PHIL 100
Introduction to Philosophy: Problems
An introduction to philosophical analysis and intensive study of selected philosophical classics. Topics include the existence of God, the problem of evil, problems of knowledge, the relationship between mind and body, free will, determinism, and moral obligation. Recommended for freshmen and sophomores.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: Recommended for freshmen and sophomores
PHIL 105
Introduction to Cognitive Science
An introduction to the interdisciplinary study of how the mind works. Discussion of tools, theories, and assumptions from philosophy, psychology, computer science, neuroscience, and linguistics. Topics will include perception, language, reasoning, and emotion.
Units: 6.
PHIL 115
Food Ethics
Eating has become a complicated activity. We will examine some of the hard ethical questions facing policymakers and individuals: How should government regulate our food choices? When, if ever, is it ethical to eat animals? Are there any moral reasons to favor local food producers? Is gluttony a moral fault?
Units: 6.
PHIL 120
Applied Ethics: Introduction to Biomedical Ethics
The course will examine moral dilemmas created or intensified by recent advances in medical technology and study ways of analyzing those dilemmas to make them more tractable. We will focus on examples such as euthanasia and the right to die, abortion, behavior modification, allocation of scarce medical resources,
in vitro fertilization, genetic screening and engineering, and human experimentation.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: Recommended for freshmen and sophomores
Also listed as Biomedical Ethics 120
PHIL 130
Meditation and Virtue: Contemplative and Analytic Perspectives on Character
This course focuses on different theories of the good and of the virtues that lead to a good life. It covers a variety of readings that discuss the good and the good life and also critically examines a variety of meditations designed to cultivate moral virtues. Requirements for the class include writing two papers and undertaking a daily meditation practice.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: Recommended for freshmen and sophomores
PHIL 140
Introduction to Philosophy: Knowing and Valuing
Is there a plausible distinction between (real!) knowing and (mere!) opinion? Can we make any warranted claims about how humans might best lead meaningful lives? We will carefully analyze the responses to such questions offered by Plato and by two 20th-century philosophers.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: Recommended for freshmen and sophomores
PHIL 150
Symbolic Logic
Formal study of the notions of validity, consistency, and equivalence in the languages of sentential logic and predicate logic, plus an introduction to semantics for these languages.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: Recommended for freshmen and sophomores
PHIL 191
Directed Study in Philosophy
Directed study follows a syllabus set primarily by the instructor to meet the needs or interests of an individual student or small group of students. The main goal of directed study is knowledge or skill acquisition, not research or creative work.
Units: 1 TO 98.
Prerequisite: Counter Registration Required.
PHIL 200
History of Philosophy: Plato and Aristotle
An examination of themes in selected classical Greek tragedies and their development in the philosophies of Plato (
The Republic, Gorgias) and Aristotle (
Nicomachean Ethics).
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, sophomore standing, or consent of instructor
PHIL 210
History of Philosophy: Early Modern Philosophy
We will explore some exciting developments of the 16th and 17th centuries. Specifically, we will look at how the scientific study of the mind began to emerge in the wake of the scientific revolution. The works of the French philosopher and mathematician, Rene Descartes, will serve as our window into this period. We will examine Descartes' epistemology, especially his theory of clear and distinct ideas, and investigate how this relates to his dualistic theory of mind. We will also read excerpts from some of Descartes' contemporaries, such as Thomas Hobbes and Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, sophomore standing, or consent of instructor
PHIL 220
History of Philosophy: Berkeley, Hume, Kant, and Mill
An examination of selected works of 18th- and 19th-century philosophers. Epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics are emphasized.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, sophomore standing, or consent of the instructor.
