Courses Archive
Courses
PHIL 1000 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY [3]
Prof. McCready-Flora – ICM5H Monday & Wednesday 9:00-9:50+ disc sec Minor 125
This course will introduce you to methods and topics central to analytic philosophy. Emphasis will be placed on learning to assess arguments critically. We will examine arguments for a range of philosophical positions on questions such as the following: (1) Does it matter what you believe? If so, why? (2) What can we know, and how do we acquire knowledge? (3) What does free will consist in? And do we have free will, of the sort that would make us genuinely responsible for our actions? (4) What standard determines the right thing to do – that is, whether an action is ethically good? (5) What sort of political arrangements does justice require?
PHIL 1410 FORMS OF REASONING [3]
Prof. Anderson – AKD3WB Tuesday & Thursday 9:30-10:45 New Cabell 485
Prof. Anderson – AKD3WB Tuesday & Thursday 12:30-1:45 New Cabell 332
Prof. Anderson – AKD3WB Tuesday & Thursday 3:30-4:45 Cocke 115
A philosophy course with a practical aim: to develop the student's ability to recognize and evaluate arguments. The course will not cover symbolic logic in any detail (for this take PHIL 2420), but will concentrate on actual arguments given in ordinary language. Some time will be spent studying those fallacies, or errors in reasoning, which occur most frequently in discussion and argument. The goal of this course is to give the student a working knowledge of logic which has an application to daily life.
PHIL 1510 FREE WILL & MORAL RESPONSIBILITY [3]
Instructor Puetz – P3PDY Tuesday & Thursday 3:30-4:45 Bryan 328
This course will provide an introduction to philosophical thinking about free will. Our primary concern will be with the questions of what free will is and whether we have it. Along the way, we will consider such related questions as: Is it possible to be free in a deterministic world? An indeterministic one? What does it mean to be able to do other than what one actually does? Is free will required for moral responsibility?
Prof. Langsam – HLL6Y Tuesday & Thursday 3:30-4:20+disc sec Wilson 301
This course is concerned with the question of whether there are characteristics that all human beings have in common other than obvious biological similarities. In particular, we shall address issues such as the following: 1) is rationality a part of human nature, and, if so, what is the nature of human rationality, and how does the rational part of human beings relate to their other characteristics? 2) what is the relation of human nature to morality: is it in the nature of human beings to act morally and/or to recognize moral obligations, or, on the contrary, are moral requirements in some sense contrary to our nature? 3) are human beings social animals: is it natural for human beings to live with others in societies and be governed by political institutions, or are such living arrangements contrary to our nature? Readings will include contemporary and historical writers.
PHIL 2060 PHILOSOPHICAL PROBLEMS IN LAW [3]
Prof. Motchoulski – AAM5JM Monday & Wednesday 9:00-9:50+ disc sec Nau 101
Do we have a duty to obey the law? The law thinks so, and breaking the law is often severely punished. But as citizens we often also think law is bad, mistaken, unjust, and that we should disobey the law or even overthrow the government. More specific questions also arise when we accept the rule of law. What sorts of actions should be criminalized and what sorts of punishments are justified? Why do our mental states matter to the law? What is an attempt, and how can we regulate failures? What processes should we use when making legal judgments? What is the relation between law and morality? Law and politics? In this course, we will look at these and similar philosophical problems for life under law.
PHIL 2110 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY: ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL [3]
This course satisfies History area requirements.
Prof. Secada – JES2F Monday & Wednesday 1:00-1:50+ disc sec Monroe 134
This course is an introduction to the history of philosophy from its beginnings in the Greek colonies of Asia Minor to the Renaissance and the end of the Middle Ages. The lectures do not aim to offer a comprehensive summary; you will find that in any of several histories of philosophy, one of which is required reading for the course. In the lectures we will instead discuss a few selected major philosophers and we will concentrate on some of their doctrines and arguments. We will, however, look at cultural developments which took place during this period and we will study philosophical works in their more general social and historical setting. The course seeks to provide historical as much as philosophical knowledge and understanding. Requirements include several short quizzes and a term paper.
PHIL 2420 INTRODUCTION TO SYMBOLIC LOGIC [3]
This course satisfies Logic area requirements.
