Desired Effective Semester/Year: 1/2008 Desired Ending
Semester/Year:
Initiating Department or Committee: Philosophy
Date: 03/15/2007 10:51:59
Name and Phone Number of person completing this form: Debbie F Jackson 621-
5045 debbiej@email.arizona.edu
COURSE TITLE
Course number: PHIL325
Course Title: Jewish Philosophy
Units of Credit - Min:3 Max:3
SIS Course Title:
COURSE DESCRIPTION
In this course, we will develop an understanding of the variety and unity of Jewish
Philosophy through the ages. The course will consist of four units. The first unit will be an examination of ancient texts, such as Ecclesiastes and Job. We will seek to elucidate the philosophy of life, morality, and religion that underlies these texts. The second unit will be an examination of medieval Jewish philosophy, with a special focus on
Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed. The third unit will be an examination of early modern Jewish philosophy, with a speical focus on Spinoza's Ethics. The fourth unit will be an examination of contemporary Jewish ethics, with a speical focus on Jewish perspectives on current bioethical issues (such as physician-assisted suicide and organ donation).
Offering
Fall(I)
Spring(II)
SummerI(III)
SummerII(IV)
Course Dependencies
Contact Hours
Lecture 3
Crosslistings
JUS 325
Name of instructor: Michael Gill
CREDIT REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRICTIONS
May this course be repeated for credit? No . If yes, then:
a. course may be repeated times.
b. course may be repeated up to a total of units.
Is course available for Special Examination for Credit or Grade Option? No . If yes, then:
a. GRD (Special Examination for Credit and Grade) OR

b. CDT (Special Examination for Credit only)
Is course available for PASS/FAIL? No
Is course eligible for honors credit ? Yes . If yes, is it an:
a. Honors course OR
b. Honors eligible section XX
c. Honors contract
COURSE JUSTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS
What programmatic need does this course satisfy?
N a. required for departmental undergraduate majors.
N b. required for departmental undergraduate minors.
Y c. option for undergraduate majors.
Y d. proposed for General Education program
N e. required in graduate curriculum.
N f. option in graduate curriculum.
N g. other, specify
If course is 400/500, explain how the experiences of undergraduate and graduate students will be differentiated.
FUNDING ANALYSIS
Is the proposal of this course associated with a new hire? N
What course, if any, does this course replace? (This course will be deleted upon creation of new course)
If no new hire and no course deletion, explain what adjustments will be made in current faculty teaching assignments.
Notify the University Library for expected impact? N
What space and equipment needs are necessitiated by this course? Equipment: no special equipment Space: classroom space
SYLLABUS
Course Proposal
PHIL 325: Jewish Philosophy
Michael Gill
Course Description

In this course, we will develop an understanding of the variety and unity of Jewish
Philosophy through the ages. The course will consist of four units. The first unit will be an examination of ancient texts, such as Ecclesiastes and Job. We will seek to elucidate the philosophy of life, morality, and religion that underlies these texts. The second unit will be an examination of medieval Jewish philosophy, with a special focus on Maimonides’ Guide of
the Perplexed. The third unit will be an examination of early modern Jewish philosophy, with a special focus on Spinoza’s Ethics. The fourth unit will be an examination of contemporary
Jewish ethics, with a special focus on Jewish perspectives on current bioethical issues (such as physician-assisted suicide and organ donation).

PHIL 325: Jewish Philosophy
Michael Gill
Course Overview
In this course, we will develop an understanding of the variety and unity of Jewish
Philosophy through the ages. The course will consist of four units.
The first unit will be an examination of ancient texts. We will read and discuss in depth
Ecclesiastes and Job, seeking to elucidate the philosophy of life, morality, and religion that underlies these texts. We will look to excerpts from other texts, both modern and ancient, to shed light on Ecclesiastes and Job through comparisons and contrasts.
The second unit will be an examination of medieval Jewish philosophy. We will focus on
Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed. We will place Maimonides’ work within the religious and philosophical context of his day (such as the Neo-Platonized Aristotelianism that was then current), and also explore the influence he had on thinkers such as Aquinas and Leibniz.
The third unit will be an examination of early modern Jewish philosophy. The primary text will be Spinoza’s Ethics. We will seek to understand how Spinoza combined modern philosophical ideas (such as those he learned from Descartes) with some of the main tenets of medieval Jewish thought. As with Maimonides, we will also explore Spinoza’s influence on other modern thinkers, such as Hume and Kant.
The fourth unit will be an examination of Jewish perspectives on current ethical issues.
Goals of the Course
By the end of this course, the student will be able to articulate some general unifying themes of Jewish philosophy as well as being able to explain the ways in which Jewish philosophy has evolved and changed through the centuries. The student will gain an understanding of how Jewish philosophy has interacted with Western philosophy more generally.
Academic Integrity
You are expected to know and strictly follow the University of Arizona Code of Academic
Integrity. Read the Code thoroughly, if you have not already done so. You can find it at: http://w3.arizona.edu/%7Estudpubs/policies/cacaint.htm
.
Any violation of academic integrity — any instance of cheating — is grounds for the unconditional failure of the course and possible expulsion from the University.
Code of Conduct
Students are expected to behave appropriately and to treat others with respect. While in class, please turn off your cell phone and refrain from eating and disruptive whispering. Do