PHIL 230
History of Philosophy: Early Analytic Philosophy
An examination of the early 20th-century works of G. E. Moore and Bertrand Russell against the background of the then-dominant Hegelian Idealism.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, sophomore standing, or consent of instructor
PHIL 240
History of Philosophy: The American Pragmatists
An examination of the attempts by pragmatists such as C. S. Peirce, William James, and John Dewey to reconceptualize “traditional” issues in Western philosophy.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, sophomore standing, or consent of instructor
PHIL 270
British Empiricists
An introduction to the philosophy of Locke, Berkeley and Hume. Topics which will be covered include the theory of ideas, experience and observation, realism, idealism and skepticism.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, sophomore standing, or consent of the instructor
PHIL 300
Epistemology
An examination of some basic questions concerning the nature and extent of human knowledge, focusing on the topics of skepticism, justification, certainty, the
a priori and the
a posteriori, and analyses of knowledge.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, junior standing, or consent of instructor
PHIL 305
Experimental Philosophy
An introduction to experimental philosophy. The course will examine the ways in which experimental techniques can be applied to problems in epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of language, ethics, and other subfields of philosophy. Special attention will be paid to the question of whether experimental research is a legitimate methodology for philosophy.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, junior standing, or consent of instructor
PHIL 310
Metaphysics
An examination of some central philosophical questions about reality, such as: What basic kinds of things are there? Is truth always and only relative to a conceptual scheme? What is the nature of necessity and possibility? What is the nature of change over time?
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, junior standing, or consent of instructor
PHIL 320
Ethics
An examination of theories about how we should live. Issues include the role of rights, duties, and virtues in decision making, the scope of morality, the limits of our obligations to others, and the foundations of morality.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, junior standing, or consent of instructor
PHIL 325
Metaethics
An examination of the nature of ethical properties and ethical judgments. Are facts and values completely independent? Are goodness and badness objective properties? What does the persistence of moral disagreement tell us about the nature of ethics?
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, junior standing, or consent of instructor
PHIL 330
Philosophy of Science
We will examine some important philosphical questions surrounding science. They will include (1) What is a science; and what is the relation between different sciences? (2) What is it to explain a phenomenon or confirm a hypothesis? (3) Do the explanatory posits of a science—such as quarks and strings—actually exist? (4) Are there scientific laws? We will explore some of the more plausible answers to such questions. Readings will include selections from a variety of contemporary and 20th century philosophical texts.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, junior standing, or consent of instructor
PHIL 340
Philosophy of Art
An examination of major theories of the essence of art, of the major 20th-century critique of the thesis that art has an essence, and of recent attempts to analyze art in light of the critique.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, junior standing, or consent of instructor
PHIL 350
Political Philosophy
A seminar examining one topic in political philosophy, typically either distributive justice or war. If the topic is distributive justice, the focus is on different accounts of the just distribution of social benefits and burdens. Issues include the right to health care and other social goods, as well as accounts of the ideals of equality, liberty, and community. If the topic is war, the focus is on political and moral dilemmas of warfare. Issues include war crimes, nuclear deterrence, the status of non-combatants, the use of economic sanctions, and terrorism.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, junior standing, or consent of instructor
PHIL 360
Environmental Ethics
An examination of some ethical assumptions that might figure in discussions of environmental policy by economists, legal experts, philosophers, and policy scientists.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in economics, government, or philosophy; junior standing; or consent of instructor
Also listed as Environmental Studies 360
PHIL 370
Advanced Studies in Bioethics
A seminar examining one particular issue or set of issues in bioethics.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: PHIL 120 or two courses in philosophy
Also listed as Biomedical Ethics 370
PHIL 380
Ethics of Technology
This course focuses on ethical issues that arise from the development of new technology. Specific topics may include artificial intelligence, information technologies, human enhancement, transhumanism, transgenesis, ectogenesis, nanoethics, and neuroethics.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, junior standing, or consent of the instructor
Also listed as Biomedical Ethics 380
PHIL 385
Value Theory
This course focuses on theories of the good and related philosophical issues. Questions that we will explore include: What is happiness? How are happiness and satisfaction related? Can we measure happiness or well-being? Is virtue valuable in itself?
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, junior standing, or consent of instructor
PHIL 390
Tutorial Studies in Philosophy
Senior majors undertaking honors projects should elect one or more terms.
Units: 1 TO 98.