Prof. Cameron – RPC4D Tuesday & Thursday 8:00-8:50+ disc sec Wilson 301
A basic introduction to the concepts and techniques of modern formal logic. The aim of this course is to give the student a working knowledge of both sentential and quantifier logic. Students will learn how to translate claims and arguments from English into a formal system, and to test arguments for validity.
PHIL 2500 PHILOSOPHY OF RACE [3]
Prof. Harris – DCN7XU Monday & Wednesday 11:00-11:50+ disc sec Gibson 211
This course examines the philosophical issues raised by the concept of race, the practices and mechanisms of racialization, and the persistence of various forms of racism worldwide.
PHIL 2652 ANIMAL MINDS AND ANIMAL ETHICS [3]
Prof. Ott – WO5N Monday & Wednesday 12:00-12:50+ disc sec Nau 211
Other species seem to represent objects in their environments, think about the thoughts of their conspecifics, and perhaps even use language. Some seem to have long-term memory, emotion, and self-awareness. Do they in fact do all of these things, and if so, how, and in what sense? We will engage philosophically with the best scientific evidence available to answer these and similar questions before considering their ethical implications: is it morally permissible to eat animals? What about keeping them in zoos, or keeping them as pets? What responsibilities, in short, do we have to the sentient creatures with whom we share our world?
PHIL 2660 PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION [3]
Prerequisites: Instructor Permission - First and Second Years only.
Prof. Merricks – TDB8N Monday & Wednesday 10:00-10:50 Monroe 134
This course will examine a number of different topics that have been of perennial interest to philosophers of religion and philosophical theologians. These topics include arguments for and against God's existence, the problem of evil, the relationship between human freedom and divine foreknowledge, and how to think about personal immortality and the nature of the human person.
PHIL 2820 PHILOSOPHY OF HEALTH AND HEALTHCARE [3]
Prof. Barnes- EJB5R Tuesday & Thursday 8:00-8:50+ disc sec Clark 108
In this class, we’ll first discuss the question ‘what is health?’ How do we define what it means to be healthy? Is there a difference between physical and mental health? Is there a difference between health and overall well-being? Is health a biological concept or is it something normative? Then we’ll look at specific puzzles that arise in health care related to how we understand health and disease. For example, how do we measure health outcomes? How do we deal with the inherent subjectivity of some aspects of health, such as pain? What is the relationship between what we consider ‘healthy’ and what our culture values or stigmatizes?
PHIL 3010 DARWIN AND PHILOSOPHY [3]
Prof. Eaker – ELE3A Tuesday & Thursday 3:30-4:45 New Cabell 168
This course explores the history and the philosophical implications of Darwin’s revolutionary idea—that the unguided process of natural selection could explain the magnificent variety and adaptedness of living things and their descent from a common ancestor. We will look at Darwin’s historical, scientific and cultural context, and the evidence and arguments by which Darwin supported his theory. Philosophical topics will include: How are scientific theories supported by evidence? What makes evolutionary theory an accepted scientific theory? What are its moral implications? What does it tell us about human nature, how we should treat one another, and how we should relate to the environment upon which we depend?
PHIL 3160 18th CENTURY PHILOSOPHY [3]
This course satisfies History area requirements.
This course satisfies the Second Writing Requirement.
Prof. Lolordo– AL4H Tuesday & Thursday 2:00-3:15 Cocke115
The over-arching theme of the course is reason, the great preoccupation of 18th century philosophers. What is reason? How powerful is it? For instance, can reason guide our beliefs? Can reason show us how to achieve happiness? Does reason ground our worth as human beings? And who has reason? All human beings? Human beings and other animals? Or just some human beings?
More specific questions include: Am I essentially a rational being, or something else as well? Is there an immaterial mind, or is the mind just the body? What happens after we die? What does human freedom consist in? What does happiness consist in? Can we be happy without being free, or without being rational, or without being virtuous? How should we structure our society to ensure happiness, freedom, and/or virtue? How should we educate our children to create happy, free, rational, and/or virtuous adults? And again, whose happiness, etc. are we talking about?
