL Miller [eds], Introductory Readings in Ancient Greek and Roman
Philosophy (Hackett, 2006) ISBN: 978087220830
2. Aristophanes, Clouds [tr. P Meineck] (Hackett, 2000) ISBN: 9780872205161
LEC
PHIL 30300
HISTORY OF MODERN PHILOSOPHY
SEC/CRN
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
001/25267
TR
1:30PM-2:45PM
BRNG 1230
Cover, J.
The history of philosophy, like logic and ethics and epistemology and metaphysics, is a traditional area of
LEC
11
academic philosophy with a history of its own. As practiced in the past, and as we will pursue it in this
course, it isn’t history (of a certain subject) but philosophy (with a certain focus). The focus is the content of
historically important philosophical texts. The contents of the texts we examine in this course will be
approached not out of special respect for the past, nor for the purpose of uncovering intellectual, social,
moral, or emotional currents influencing the central figures of early modern philosophy, but simply out of a
desire to discover fundamental truths about the world. That is what philosophy is, according to those
thinkers most influential in European philosophical thought during the so-called early modern period (roughly
1600-1800). They made claims about how the world is; these claims are either true or false – true if the
world is the way they claimed it to be, false if the world isn’t the way they claimed it to be. Of these
influential thinkers, we shall examine selected philosophical writings of five: Descartes, Leibniz, Berkeley,
Hume, and Kant. Readings and lectures will focus primarily on metaphysical and epistemological topics, since
those are the philosophical topics of central concern to these important figures. It's all cool stuff: a bit of
history and philosophy of science, a bit of reflection about God, some issues about what it takes to
(genuinely) know something, some stuff about the nature of minds (from our arm-chairs without doing any
neuro-physiology), a bit more about God, a great surprising treatment of "What is a physical object?" with
two hard-nosed answers that are each guaranteed to make you feel like you've lived your life up 'till now in
utter blindness, some knotty thoughts about causation and knowledge (again) that is not guaranteed to make
you nervous about whether to plan ahead for Octoberbreak, a few reflections on the un-rewarding game of
backgammon, and more. One previous course in philosophy (not religion) is required; PHIL 110(00),
“Introduction to Philosophy,” is strongly recommended.
PHIL 31900
CLASSIC AND CONTEMPORARY MARX
SEC/CRN
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
001/68279
TR
9:00AM-10:15AM BRNG 1230
McBride, W.
The principal readings will be from The Marx-Engels Reader (ed. Tucker) and David Schweickart’s After
Capitalism, with supplementary handouts. In addition, each student will be asked to present some outside
work from the Marxian tradition for consideration by the class as a whole, thus affording everyone as broad a
spectrum as possible. An expanded written version of this report will in most cases constitute the final paper.
(There will also be a short early paper assignment, and mid-term and final examinations.)
LEC
PHIL 42400
RECENT ETHICAL THEORY
CRN/SEC
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
004/69975
TR
9:00AM-10:15AM
BRNG 1248
Staff
A philosophical examination of significant issues in recent ethical theory and metaethics, such as the nature of
value, obligation, virtue, rationality, moral knowledge, the status of ethical sentences, practical applications,
and the relationship between ethics and science or religion.
LEC
PHIL 43100
CONTEMPORARY RELIGIOUS THOUGHT
LEC
SEC/CRN
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
001/68318
MWF
1:30PM-2:20PM
BRNG 1230
Mariña, J.
This class will explore 19th, 20th, and 21st developments in philosophy of religion. We will be reading a selection
of texts from Schleiermacher, Kierkegaard, Tillich and James, as well as analyze some alternative contemporary
accounts of the fundamental nature of reality and the goal of human life.
PHIL 45000
METALOGIC
SEC/CRN
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
001/63206
TR
3:00PM-4:15PM
BRNG 1248
Tulodziecki, D.
An introduction to metatheoretic studies of formal axiomatic systems. Basic set theory is developed for use as
a tool in studying the propositional calculus. Further topics include many-valued logics and basic (metatheory
for) modal or predicate logic.
LEC
12
PHIL 49000
ADVANCED TOPICS IN PHILOSOPHY
SEC/CRN
Day
Time
Location
001/68320
TR
12:00PM-1:15PM
BRNG 1230
An advanced study of a significant topic in philosophy.