not read the newspaper, text message, or do work for other courses. Arrive on time and remain until the end of class.
Requirements
Attendance and Participation
You are expected to attend and participate in every class session. You should do the assigned reading before each class. Your attendance and participation in class will count for
10% of your grade.
Writing Assignments
There will be two writing assignments for this course: a 3-5 page paper on the ancient texts
(Job or Ecclesiastes) and a 5-7 page paper on Spinoza. In these assignments, you will develop a clear philosophical thesis about the texts under discussion, present arguments for that thesis, and answer objections. The 3-5 page paper on the ancient texts will be worth
20% of your grade. The 5-7 page paper on Spinoza will be worth 25% of your grade.
Exams
There will be two exams. The first will be an essay exam on Maimonides, worth 20% of your grade. The second will be an essay exam on Jewish bioethics, worth 25% of your grade.
Grading Summary
10% Attendance and participation
20% Writing assignment on ancient texts
20% Essay exam on Maimonides
25% Writing assignment on Spinoza
25% Essay exam on Jewish Bioethics
Sample Schedule
August 25: Introduction
Ancient Texts
August 27 : Job
August 30 : Job
September 1: Richard Swinburn, “The Problem of Evil”
September 3: J.L. Mackie, “Evil and Omnipotence”; paper on Job assigned
September 8: Ecclesiastes
September 10: Ecclesiastes
September 12: Albert Camus, “The Myth of Sisyphus”
September 14: Thomas Nagel, “The Meaning of Life; paper on Job due
Medieval Texts
September 20: Maimonides on human freedom, selections from Ethical Writings
September 22: Maimonides on human freedom, selections from Ethical Writings
September 24: David Hume, “Of Liberty and Necessity”

September 27: Maimonides on virtue, selections from Guide of the Perplexed
September 29: Maimonides on virtue, selections from Guide of the Perplexed
October 1: Rosalind Hursthouse, selections from On Virtue Ethics
October 4 : Maimonides on good and evil, selections from Guide of the Perplexed
October 6 : Maimonides on good and evil, selections from Guide of the Perplexed
October 8 : Aquinas on good, evil, and virtue, sections from Summa Theologica
October 11: Leibniz on theodicy, selections from Theodicy
October 13: Maimonides on happiness and God, selections from Guide of the Perplexed
October 15: Essay Exam on Maimonides
Early Modern Texts
October 18: Spinoza on God and substance, selections from the Ethics
October 20: Spinoza on God and nature, selections from the Ethics
October 22: Spinoza on happiness, selections from the Ethics
October 25: Spinoza on knowledge, selections from the Ethics
October 27: Spinoza on human action and passions, selections from the Ethics
October 29: Spinoza on freedom and determinism, selections from the Ethics
paper on Spinoza assigned
November 1: David Hume, selections from Treatise of Human Nature
November 3: Immanuel Kant, selections from Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics
November 5: Immanuel Kant, selections from Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics
Contemporary Issues
November 8: Emil Fackenheim, “The Jewish Bible after the Holocaust: A Re-Reading”
November 10: Richard Rubenstein, “After Auschwitz”
November 12: Arthur, Cohen, “Thinking the Tremedum”; paper on Spinoza due
November 15: Achad Ha-Am, “Pinkser and Political Zionism”
November 17: David Hartman, “The Challenge of Modern Israel”
November 19: Leo Strauss, “The Mutual Influence of Theology and Philosophy”
November 22: Judith Plaskow, “Beyond Egalitarianism”
November 24: Judith Plaskow, “Facing the Ambiguity of God”
November 29: Heidi M. Ravven, “Creating a Jewish Feminist Philosophy”
December 1: Review
Final: Essay Exam on Jewish Bioethics

Comments PHIL325 Jewish Philosophy
Comments
Noris E Montalvan
-Description: edit "speical" in the last 2 sentences.
John C Maloney
J EDWARD Wright
James W Shockey
OK, SBS DO. approve on 03/15/2007 approve on 03/19/2007 approve on 03/20/2007 approve on 04/16/2007