In this course, we’ll look at a wide range of philosophers. Some names will probably be familiar to most of you: for instance, John Locke and David Hume. Some are less familiar: for instance, Ottobah Cugoano and Mary Shepherd. This will help us see that there is a wider range of people doing philosophy in early modern Europe than has traditionally been thought, and that they had very different, even opposed, social and political goals in doing so.
PHIL 3330 PHILOSOPHY OF MIND [3]
Instructor Consent Required
This Course satisfies the Second Writing Requirement
Prof. Langsam – HLL6Y Tuesday & Thursday 12:30-1:45 Cocke115 This course addresses philosophical issues about the mind, including the following: Does the phenomenon of consciousness pose a problem for a larger naturalistic theory of the world? How should we study consciousness? What does it mean to say that the mind is “physical”? And is it physical? How is your mind related to your body? How is it related to the “external” world? Are our minds housed within our skins, or do they extend to include external factors as well? Is the self a unitary, persisting entity? Is it merely a fiction? Most of the readings will be from contemporary sources.
PHIL 3500-001 MEMORY [3]
Prof. Irving – ZCI7C Tuesday & Thursday 5:00-6:15 Cocke 115
Memory is central to human life. For better or worse, memory keeps our childhoods with us, shaping who we are and how we view ourselves. Memory gives us access to innumerable facts: the names of past Presidents, the capital of Virginia, Plato’s vocation, etc. Without memory, we would be doomed to repeat our mistakes, unable to follow through on our promises and projects, and incapable of taking responsibility for our sins and successes. This course explores the nature of memory and its philosophical significance, and breaks down into three topics. Part 1: What is Memory contrasts experiential and causal theories of memory, testing them against both philosophical and empirical evidence. We will also ask whether memories extend into external objects such as smartphones and whether there is neuroscientific evidence for a distinction between memory and imagination. What we learn about memory in Part 1 will inform our discussions of the broader philosophical significance of memory throughout the course. Part 2: Memory and Knowledge asks whether we should dogmatically accept that our memories are true, especially in light of psychological research on the reconstructive nature of memory. Part 3: Memory and Personhood examines whether memory is required to remain the same person over time. We will discuss classic answers to this question, as well as complications that arise when we discuss outlandish thought experiments, clinical cases, and empirical evidence for reconstructive memories.
PHIL 3500-002 PHILOSOPHY OF ECONOMICS: Capitalism, Socialism, and the Morality of the Market [3]
Prof. Cameron – RPC4D Tuesday & Thursday 11:00-12:15 New Cabell 032
Capitalism: a system under which individuals are free to become their best selves, or the grinding exploitation of the common person by the elite 1%? Socialism: a system in which everyone gives what they’re able in order for everyone to get what they need, or the erasure of individual rights by a totalitarian State?
In this class we’ll discuss the philosophical case for and against these radically different views on how to organize our political economy. We will also ask various philosophical questions concerning markets and money, such as: Is it morally permissible to sell your kidney, or your vote, or sex? Should we always pursue economic growth? Is Bitcoin money? No prior knowledge of economics is necessary for this class.
PHIL 3500-003 PHILOSOPHY OF MENTAL HEALTH [3]
Prof. Barnes – EJB5R Tuesday & Thursday 11:00-12:15 Cocke 115
This class explores philosophical issues in the nature of mental health and mental illness. Topics may include: What is the difference between a mental illness and a physical illness? How do we understand the difference between mental difference and mental dysfunction? Does our current approach to understanding mental health overly pathologize or medicalize people? What is a social contagion? What does it mean to be mentally healthy? What is the relationship between mental health and agency, or mental health and moral responsibility?
PHIL 3720 CONTEMPORARY ETHICS [3]
Prof. Stangl – RLS5EF Tuesday & Thursday 9:30-10:45 Wilson 214
In this course, we will consider some of the liveliest topics of debate in contemporary ethical theory. Among the questions that may be considered are: Are there moral facts, and if so what sorts of facts are they, how do we come to know them, and how do we explain their authority? What would it mean to say that a life “has meaning” and what might entitle us to say such a thing? Can we make sense of prohibitions to perform certain kinds of actions even when doing so would reduce the overall incidence of that very kind of action? Do contemporary conceptions of our moral obligations leave us sufficient space to be true to our own ideals and loves? Are we responsible for bad outcomes that we knowingly choose not to prevent others from bringing about? Can we be held responsible for unchosen elements of our own character? Are there “morally tragic” cases in which we will do wrong no matter what we choose to do?
