Courses

What is knowledge? How ought we to live? Does God exist? Do we have free will? What  is the nature of consciousness? You’ve likely spent at least some time thinking about such questions; if so, then you’ve already thought about some of the subject matter that philosophers have pondered for millennia. Philosophy is the most fundamental academic discipline, in the sense that it is concerned with answering the most fundamental questions concerning the nature of reality and human existence. Philosophy One is designed to help you think about these questions in a rigorous and systematic manner, by introducing you to some of the most influential thinkers and ideas in the Western philosophical tradition. updated 11/1/23.

This course provides an introduction to philosophy focused on the metaphysical, ethical, and value questions, What (who) are we? What should we do? and What makes life meaningful? Answers from various figures in Western thought will be explored, compared, and evaluated, providing a basis for further study of these in upper level courses.

 

 

 

Students will examine and critically evaluate important philosophical ideas as they are expressed in film. Students will watch films and read accompanying philosophical texts that deal with perennial philosophical questions.

In this course, students will be introduced to the philosophical investigation of the socially and politically fraught ways people can use language. Topics will include bad words, e.g. swears, slurs, dog whistles, and dehumanizing terms, as well as bad discourse, e.g. subordinating expression, epistemic injustice, epistemic isolation, and gaslighting. Topics will also include some of the ways that language can be used to counteract such bad uses, through e.g. linguistic reclamation and counter-expression. Through the exploration of these topics, students will gain familiarity with several central topics in the philosophy of language, social epistemology, feminist philosophy, and the philosophy of race. Previous familiarity with these areas will not be presupposed.  Updated 11/1/23.

 

 An examination of the basic issues in Legal Theory. Topics typically include the nature of legal reasoning, the relationship between law and morality, and classical theories of law.

 A systematic examination of the central issues in the philosophy of science (e.g., theory confirmation in science, and scientific explanation), focusing on a series of papers by leading philosophers in the philosophy of science (for instance, Carl Hempel and Thomas Kuhn).

 While we praise, blame, and punish people for their actions, we don't hold everyone responsible for everything they do. Moral responsibility looks to be intimately tied to a person's free will. We will discuss a range of views on what's required for agents to be free, and therefore morally responsible for their actions.

This course explores various conceptions of mind, consciousness, and self with particular attention to the interdependence of mind, body, and environment. Topics to be considered include attention and awareness, mindfulness, embodiment, interdependence, equity/inequity, planetary health, flourishing, and global sustainability. 

Mind Body Ecology embraces the principles and practices of what I term “experiential philosophy.” In addition to the intellectual content of the course, students engage in a variety of experiential exercises grounded in evidence-based mindfulness practice that aid in enhancing awareness of self, embodiment, and interdependence. We explore various evidence-based meditation techniques and nature-centered mindful movement exercises.  *Honors section is offered. Updated 11/1/23.

The aim of this course is to focus on philosophical principles that are implicitly assumed in standard" Cognitive Science."

Many different branches of philosophy invoke the notion of a “natural kind”, i.e., the idea that some of the ways we classify and group objects together are more natural than others. Philosophers regularly assume that some classifications and groupings reflect the nature of reality itself rather than the interests, ideas, priorities, or purposes of particular human beings. In this course, we will investigate the plausibility of this idea, exploring how different philosophers have analyzed and defended the notion of a natural kind, as well as some of the most serious problems and objections that have been posed by different sorts of natural kind skeptics. Along the way we will also consider how the notion of a natural kind shows up in different branches of philosophy, e.g., in the philosophy of science, the philosophy of language, and in social and political philosophy. Updated 11/1/23.  

 

 

 

 

 A close examination of advanced issues in value theory. Topics may include the views of major historical figures such as Bentham, Hume, Kant, Locke, and Sidgwick, the moral realism-antirealism, debate, topics in moral psychology, and moral epistemology.

 An examination of advanced issues in philosophy of science, for example, issues concerning theory confirmation and issues concerning explanation.

 Philosophy of Law and Economics asks students to consider economics as a justification for legal decision-making. Different perspectives regarding the nature of law are juxtaposed against different perspectives regarding the nature of economics. Students develop their own synthesis by examining landmark legal cases from various perspectives.

 A rigorous examination of specific issues in legal theory and jurisprudence. Topics may include the nature of law, legal adjudication, law and economics, theories of punishment, and legal responsibility and obligation.

 A philosophical analysis of some selected topics that are central to political philosophy. Topics may include analyses of the nature of human rights, political authority, the moral duty to obey the law, freedom, or justice.

 Moral psychology is precisely what it sounds like - the intersection of the study of morality (typically the domain of philosophy) and the study of our mental processes (typically the domain of psychology). It is an area in which we ask fundamental questions about the moral nature of human beings, and purse the answers to these questions via a constant exchange between philosophical theory and empirical data.

 Critical analysis of contemporary theories of human nature advanced by philosophers, psychologists, biologists, cognitive scientists and others. The thinkers under consideration will vary but examples would include E. O. Wilson, B. F. Skinner, Sigmund Freud, John Searle and Daniel Dennett.

 An examination of advanced issues in epistemology, for example, issues concerning rational degrees of belief, issues concerning the intersection of epistemology, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind, and issues concerning epistemological methodology.

A survey of the major figures in Western thought between the sixth century BCE and fifth century CE. Among those included are the Presocratics, Plato, Aristotle, and the Hellenistic philosophers. This course also applies to the minor in Classical Studies minor.

In this course we will survey the Modern Era of Philosophy -- beginning with the early modern philosophers, such as René Descartes and Thomas Hobbes in the 17th century, and concluding with Immanuel Kant in the late 19th century. The emphasis will be on these philosophers' contributions to metaphysics and epistemology, though attention will also be given to their contributions to ethics and political philosophy -- as well as to the general historical context in which they wrote. By studying the era immediately that preceded it, students will come away from the course a richer and more complete understanding of contemporary philosophy -- and of the possible answers to the perennial questions of philosophy (e.g., "What is knowledge?", "What is the nature of the mind?", "What is the nature of fundamental reality?", "Does God exist?", "Do we have free will?", etc.) with which the great modern philosophers grappled. Updated 11/1/23.

How to detect, analyze, and critically evaluate reasoning in ordinary language and its technical counterparts found in business, economics, etc. The course is designed to enhance skills for handling arguments in a variety of texts. Understanding the arguments and theories encountered in one's situations is stressed, along with how one can improve one's own expression of arguments and theories, especially in writing. Topics include techniques of reconstruction and evaluation in a process of self-editing, detection of fallacies, and distinguishing correct from incorrect reasoning.

An introduction to the scope and limits of modern logic. The nature of logical systems and the various areas of logic are discussed. Alternative proof- procedures in propositional logic and predicate logic are presented.

 A continuation of 30133, with an emphasis on predicate logic, nonstandard logic, and metalogic.

Advanced topics in logic. Spring 2024, the course will focus on various kinds of non-truth-functional propositional logic, for example, propositional modal logic (which concerns possibility and necessity) and propositional deontic logic (which concerns obligation and permission). Hence no predicate logic (which is covered in the second half of Symbolic Logic I). Truth-functional propositional logic will be covered briefly at the beginning as a base, with a focus on derivations (as opposed to truth-tables). Updated 11/1/23.

NOTE:  The official prerequisite for the course is going to be changed soon from Symbolic Logic I to Critical Reasoning or Symbolic Logic I. 

*Course content to vary by semester and will include areas such as formal languages, mathematical logic, deontic logic, modal systems, and philosophy of language.