Prerequisite: Counter Registration Required.
PHIL 391
Directed Study in Philosophy
Directed study follows a syllabus set primarily by the instructor to meet the needs or interests of an individual student or small group of students. The main goal of directed study is knowledge or skill acquisition, not research or creative work.
Units: 1 TO 98.
Prerequisite: Counter Registration Required.
PHIL 399
Independent Study in Philosophy
Advanced students of philosophy may elect one or more terms.
Units: 1 TO 98.
Prerequisite: Counter Registration Required.
PHIL 400
Philosophy of Language
An examination of major theories of meaning, reference, and cognitive content and an attempt to understand how language functions to relate “internal” psychological states to things in the “external” world. Contemporary philosophers are emphasized.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, junior standing, or consent of instructor; PHIL 150 recommended
Also listed as Linguistics 400
PHIL 405
Philosphy of Language: Meaning and Use
An examination of major topics in linguistic pragmatics, including implicature, presupposition, speech acts, and the ways in which context influences meaning. An attempt to understand how word meaning, context, and domain-general psychological processes contribute to our understanding of what a speaker means. Contemporary philosophers and linguists are emphasized.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, junior standing, or consent of the instructor
Also listed as Linguistics 405
PHIL 410
Philosophy of Mind
An examination of our common sense conception of mental states and processes and of attempts to answer the question, “Is our common sense conception of mental states and processes compatible with the methods and assumptions of cognitive science?”
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, PSYC 340, junior standing, or consent of instructor
PHIL 420
Topics in Logic
An investigation of topics selected from among the following: consistency and completeness theorems for both sentential and predicate logic, Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem, logical paradoxes (Russell’s Paradox, the Liar Paradox, and Newcomb’s Paradox), and modal-tense logic and its formal semantics.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: PHIL 150 or consent of instructor
Also listed as Linguistics 420
PHIL 430
Philosophy of Law
An exploration of questions such as: To what extent may a decision in a legal controversy be deemed uniquely correct (as contrasted with an exercise of the judge’s discretion)? What purposes and assumptions underlie branches of the law such as criminal law or torts? What are the functions of precedent? What are the various relationships between morality and the law?
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, junior standing, or consent of instructor
PHIL 440
Morality, Rationality, and Self-Interest
If acting morally conflicts with my long-term self-interest, what is it rational for me to do? Why be moral?
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, junior standing, or consent of instructor
PHIL 590
Tutorial Studies in Philosophy
Senior majors undertaking honors projects should elect one or more terms.
Units: 1 TO 98.
Prerequisite: Counter Registration Required.
PHIL 591
Directed Study in Philosophy
Directed study follows a syllabus set primarily by the instructor to meet the needs or interests of an individual student or small group of students. The main goal of directed study is knowledge or skill acquisition, not research or creative work.
Units: 1 TO 98.
Prerequisite: Counter Registration Required.
PHIL 599
Independent Study in Philosophy
Advanced students of philosophy may elect one or more terms.
Units: 1 TO 98.
Prerequisite: Counter Registration Required.
PHIL 600
Studies in Philosophy
Topic for Spring 2013: Belief in the Existence of a GodA critical examination of the views of members of the New Atheism movement, with particular attention to Dan Dennett's BREAKING THE SPELL.
Units: 6.
Prerequisite: Three courses in philosophy or consent of instructor
PHIL 690
Tutorial Studies in Philosophy
Senior majors undertaking honors projects should elect one or more terms.
Units: 1 TO 98.
Prerequisite: Counter Registration Required.
PHIL 691
Directed Study in Philosophy
Directed study follows a syllabus set primarily by the instructor to meet the needs or interests of an individual student or small group of students. The main goal of directed study is knowledge or skill acquisition, not research or creative work.
Units: 1 TO 98.
Prerequisite: Counter Registration Required.
PHIL 699
Independent Study in Philosophy
Advanced students of philosophy may elect one or more terms.
Units: 1 TO 98.
Prerequisite: Counter Registration Required.