PHIL 3810 SEX, SEXUALITY, AND GENDER [3]
Prof. Payton – MRT4RJ Tuesday & Thursday 12:30-1:45 New Cabell 168
In this class, we'll be talking about philosophical issues at the intersection of sexuality, sexual experience, and gender experience. What is sexual consent? What is the relationship between sexual consent and sexual morality? What is sexual orientation, and what is its relationship to sex and gender? Is there such a thing as biological sex? Is there a difference between sex and gender?
GRADUATE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
PHIL 5510 PLATO: [3]
Prof. McCready-Flora – ICM5H Monday 1:00-3:30 Cocke Hall 108
Close reading, in translation, of two or three of Plato’s most demanding and philosophically-rich dialogues and state-of-the-art scholarship about them. Open to both graduate students and advanced undergraduates. Possible dialogues include: Theaetetus, Sophist, Philebus, Parmenides, Republic, Laws. Phaedrus, Timaeus and Cratylus.
PHIL 5530 KANT’S CRITIQUE OF PURE REASON: [3]
Prof. Ott – WO5N Monday 3:30-6:00 Cocke Hall 108
This course will consist of a careful reading of Kant's masterpiece, with attention to its influence on twentieth-century thought.
PHIL 7500 1st YEAR SEMINAR: TBD
Required for all first year Philosophy graduate students.
Prof. Payton – MRT4RJ Tuesday 3:30-6:00 Cocke Hall 108
PHIL 7540 PHILOSOPHY Seminar on Ethics Topic: SUPEREROGATION or TBD [3]
This course satisfies Ethics area requirements.
Prof. Stangl – RLS5EF Tuesday 1:00-3:30 Cocke Hall 108
PHIL 7570 FREEDOM, AUTONOMY, AND SPONTANEITY [3]
Prof. Irving – ZCI7C Thursday 1:00-3:30 Cocke Hall 108
This course counts towards the Metaphysics area requirement
Prof. Merricks – TDM8N Wednesday 1:00-3:30 Cocke Hall 108
We shall read the book Vagueness by Timothy Williamson, and a lot of articles on vagueness and related topics.
PHIL 1410 FORMS OF REASONING [3]
Prof. Anderson - AKD3WB Tuesday & Thursday 9:30-10:45 New Cabell 485
Prof. Anderson - AKD3WB Tuesday & Thursday 12:30-1:45 New Cabell 332
Prof. Anderson - AKD3WB Tuesday & Thursday 3:30-4:45 Cocke 115
A philosophy course with a practical aim: to develop the student's ability to recognize and evaluate arguments. The course will not cover symbolic logic in any detail (for this take PHIL 2420), but will concentrate on actual arguments given in ordinary language. Some time will be spent studying those fallacies, or errors in reasoning, which occur most frequently in discussion and argument. The goal of this course is to give the student a working knowledge of logic which has an application to daily life.
PHIL 1000 | INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Professor(s): Prof. Cameron
Credits: 3
Tuesday & Thursday 8:00-8:50+ disc sec Clark 107
An introduction to some of the major problems of philosophy. Questions we will look at include: Is consciousness supernatural? Are there races and genders? Do you know you're not in the Matrix? Must the future resemble the past? When is it permissible to end a life? Is morality objective, subjective, or relative? What are the limits of state authority? Readings are drawn from classics in the history of philosophy and from contemporary sources.
PHIL 1410 | FORMS OF REASONING
Professor(s): Prof. Anderson
Credits: 3
Tuesday & Thursday 9:30-10:45 New Cabell 364
Tuesday & Thursday 12:30-1:45 New Cabell 485
Tuesday & Thursday 2:00-3:15 Gibson 141
A philosophy course with a practical aim: to develop the student's ability to recognize and evaluate arguments. The course will not cover symbolic logic in any detail (for this take PHIL 2420), but will concentrate on actual arguments given in ordinary language. Some time will be spent studying those fallacies, or errors in reasoning, which occur most frequently in discussion and argument. The goal of this course is to give the student a working knowledge of logic which has an application to daily life.
