Courses Archive
Courses
PHIL 1000 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY [3]
Prof. MacKenzie – ICM5H Monday & Wednesday 10:00-10:50+ disc sec Clark 107
This course will examine topics from five key areas of philosophy: epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, political philosophy, and aesthetics. Questions may include: does God exist? What makes for a meaningful life? Should we be afraid of death? What are the limits of state authority? Does free will exist? What makes a joke funny? Should we get off social media? What, if anything, can we know?
PHIL 1410 FORMS OF REASONING [3]
Prof. Boone – ASX7FH Tuesday & Thursday 2:00-3:15 Clark 108
This course covers the basics of logic and argumentation. Any time someone wants to rationally convince you of something, they must give you an argument. And every argument has a logical structure. Some of these structures are strong, while others are weak. In this class, you’ll learn not only how to recognize the difference but further how to prove it. No background in any formal discipline is required, and the course does not cover symbolic logic in detail (for this take PHIL 2420). The course provides the general skills necessary to precisely identify, reconstruct, and evaluate arguments, with emphasis on applying these skills to everyday life.
Prof. McCready-Flora – ICM5H Tuesday & Thursday 3:30-4:20+disc sec Clark 107
Are there things all human beings share besides obvious biological similarities? For instance: 1) are humans rational animals? What is reason and how does it relate to other human traits? 2) Is it human nature to recognize moral obligations and love the good, or is morality in some sense contrary to human nature? 3) Relatedly, are we really social animals? Is it natural for us to live under political institutions, or are such arrangements (including those here and now) contrary to our nature? Readings will include luminaries of the past (Plato, Mencius, the Nyaya school) and those working at the state of the art.
PHIL 1740 ISSUES OF LIFE AND DEATH [3]
Prof. Stangl – RLS5EF Monday & Wednesday 1:00-1:50+ 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 [3]
Prof. Adams – NA9FW Tuesday & Thursday 11:00-11:50+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 2110 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY: ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL [3]
This course satisfies History area requirements.
Prof. Secada – JES2F Monday & Wednesday 9:00-9:50+ disc sec Warner 104
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 8:00-9:15 Clark 108
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 2500-300 LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP [3]
Prof. Brewer-TMB2N Monday & Wednesday 12:00-12:50+ disc sec Warner 104
Human beings are inexorably drawn into intimacy with each other, forming bonds of love and friendship. But what exactly are love and friendship? How and why do they arise? What forms can they take? What place do they have in our lives? In this course we will explore these questions through close readings of relevant works in the history of Western philosophy, beginning with the writings of the Ancient Greeks and working our way forward to relevant works of contemporary philosophers.
PHIL 2660 PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION [3]
Prerequisites: Instructor Permission - First and Second Years only.
Prof. Merricks – TDB8N Monday & Wednesday 11:00-11:50+ disc sec Gibson 211
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 107
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 3110 PLATO [3]
This course satisfies the History requirement for those who have or will take PHIL 2120 – Modern
Prof. McCready-Flora – ICM5H Tuesday & Thursday 12:30-1:45 Cocke 115
This course introduces students to the dialogues of Plato, with an emphasis on those of particular argumentative and philosophical interest. Expect treatments of the divine and our relation to it; love; the nature and possibility of human knowledge; what makes anything one; why the world exists at all, and in particular why it takes the form it does; humanity’s place in the cosmic order; and the nature of the soul. Our aim will be to engage Plato as a fellow philosopher through close reading and subtle reasoning. This means understanding his assumptions, scrutinizing his argumentation and proposing alternatives to his conclusions. No knowledge of Greek required, but some prior coursework in Philosophy very much encouraged.
PHIL 3150 17th CENTURY PHILOSOPHY [3]
This course satisfies History area requirements for those who have or will take PHIL 2110 – Ancient
This course satisfies the Second Writing Requirement.
Prof. Secada – JES2F Monday & Wednesday 2:00-3:15 Nau 141
This course examines the various philosophical systems of the 17th century. This year, we’ll read Hobbes, Descartes, Cavendish, and Spinoza
PHIL 3330 PHILOSOPHY OF MIND [3]
This course satisfies the M&E requirement
This Course satisfies the Second Writing Requirement
Prof. Boone – ASX7FH Tuesday & Thursday 9:30-10:45 Cocke 115
Prof. Irving – ZCI7C Monday & Wednesday 2:00-3:15 Cocke 115
We focus on the place of consciousness in nature. Part 1 surveys models of consciousness in cognitive science. Part 2 turns to ``hard problems'' of consciousness: is consciousness experience compatible with a scientific worldview? Part 3 turns to experiences that most theories of consciousness neglect–– dreaming, mind-wandering, and dreamless sleep––drawing lessons about methods in consciousness research and the conscious self.