LEC
Instructor
Staff
PHIL 50500
ISLAMIC AND JEWISH PHILOSOPHY AND THE CLASSICAL TRADITION
(and its Critique by Spinoza)
LEC
SEC/CRN
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
001/63207
TR
1:30PM-2:45PM
BRNG 1248
Frank, D.
Often medieval philosophy is presented in its Christian guise alone, giving the impression that the medieval
philosophical tradition, influenced by the great thinkers of Greek antiquity, is exclusively a Latin tradition, with
no substantive contribution by those who wrote in Arabic and Hebrew. We shall revise this view. After a few
weeks reading and discussing Plato’s Republic, a key foundational text for thinkers working in Arabic-speaking
lands, our focus will turn to a select group of philosophers who lived between the 10th-12th centuries, a
roughly three hundred-year period that is a high point in medieval Islamic and Jewish philosophy—a time
before Greek philosophy was rediscovered in Christian Europe. Philosophers to be studied in some detail are
Farabi, Ibn Rushd (Averroes), and Maimonides, and in addressing topics in the philosophy of language,
metaphysics, epistemology, cosmology, philosophical psychology, and especially in philosophy of law, ethics,
and political philosophy, we will see how these philosophers adapted Greek philosophical insights for their
own specific purposes. This Greek-inspired religio-philosophical tradition came to a screeching halt with
Spinoza, who published (anonymously) in 1670 the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (TTP), a work variously
described upon its appearance in print as “harmful and vile,” “most pernicious,” “subversive,” “blasphemous,”
“diabolical,” “full of abominations,” and “godless.” It’s not difficult to see why, but we shall read the TTP, not
just as a ground-breaking, founding document in modern (secular) political thought and biblical criticism, but
also as a work engaged, and in debate, with the philosophical monotheisms of the medieval past. The Janusfaced nature of the TTP thus provides a fitting end to the philosophical tradition that commenced with Plato
and the Greeks, and in so concluding we will nuance our understanding of the beginnings of modern
philosophy. A background in Greek philosophy will be helpful and is assumed. Course requirements include
class presentations and written examinations.
Required texts:
1. Plato, The Republic [tr T Griffith] (Cambridge UP, 2000) ISBN: 9780521484435
2. Alfarabi, Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle [tr M Mahdi] (Cornell UP, 1969) ISBN: 9780801487163
3. GF Hourani [ed/tr], Averroes, On the Harmony of Religion and Philosophy (Gibb Memorial Trust, 2007)
ISBN: 9780718902223
4. Maimonides, The Guide of the Perplexed [abridged; tr C Rabin] (Hackett, 1995) ISBN:
9780872203242
5. Spinoza, Theological-Political Treatise [trs M Silverthorne and J Israel] (Cambridge UP, 2007) ISBN:
978052153097
6. S Nadler, A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza’s Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age
(Princeton UP, 2011) ISBN: 978-0691160184
PHIL 53500
LEC
SEC/CRN
001/68330
Day
TR
STUDIES IN PHILOSOPHY OF MIND
Time
Location
12:00PM-1:15PM
BRNG 1248
Instructor
Kelly, D.
Smith, D.
This course will explore the most interesting and provocative work to come out of two broad, often
overlapping trends in current philosophy of mind. One of these is externalism. Ideas in this vein take many
forms, but the common thread is an insistence that the boundaries of an individual’s skin and skull are
relatively unimportant when it comes to the nature and content of the mind, and the bases of judgments and
behavior. For instance, some externalists have famously claimed that the content of mental states is in part
determined by factors outside of the head, while others have gone even farther, arguing that mental states
and cognitive processes themselves can extend beyond the borders of a person’s physical, organic body. Still
other approaches that have an externalist flavor emphasize different aspects of the extra-bodily environment
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and the different roles they can play in human psychology, often creating new terminology to talk about them
(embodied cognition, embedded and situated cognition, enactive cognition, etc.) Dovetailing with these
externalist approaches are those marked by increasingly sophisticated applications of the conceptual
resources of evolutionary theory to human cognition and action. Many of these also emphasize the
importance of factors external to the skin and skull in shaping human cognition. We will look at one account
that aims to show how humans actively engineer environments in which they live, learn, and raise children,
and how the subsequent interaction with this deliberately organized structure is a key factor in explaining
many ways in which humans are unique. We will also look at another approach that stresses the importance
of social learning, culture and technology, not just in scaffolding current thought and action, but in driving the
way the human mind evolved in the first place – and the ways it continues to evolve.