PHIL 1710 | HUMAN NATURE
Professor(s): Prof. Langsam
Credits: 3
Tuesday & Thursday 2:00-2:50+disc sec Minor 125
This course is concerned with the question of whether there are characteristics that all human beings have in common other than obvious biological similarities. In particular, we shall address issues such as the following: 1) is rationality a part of human nature, and, if so, what is the nature of human rationality, and how does the rational part of human beings relate to their other characteristics? 2) what is the relation of human nature to morality: is it in the nature of human beings to act morally and/or to recognize moral obligations, or, on the contrary, are moral requirements in some sense contrary to our nature? 3) are human beings social animals: is it natural for human beings to live with others in societies and be governed by political institutions, or are such living arrangements contrary to our nature? Readings will include contemporary and historical writers.
PHIL 1740 | ISSUES OF LIFE AND DEATH
Professor(s): Prof. Stangl
Credits: 3
Monday & Wednesday 9:00-9:50+ disc sec Minor 125
This course is an exploration, from the point of view of philosophical theory, of a number of ethical problems at the beginning and end of life. Questions to be addressed will include: What is the significance of death and the value of life? Under what conditions, if any, are abortion and euthanasia morally permissible? At what point ought we to discontinue medical treatment of the terminally ill, and who should be empowered to make this decision? Are we under any moral obligation to prevent the death of those threatened by hunger and easily treatable disease?
PHIL 2060 | PHILOSOPHICAL PROBLEMS IN LAW
Professor(s): Prof. Adams
Credits: 3
Monday & Wednesday 5:00-5:50+ disc sec Minor 125
Do we have a duty to obey the law? The law thinks so, and breaking the law is often severely punished. But as citizens we often also think law is bad, mistaken, unjust, and that we should disobey the law or even overthrow the government. More specific questions also arise when we accept the rule of law. What sorts of actions should be criminalized and what sorts of punishments are justified? Why do our mental states matter to the law? What is an attempt, and how can we regulate failures? What processes should we use when making legal judgments? What is the relation between law and morality? Law and politics? In this course, we will look at these and similar philosophical problems for life under law.
PHIL 2120 | HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY: MODERN
Professor(s): Prof. Secada
Credits: 3
This course satisfies the requirement for History of Philosophy: Modern
Monday & Wednesday 2:00-2:50+ disc sec Dell 1 105
This course is a survey of the history of philosophy in the Renaissance and the early modern period. We will pay close attention to some of the metaphysical and epistemological issues arising in the central writings of Suárez, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Kant, though some other figures including some XIXth-Century philosophers, such as Hegel, will also be discussed in the lectures. Throughout the term, we will read closely the first five of Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy and Leibniz's "First Truths". Students will be required to write a term paper, to submit an earlier draft of it, and to take several quizzes during the term.
PHIL 2500-002 | PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE
Professor(s): Prof. Fox
Credits: 3
Tuesday & Thursday 2:00-3:15 New Cabell 232
It is easy to take for granted what humans can accomplish with language. With language use we can describe and better come to know about the world. We can express ourselves, share core values, and be better able to understand each other. Through language use we also do things and change things, including languages themselves. We define, argue, and translate from completely different languages. Accomplishments abound! In this course, we will revel in some of these accomplishments, and through close study of theories in the philosophy of language that seek to understand, analyze, and explain some of these accomplishments. Large-scale questions will include: how are we able to refer? What are the relationships between words/phrases and what they are able to mean when they are used? What roles do language users play in those relationships? More broadly, what is linguistic meaning? We will approach these and other questions with both theoretical interest and an eye to the practices we share of using language in the world.
PHIL 2500-003 | FREEDOM OF SPEECH
Professor(s): Prof. Lomasky
Credits: 3
Tuesday & Thursday 2:00-3:15 New Cabell 489
Free speech is about the First Amendment: that’s not exactly false but neither is it entirely true. Constitutional speech guarantees concern restriction by law, but there are many other ways in which people can be pressured not to speak. Sometimes they are fired/not hired, sometimes they are shunned, shamed or canceled. This course will look at some of the legal issues surrounding speech but mostly examine whether and how speech, broadly understood, should be constrained or protected outside courtroom contexts. Readings commence with John Stuart Mill’s classic ON LIBERTY. Then we turn to contemporary disputes, asking how well Mill’s arguments apply to speech in the internet era.