PHIL 3640 POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY [3]
Prof. Adams – NA9FW Tuesday & Thursday 2:00-3:15 Cabell 332
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 [3]
Prof. Brewer – TMB2N Monday & Wednesday 2:00-3:15 Warner 110
In this course, we will engage in an in-depth study of the ethical thought of Plato, Aristotle, Hume and Kant—four figures who continue to have an extremely powerful influence on contemporary philosophical discussions of ethics. The main themes of the course will include: the nature of practical thinking, the place of particular and general judgments in practical deliberation, the nature and value of the virtues of character, and the source and content of the idea of right action.
PHIL 3830 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
PHIL 4020 SEMINAR FOR MAJORS: NORMS OF ATTENTION IN THE AGE OF DISTRACTION[3]
Prof. Irving – ZCI7C Monday & Wednesday 5:00-6:15 Cocke 101
”How do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible?… God only knows what it’s doing to our children’s brains” – Sean Parker, Founder of Napster
Creatures like us face a problem of attention. Every moment, we have a vast amount of information at our disposal; yet our attention is small. How we attend therefore matters for our ethical, epistemic, and practical success. This is true now, more than ever, as we struggle against technologies designed to place historically unprecedented demands on attention. Although philosophers dismissed the norms of attention until recently, the field has grown exponentially over the past two years. Our course will survey this emerging literature, discussing both abstract and applied accounts of the norms of attention. Some of the abstract accounts concern the value of salience structures (Jessie Munton; Sebastian Watzl), spontaneity (Zac Irving; Virginia Woolf; Jonathan Gingerich), full attention (Dorothea Debus; Iris Murdoch; Simone Weil), virtuous attention (Ellen Fridland; Georgi Gardiner), and vigilance (Sam Murray). Other accouts focus on applied social questions: how attention constitutes ideological (Ege Yumuşak), journalistic, and democratic (Susanna Siegel) perspectives, and how we can harm people by giving too much attention to their identity categories (Ella Whitley). We’ll aim to apply the philosophical lessons from these theories to a practical question: how (if at all) do digital distractions harm us? Do these technologies simply make us more distracted (Cal Newport; James Williams)? Cause the wrong kind of distraction (Zac Irving)? Manipulate our attention (Kaisa Kärki; Sebastian Watzl; Zac Irving)? Fix our attention on echo chambers, moral outrage, or thin values (C Thi Nguyen; Molly Crocket)? In terms of content, this course will expose you to a rapidly changing interdisciplinary field, teaching you how to tackle real-world problems from a philosophical point of view. In terms of skills, this course will teach you how to engage with contemporary research in a seminar-style, discussion-based course that culminates in writing a research paper of your own.
GRADUATE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
PHIL 5590 PHILOSOPHY OF MATHEMATICS AND LOGIC [3]
Prof. Cameron – RPC4D Tuesday & Thursday 11:00-12:15 Pavilion V 109
This class is about some of the fascinating and mind-bending issues that arise in the intersection of philosophy, mathematics, and logic. Some of the issues we will discuss are: the nature of infinity; non-well-founded set theories; whether math is all about structure and what that might mean; the limits of computability and mathematical proof; Godel’s incompleteness theorems; paradoxes and the nature of logic and truth.
No particular prior mathematical training is required, but students should have taken either some intermediate level math or some formal logic at university level before this class; we will be going through some mathematical proofs so a lack of aversion to numbers and symbols is necessary. While this class is a 5000 level class, it is appropriate for upper level undergraduate student.
Required for all first year Philosophy graduate students.
Prof. MacKenzie – ICM5H Monday 1:00-3:30 Cocke Hall 108
In addition to introducing students to a contemporary philosophical literature, this course will also serve as an introduction to the philosophy PhD program at UVA, and to the field of philosophy more generally. This means that, in addition to our core philosophical subject matter, we will discuss topics related to completing a PhD at UVA, as well as elements of professional engagement. The assignments in this course are designed to give students a good amount practice reading, writing, presenting, and discussing philosophy at the graduate level.
Prof. Ott – WO5N Thursday 1:00-3:30 Cocke Hall 108
What mental states (if any) do we share with non-human animals? What can the minds of animals teach us about our own? We will spend roughly half the semester on the moderns and half on the contemporary debate. Throughout, our work will be informed by empirical evidence.
PHIL 8570 PERSONAL IDENTITY [3]
This course counts towards the Metaphysics area requirement
Prof. Merricks – TDM8N Wednesday 1:00-3:30 Cocke Hall 108
This graduate seminar focuses on both the metaphysics of personal identity and the ethical question of “what matters in survival.” The two main texts for this class are *The Human Animal: Personal identity without psychology* by Eric Olson, and *Self and Identity* by Trenton Merricks. Both of these books push, in different ways, against the idea that psychological continuity and connectedness are central to personal identity.
