21&62:730:103Introduction to Philosophy (3) Introduction, for beginners, to central philosophical problems, primarily in the Western tradition, including such topics as morality, truth, knowledge, mind, reality, and the existence of God. |
21&62:730:105Current Moral and Social Issues (3) Examines such issues as sexual morality and abortion, capital punishment, sexism, racism and affirmative action, censorship, privacy, drug abuse and drug laws, economic distribution and justice, and consumption and scarcity of natural resources. |
62:730:107Critical Thinking (3) Develops and improves fundamental skills of clear, coherent, and
critical thinking, speaking, and writing. Aims to foster confidence in
the student's ability to solve problems by reasoning. Emphasizes rules
of critical reasoning and techniques for applying them to real-world
problems in science, management, law, aesthetics, and politics. Intended primarily for first-year students and sophomores. |
21&62:730:112Introduction to Ethics (3) Principal ethical theories, primarily in the Western philosophical tradition, advanced by theorists from Plato to 20th-century philosophers. |
21&62:730:201Introduction to Logic (3) Introduction to the concepts of valid reasoning and proof in modern logic. Approaches may include diagramming and pictorial representation. |
21&62:730:206Introduction to Greek Philosophy (3) Origins and development of Western philosophy among the ancient Greeks; study of the pre-Socratics, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and later Greek and Roman philosophers. |
21&62:730:207Introduction to Modern Philosophy (3) The formative period of modern Western philosophy from its emergence out of medieval thought; emphasis on works of major philosophers of the 16th to 18th centuries from Montaigne to Kant. |
21&62:730:208Existentialism and Continental Philosophy (3) The philosophical roots and dimensions of existentialism and its relations with phenomenology and the contemporary continental tradition; works by Kierkegaard, Nietzche, Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Habermas, and Derrida. |
21&62:730:225Philosophy of Science (3) Classical problems of induction and interpretation. The idealized
picture of scientific method as fallible but self-correcting,
converging to truth in the long run, is examined in the light of
elementary probability theory. The problem of interpretation is
introduced in the context of the theoretician's dilemma and illustrated
by the case of geometric theory. The realist and instrumentalist
interpretations are contrasted in the light of elementary concepts of
logical theory. |
21&62:730:227Philosophy of Religion (3) Major controversies over the nature of religious belief, the "logic" of religious language, and the justification of religious claims; contemporary and traditional positions considered, but primary emphasis given to those aspects of religion open to rational argument. |
21&62:730:228Philosophy and the Arts (3) The nature of aesthetic experience as a significant form of human activity; aesthetic analysis, meaning and truth in the arts, the foundation of value judgment, and criticism in the arts. |
21&62:730:243Philosophical Issues in Punishment and Human Rights (3) The reason(s) for which punishment is justified, and the conduct for which punishment is appropriate; examines relationships between punishment, justice, and human rights. Uses cases from American law as well as writings by philosophers on the legitimacy of punishment. |
21&62:730:251Business and Professional Ethics (3) Ways of thinking about moral issues that arise in business and the professions: conflicts of interest and obligation, professional responsibility, whistle-blowing and loyalty, corporate social responsibility, dealing with local practices overseas, corporate culture, employees' rights, and the moral status of capitalism and other economic systems. Not open to first-year students. |
21&62:730:258Philosophy and the Black Experience (3) An analysis of what constitutes the black experience; issues in the black experience, e.g., racial integration, racial separatism, racism, and black values. |
21&62:730:260Philosophical Ideas in Literature (3) Philosophical issues in literary works, primarily in the Western tradition; freedom and determinism, conceptions and reality of the self, the quest for meaning, the existence of evil. |
21&62:730:262Eastern Philosophy (3) A comparative analysis of Eastern, mainly Indian, and Western perspectives on key issues, e.g., God, self, and universe; explores the role of reason vis à vis contemplation; studies philosophies, including Vedanta, Buddhism, Jainism, and others. |
21&62:730:272Metaphysics and Philosophy of Mind (3) Analyzes such topics as time, universals, identity, causation and freedom, mind and body, and the relation of thought and reality in classical and contemporary texts primarily in the Western philosophical tradition. |
21&62:730:309Contemporary Analytical Philosophy (3) Introduction to the origins and directions of present-day philosophy and its recent accomplishments, especially in the English-speaking world: the giants of the early 20th century; positivism and ordinary language philosophy; major postwar figures; and the present generation (Rorty, Putnam, Davidson). Emphasis on understanding what philosophers are doing now and why. |
21&62:730:312Philosophical Ideas in the United States (3) American contributions to idealism, realism, and pragmatism; readings from Royce, Dewey, James, and Rorty. |
21&62:730:327Philosophical Issues of Feminism (3) Examines different theories of nature and source of women's oppression;
liberal, radical, Marxist, and socialist feminism; the concept of
oppression, woman's nature, individual rights and social justice; the
meaning of equality; the role of the family (actually and ideally); and
the importance of biological, social, and economic categories. |
21&62:730:328Social and Political Philosophy (3) The interrelationship of the state, law, and morality; examination of the interdependence of ideology and political obligation; the equivocal meanings of liberty, rights, and justice; major approaches such as Social Contract Theory and Marxism. |
21&62:730:332Formal Logic (3) Completeness and consistency of classical sentential and predicate logic; the problem of decidability and elementary model theory. Prerequisite: 21&62:730:201 or permission of instructor. |
21&62:730:342Theories of Knowledge (3) The nature and limits of knowledge; the problems of rationalism and empiricism, realism and idealism, and meaning and truth. |
21&62:730:348Philosophy of Language (3) Currently disputed issues arising from the philosophical study of language: its use, structure, and limitation; contemporary theories of meaning, speech acts, the relevance of transformational grammar, and exploratory consideration of the role of analogies; readings from Frege, Chomsky, Austin, and Davidson. |
21&62:730:350Decision Theory and Ethics (3) Introduction to Bayesian decision theory and two-person game theory, with applications to ethical, ecological, and economic problems. Alternative foundations for the theory of utility and subjective probability are studied, and their philosophical significance examined. Alternative solutions to the cooperative game are studied and their philosophical foundations examined. |
21&62:730:441,442Individual Study in Philosophy (BA,BA)
Enrollment only by permission of department. |
21&62:730:451,452Advanced Seminar in Philosophy (3,3) The focus may be a concentrated study of a particular text, philosopher, or school of thought or an examination of a particular philosophic concept, methodology, or problem. Prerequisites: Four courses in philosophy or permission of program adviser. |