PHIL 2500-100 | PHILOSOPHY OF MORAL RESPONSIBILITY
Professor(s): Prof. Payton
Credits: 3
Monday & Wednesday 10:00-10:50+ disc sec Nau 211
In this course we will take up philosophical questions about moral responsibility and blame: what is blame and how is it related to moral responsibility? What does it take to be blameworthy for something? We will also look at questions about blamerworthiness, or what it takes to be in a position to hold another person or institution accountable.
PHIL 2640 | RATIONAL CHOICE AND HAPPINESS
Professor(s): Prof. Barnes
Credits: 3
Tuesday & Thursday 8:00-8:50+ disc sec Wilson 301
In this class, we will examine philosophical puzzles about our ability to make rational choices that affect or determine our own happiness. How can we rationally decide to undergo a significant experience - such as having a child or moving to a new country - when have no way of knowing what that experience will be like? How can we rationally choose to make decisions about our future (such as what career path to follow or where to live), since who we will become in the future is in part determined by those choices? These kinds of questions will be the focus of the class
PHIL 2660 | PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
Professor(s): Prof. Merricks
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Prerequisites: Instructor Permission - First and Second Years only.
Monday & Wednesday 10:00-10:50+ disc sec Dell 1 105
This course will examine a number of different topics that have been of perennial interest to philosophers of religion and philosophical theologians. These topics include arguments for and against God's existence, the problem of evil, the relationship between human freedom and divine foreknowledge, and how to think about personal immortality and the nature of the human person.
PHIL 3120 | ARISTOTLE
Professor(s): Prof. McCready-Flora
Credits: 3
This course satisfies the History requirement for those who have or will take PHIL 2120 – Modern.
Tuesday & Thursday 11:00-12:15 New Cabell 168
An introduction to the philosophy of Aristotle through close reading of keys texts in translations with the aim of achieving a philosophical understanding of his views and their lasting influence. Readings will focus on his metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind and theory of natural science, though expect material from his ethics and social philosophy as well.
PHIL 3310 | METAPHYSICS
Professor(s): Prof. Merricks
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Instructor Permission Required
This Course satisfies the Second Writing Requirement
Monday & Wednesday 2:00-3:15 New Cabell 389
This survey course will examine a variety of issues central to contemporary analytic metaphysics. We shall consider, among other things, possibility and necessity, identity over time, and personal identity. This course is meant for third and fourth year philosophy majors only.
PHIL 3320 | EPISTEMOLOGY
Professor(s): Prof. Langsam
Credits: 3
This course satisfies the requirement for M&E.
Tuesday & Thursday 11:00-12:15 New Cabell 032
The course focuses on questions in the theory of knowledge. Topics include: skepticism about knowledge of the external world, the nature of justification, foundationalism, and coherentism, the Gettier problem, internalism and externalism, a priori knowledge, the analytic/synthetic distinction, induction, and the ethics of belief.
PHIL 3400 | INTRODUCTION TO NON-CLASSICAL LOGIC
Professor(s): Prof. Cameron
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Prerequisites: PHIL 2420
Tuesday & Thursday 11:00-12:15 New Cabell 389
An introduction to systems of non-classical logic, including both extensions and revisions to classical logic. We will look at logical systems that extend classical logic to deal with the phenomena of possibility & time. We will look at logics that revise classical logic to allow for sentences which are neither true nor false, or sentences which can be both. We will show how these departures from classical logic can shed light on various philosophical questions.
PHIL 3500 | METAPHILOSOPHY
Professor(s): Prof. Harris
Credits: 3
Tuesday & Thursday 11:00-12:15 New Cabell 058
Philosophy characteristically probes existence, the reality of objects, the possibility of knowledge, and the nature of truth, among many other things. Metaphilosophy is the self-reflective inquiry into the nature, aims, and methods of the activity that make these philosophical inquiries possible. It is concerned with the nature of philosophy—the philosophy of philosophy.