UNDERGRADUATE COURSES
PHIL 1330| VIRTUAL WORLDS AND PHILOSOPHY
Prof. Cameron – RPC4D Tuesday & Thursday 8:00-8:50+ disc sec Wilson 301
In this class we will explore the intersection of philosophy with issues concerning virtual reality (VR), computer simulation, artificial intelligence (AI), etc. We will investigate how traditional philosophical problems can be seen in a new light through the lens of VR and AI, as well as showing how VR and AI can raise new and distinctive philosophical issues. The goal is to show how reflection on modern technologies can help us with ancient philosophical questions as well as showing how philosophy can help us in the development of these new technologies and society’s response to them. We will explore questions such as: Can we know that we are not simulated characters in a simulated world?; What does it mean to say that something is a simulation?; Can a simulated world have moral value?; Can a simulated character be conscious?; How ought we to organize society in response to issues raised by VR and AI, such as deepfakes, AI created content, etc
PHIL 1410 FORMS OF REASONING [3]
Instructor Cetic – NC7NJ Tuesday & Thursday 8:00-9:15 New Cabell 338
Prof. Anderson – AKD3WB Tuesday & Thursday 9:30-10:45 Cocke 115
Prof. Anderson – AKD3WB Tuesday & Thursday 12:30-1:45 Gibson 141
Prof. Anderson – AKD3WB 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 1510 KNOWLEDGE AND SOCIETY [3]
Instructor Vincent – WBV4KE Monday & Wednesday 3:30-4:45 Cocke 115
This course is an introduction to contemporary social epistemology. Epistemology is the study of knowledge. But humans don't gain knowledge in isolation. We do so in societies. This course asks how we gain knowledge from society and how that knowledge contributes to society.
For the first part of the course, we look at the question ‘how do we have knowledge in a social world?’ For example, we often confront disagreement with those who are just as informed and thoughtful as us. How are we able to know in the face of such disagreement?
For the second part, we ask what goods knowledge contributes to society. For example, are the goods that science contributes to society due to an aim of acquiring knowledge?
Other topics include relativism, testimony, miracles, epistemic injustice, and the place of knowledge in democracy. This course assumes no prior background in philosophy.
PHIL 1730 INTRODUCTION TO MORAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY [3]
Prof. Adams - NA9FW Tuesday & Thursday 9:30-10:15+ disc sec Minor 125
In this course we apply the tools of philosophy to problems of human life, flourishing, and community. We will see how philosophy helps us ask the biggest questions about existence but also illuminates mundane aspects of everyday life. We will look at issues that humanity has encountered for millennia as well as issues faced only in our modern moment—from what it means to act well to how social media is affecting us. Our focus is on contemporary philosophy rather than a historical overview.
PHIL 1740 ISSUES OF LIFE AND DEATH [3]
Prof. Stangl – RLS5EF Monday & Wednesday 2:00-2:50+ 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 2120 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY: MODERN [3]
This course satisfies the requirement for History of Philosophy: Modern
Prof. Secada – JES2F Tuesday & Thursday 9:30-10:15+ disc sec Gibson 211
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 2500-001 PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE [3]
Prof. Fox – CTF9G Monday & Wednesday 2:00-3:15 Warner 113
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 PHILOSOPHY OF MORAL RESPONSIBILITY [3]
Prof. Payton – MRT4RJ Tuesday & Thursday 9:30-10:15+ 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 [3]
Prof. Barnes – EJB5R Tuesday & Thursday 8:00-8:50+ disc sec Clark 107
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 [3]
Prerequisites: Instructor Permission - First and Second Years only.
Prof. Merricks – TDB8N Monday & Wednesday 10:00-10:50 Warner 104
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 2780 ANCIENT POLITICAL THOUGHT [3]
Prof. Lomasky – LEL3F Monday & Wednesday 5:00-5:50+ disc sec Wilson 301
It isn’t possible to study politics adequately without looking to the great Greek political philosophers. For one thing, the word politics is Greek in origin. For another thing, democracy is born in Greece. For yet another . . . well, take the class and find out. If you do you will read several works by Plato, including a big chunk of Republic. You will also study Aristotle’s Politics and Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian Wars. We will aim for a maximum of discussion to accompany lectures. I’ll ask you to write two or three short-to-medium length papers and in the fullness of time to take a final exam. There will also be occasional pop quizzes
PHIL 3140 HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY [3]
This course satisfies the requirement for History of Philosophy: Ancient or Medieval
Prof. Secada Tuesday & Thursday 8:00-9:15 New Cabell 032
In this course, we will closely read three medieval philosophical masterpieces: Anselm of Canterbury’s Proslogion, the Treatise on God from Thomas Aquinas’s Summa of Theology, and John Duns Scotus’s On the First Principle. Students will also be required to read Augustine’s Confessions and a general survey of the history of philosophy during this period, for both of which there will be several reading controls during term. Weekly sessions will be wholly devoted to close textual analysis. Students will also be required to write a term paper.