PHIL 55200
PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE
SEC/CRN
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
001/68331
T
6:30pm – 9:30pm
BRNG 1248
Harris, L.
The course will provide a dialogue between competing schools of thought on the nature of social explanations. The
schools of particular interest include historical materialism, evolutionary epistemology, and various forms of
phenomenology (e.g., methodological individualism vs holism). We will consider the concepts of agency and the
ontological status of groups in each theory covered. This course is traditionally associated with and satisfies the area
requirement for the Philosophy of Science.
LEC
PHIL 55500
CRITICAL THEORY
LEC
SEC/CRN
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
001/68332
TR
10:30AM-11:45AM BRNG 1248
McBride, W.
Our common readings will begin with Horkheimer and Adorno’s Dialectic of Enlightenment and will proceed to
selected writings of Herbert Marcuse and, primarily, Jürgen Habermas. Each participant will also be expected
to give a class report on a relevant work not part of the common readings, as well as to submit a term paper
at the end of the semester.
PHIL 60100
SPECIAL TOPICS IN ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY: MIXTURE, FORM, AND MATTER IN
ANCIENT GREEK PHILOSOPHY
LEC
SEC/CRN
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
001/68333
W
11:30AM-2:20PM
BRNG 1248
Curd, P.
"The Greeks do not think rightly about coming-to-be and passing-away; for no thing comes to be or passes
away, but is mixed together and dissociated from the things that are. And thus they would be right to call
coming-to-be mixing together and passing-away dissociating.” (Anaxagoras B12) Mixture and structure are
basic notions in Presocratic cosmological theories, and in Plato and in Aristotle. In this seminar we will
investigate the philosophical reasons why mixture plays such a crucial role in post-Parmenidean theories of
structure and change. We will also examine the continuing importance of the concepts in Plato’s metaphysics
and in Aristotle’s physics.
PHIL 62400
SEMINAR IN ETHICS: PARTIALITY
SEC/CRN
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
001/58282
F
2:30PM-5:20PM
BRNG 1248
Bernstein, M.
Are we ever morally justified in acting unfairly? Are there even occasions when we are morally obligated to
extend special consideration to some persons who, sub specie aeternitatis, deserve no extra concern? We will
try to discover principled answers to these and like questions in the ultimate hope of clarifying the nature of a
morality worth having.
Books: Keller, Simon The Limits of Loyalty Cambridge University Press 2007
Keller, Simon Partiality Princeton University Press 2013
Scheffler, Samuel Boundaries and Allegiances Oxford University Press 2002
LEC
14
PHIL 68300
CONTINENTAL RATIONALISM
SEC/CRN
Day
Time
Location
Instructor
001/68334
W
2:30PM-5:20PM
BRNG 1248
Cover, J.
I see that I haven’t tried to teach much by way of Leibniz’s metaphysics for quite a while, so this (Fall ’14)
incarnation of the “Studies in Continental Rationalism” seminar will be on Leibniz. If you are keen to get a
broad picture of rationalist thought in the early modern period, don’t completely despair: studying Leibniz’s
metaphysics invites – some would say requires – one to keep a close eye on various competing claims of
Descartes and Spinoza, and indeed on those of other “minor” figures (by some reckoning) such as Arnauld
and Malebranche. So we’ll undertake to do some of that, along the way. But we will be attending largely and
closely to central texts of Leibniz, and seeing where they lead us, using his Discourse on Metaphysics (1686)
as the principal text of departure. One virtue of the Discourse is that it can – and we’ll let it – point us in
many thematic directions. So here too, if you are eager to get some exposure to a broad range of topics,
there’ll be plenty to think about: we’ll have to take some accounting of what Leibniz says about God, value,
creation, causation, substance, modality, maybe freedom, and I suppose more. It’s a history of philosophy
seminar, but it’s a course in metaphysics (and inevitably philosophical theology) too. I’ll strive to keep the
required purchase of primary texts to a minimum; I expect that smallish read-this-text-and-think-hard-aboutit written exercises, and a final paper, will make up the required work.
LEC
15