PHIL 3640 | POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
Professor(s): Prof. Adams
Credits: 3
Monday & Wednesday 2:00-3:15 New Cabell 309
How should we live together? This question is at the core of political philosophy and is the main focus of the course. This question has various components, including: Who counts as one of us? How should we make decisions? Who should be in charge? How should we use our power? How should we treat others? How can we flourish? And who gets a say in how to answer these questions? The course focuses on contemporary democratic answers and considers to what extent our ideals have been realized in our shared life.
PHIL 3710 | ETHICS
Professor(s): Prof. Motchoulski
Credits: 3
Tuesday & Thursday 9:30-10:45 Cocke 115
While no one would deny that the concept of the good is basic to ethical thought, the specific role of that concept has varied throughout history. This course will study the role of the good in ethical thought throughout the history of the Western philosophical tradition. We will start with Aristotle and work our way to the cusp of contemporary philosophy, ending with Bernard Williams. Along the way, we will cover major figures such as Hume, Kant, and Sidgwick. Questions that we will cover concern the relationship between the good and happiness, the good and right, and the good and virtue.
PHIL 3800 | FEMINIST PHILOSOPHY
Professor(s): Prof. Barnes
Credits: 3
Tuesday & Thursday 11:00-12:15 Cocke 115
In this class, we’ll look at ways in which issues of gender can interact with traditional philosophical topics. We’ll discuss gendered dimensions to our understanding of some central issues in metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language, and social and political philosophy.
PHIL 3999 | PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES ON LIBERTY
Professor(s): Prof. Lomasky
Credits: 3
Monday & Wednesday 5:00-6:15 Cocke 115
The Founder of this university declared that we possess an inalienable right to liberty. He does not, however, explain exactly what he means by that. We’re here to help him out. This course examines different theories about the nature and function of liberty. Among the theorists we will study are Adam Smith, J. J. Rousseau, Ayn Rand, and G. A. Cohen. Students will be required to submit 2 or 3 medium length essays and take a final exam. In addition, to keep things interesting there will be several unannounced quizzes.
PHIL 7510 | ARISTOTLE
Professor(s): Prof. McCready-Flora
Credits: 3
This course satisfies History-Ancient area requirements.
Tuesday 1:00-3:30 Cocke 108
Graduate-level treatment, in translation, of Aristotle’s On the Soul and other relevant texts, e.g. Movement of Animals and parts of the Nicomachean Ethics. We will survey all parts of the work but give particular attention to book 3, which covers human reason (nous), imagination (phantasia) and the cognitive basis of animal movement. We will also consider the nature of the soul; function (ergon) and its place in Aristotle's natural philosophy; the varieties of human and animal perception; memory and recollection; practical reason and its various failure modes; and what makes humans cognitively distinct. Knowledge of Greek helpful but not required. Readings to include substantial amounts of secondary literature, with the aim of introducing students to the practices of scholarship and professional history of philosophy
PHIL 7530 | DU BOIS AND PHILOSOPHY
Professor(s): Prof. Harris
Credits: 3
Tuesday 3:30-6:00 Cocke 108
W. E. B. Du Bois's work has been counted as philosophical—either because he makes race an object of philosophical investigation or he helps to innovate the subfields of philosophy of race, social and political philosophy, philosophy of science, and aesthetics with his important vision. It is also philosophical in the sense that he provides a view of the nature of philosophy.
PHIL 7570 | SOCIAL METAPHYSICS
Professor(s): Prof. Payton
Credits: 3
Monday 3:30-6:00 Cocke 108
In this seminar we will focus on the social construction of properties (e.g., being money) and kinds (e.g., gender and race kinds), with special attention paid to the mechanics and utility of different social construction relations. We will also spend some time with the question of how to best evaluate views about how social construction works: is there a general list of desiderata available here, and if so, what is on that list and why?
PHIL 7900 | DISSERTATION SEMINAR
Professor(s): Prof. Ott
Credits: 3
Thursday 1:00-3:30 Cocke 108
This non-credit course is taught every spring. It combines discussions of the central aspects of professional life with multiple opportunities for students to present and receive peer feedback on their work-in-progress. It is mandatory for all third-year students in residence, and optional for others.