PHIL 3180 NIETZSCHE [3]
Prof. Langsam – HLL6Y Tuesday & Thursday 5:00-6:15 Cocke 115
Nietzsche, Nietzsche, and even more Nietzsche on life, truth, philosophy, art, morality, nihilism, values and their creation, will to power, eternal recurrence, and a lot of other good stuff. Readings will include The Birth of Tragedy, The Gay Science, Beyond Good and Evil, On the Genealogy of Morals, Twilight of the Idols, The Antichrist, and others
PHIL 3310 METAPHYSICS [3]
Instructor Permission Required
This Course satisfies the Second Writing Requirement
Prof. Merricks – TDM8N Monday & Wednesday 2:00-3:15 Cocke 115
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 3330 PHILOSOPHY OF MIND [3]
This Course satisfies the Second Writing Requirement
Prof. Ott – WO5N Monday & Wednesday 2:00-3:15 New Cabell 032
What is the nature of the mind and why do we find its nature so puzzling? We shall critically examine various theories about the nature of the mind; we shall also discuss the nature of particular kinds of mental states and events, such as beliefs, desires, feelings, sensory experiences, and others. We shall be especially concerned with the relations between the mind and the body, and, more generally, between the mental and the physical. Most of the readings will be by contemporary philosophers.
PHIL 3400 INTRODUCTION TO NON-CLASSICAL LOGIC [3]
Prerequisites: PHIL 2420
Prof. Cameron – RPC4D Tuesday & Thursday 11:00-12:15 Monroe 116
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 EXISTENTIALISM [3]
Prof. Harris – DCN7XU Tuesday & Thursday 12:30-1:45 Warner 113
This course covers existentialist concerns such as the human condition, the purpose of life, and authenticity.
PHIL 3640 POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY [3]
Prof. Adams – NA9FW Monday & Wednesday 2:00-3:15 Warner 110
The point of this class is to learn how to think well about political institutions and social structures more broadly. The perennial questions of political philosophy, such as justice, fairness, and in general living well together, can only be asked and even potentially answered within a framework of social life. Our readings are mostly contemporary analytic political philosophy. The course is designed to hone the philosophical skills of careful reading and clear writing.
PHIL 3800 FEMINIST PHILOSOPHY [3]
Prof. Barnes – EJB5R 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 4020 SEMINAR FOR MAJORS – REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHCARE [3]
Prof. Payton – MRT4RJ Tuesday & Thursday 9:30-10:15 Shannon House 119
This is an advanced, discussion-based seminar for Philosophy majors, focused on philosophical issues related to abortion and reproductive healthcare in the US. In connection with these topics, we will address questions about the nature and moral significance of personhood; rights; religious arguments for and against abortion; as well as questions about the relationships between race, class, and gender, as these things interact with access to reproductive healthcare.
GRADUATE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FOR COURSES OPEN TO UNDERGRADUATES
PHIL 5540 WHY BE MORAL? [3]
Prof. Lomasky – LEL3F Wednesday 1:00-3:30 Cocke 108
Although the rationality of acting to advance one's own interests, well-being, or purposes appears to be unproblematic, the same cannot be said for acting on the basis of ethical considerations that mandate acting to secure the good of others (or to satisfy some deontic principle). Indeed, the two seemingly are in tension with each other. To do what morality demands will, at least on occasion, require one to forgo some good for oneself that might otherwise have been enjoyed. If that is so, then ethically-motivated action isn't merely different from the pursuit of rational self-interest but contrary to it. How, we might well ask, can one have reason to do what is contra-rational? In this seminar we will look at central works by Aristotle, Hobbes, Kant, Mill, and Henry Sidgwick to explore and evaluate their ideas concerning the connection between conventional morality and the enlightened pursuit of rational self interest. Requirements include regular participation, writing several (4?) short discussion papers and a term paper.
PHIL 5570 METAPHYSICS OF RACE [3]
Department Permission Required
Prof. Harris – DCN7XU Thursday 3:30-6:00 Cocke 108
This course covers contemporary arguments in the metaphysics of race: realism, deflationism, eliminativism, and constructionism.
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.