PHI 320

Philosophy and Literature

Professor/Instructor

Sam Berstler

A critical study of works of literature in conjunction with philosophical essays, concentrating on two or three philosophical themes, such as the will, self-identity, self-deception, freedom, and time. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

PHI 321

Philosophy of Science

Professor/Instructor

David Builes

An intensive examination of selected problems in the methodological and philosophical foundations of the sciences. Topics covered may include scientific explanation, the role of theories in science, and probability and induction. Two 90-minute classes.

PHI 322 / CGS 322

Philosophy of the Cognitive Sciences

Professor/Instructor

Sarah-Jane Leslie

An examination of philosophical problems arising out of the scientific study of cognition. Possible topics include methodological issues in the cognitive sciences; the nature of theories of reasoning, perception, memory, and language; and the philosophical implications of such theories. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

PHI 323 / MAT 306

Advanced Logic

Professor/Instructor

John P. Burgess

This course deals with topics chosen from recursion theory, proof theory, and model theory. In recent years the course has most often given an introduction to recursion theory with applications to formal systems. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: 312 or instructor's permission.

PHI 325

Philosophy of Religion

Professor/Instructor

Critical discussion of religious and antireligious interpretations of experience and the world, the grounds and nature of religious beliefs, and of a variety of theistic and atheistic arguments. Readings from contemporary analytical philosophy of religion, and from historical sources in the Western tradition. Two 90-minute seminars.

PHI 326 / HUM 326 / COM 363

Philosophy of Art

Professor/Instructor

Michael Smith

An examination of concepts involved in the interpretation and evaluation of works of art. Emphasis will be placed on sensuous quality, structure, and expression as aesthetic categories. Illustrative material from music, painting, and literature. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

PHI 327

Philosophy of Physics

Professor/Instructor

Hans P. Halvorson

A discussion of philosophical problems raised by modern physics. Topics will be chosen from the philosophy of relativity theory or more often, quantum mechanics. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

PHI 332

Early Modern Philosophy

Professor/Instructor

Daniel Garber

Detailed study of important concerns shared by some modern pre-Kantian philosophers of different schools. Topics may include identity and distinctness, the theory of ideas, substance, the mind/body problem, time, and causation. Philosophers may include Descartes, Spinoza, Hobbes, Hume, or others. One three-hour seminar.

PHI 333

Recent Continental Philosophy

Professor/Instructor

Analysis of some representative 20th-century works drawn from the French and German traditions. The specific content of the course will vary from year to year, but in each case there will be some attempt to contrast differing philosophical approaches. Figures to be treated might include Sartre, Gadamer, Habermas, and Foucault. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

PHI 335 / CHV 335 / HLS 338

Greek Ethical Theory

Professor/Instructor

Hendrik Lorenz

The development of moral philosophy in Greece. Intensive study of the moral theories of such philosophers as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, the early Stoics, and Sextus Empiricus. Two 90-minute lecture-discussion classes.

PHI 337

Relativism

Professor/Instructor

Gilbert H. Harman

An exploration of various kinds of relativism: cultural, conceptual, epistemic, and moral, considering what structure if any different relativisms have in common, and whether relativism in any of the domains mentioned is plausible. One three-hour seminar

PHI 338

Philosophical Analysis from 1900 to 1950

Professor/Instructor

Gideon Avram Rosen

An introduction to classics of philosophical analysis from the first half of the 20th century. Topics include early paradigms of Moore and Russell, logical atomism in Russell and early Wittgenstein, and logical positivism. Changes are traced both in metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical views and in analysis as a philosophical method. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

PHI 340

Philosophical Logic

Professor/Instructor

John P. Burgess

An introduction to modal and many-valued logics, with emphasis on philosophical motivation through a study of applications and paradoxes. Prerequisite: 201 or instructor's permission. Two 90-minute classes.

PHI 352 / CGS 352

Philosophy of Bias: Psychology, Epistemology, and Ethics of Stereotypes

Professor/Instructor

Grace Elizabeth Helton

Designed to introduce advanced students to empirical results in the psychology of group-based bias, to analyze these results along several philosophically important dimensions. We will discuss approaches to the semantics of generic statements, such as 'dogs bark', and consider whether these approaches extend to linguistic expressions of stereotypes, such as 'women are nurturing.' We will explore the psychological nature of stereotypes, as informed by both empirical findings and philosophical insights. The students will consider the epistemic import of stereotypes. Finally, we will consider several ethical views of stereotypes.

POL 301 / CLA 301 / HLS 303 / PHI 353

Political Theory, Athens to Augustine

Professor/Instructor

Melissa Lane

A study of the fundamental questions of political theory as framed in context of the institutions and writings of ancient Greek and Roman thinkers from the classical period into late antiquity and the spread of Christianity in Rome. We will canvass the meaning of justice in Plato's "Republic", the definition of the citizen in Aristotle's "Politics", to Cicero's reflections on the purpose of a commonwealth, and Augustine's challenge to those reflections and to the primacy of political life at all in light of divine purposes. Through classic texts, we explore basic questions of constitutional ethics and politics. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

POL 306 / PHI 360 / CHV 306

Democratic Theory

Professor/Instructor

A study of the intellectual foundations of the modern democratic state. Topics include the meaning and justification of democracy, the rationality of voting, political representation, property rights, civil disobedience, and education. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

PHI 380 / CHV 380

Explaining Values

Professor/Instructor

Victoria McGeer

The course will consider what types of explanations are possible of ordinary moral views. Students will look at philosophical, scientific, and historical explanations and consider how plausible they are, what sort of evidence might be relevant to them, and what their normative implications might be. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

PHI 383 / CHV 383

Freedom and Responsibility

Professor/Instructor

Gideon Avram Rosen

An introduction to the free will problem and its implications for ethics and the law.

PHI 384

Philosophy of Law

Professor/Instructor

Gideon Avram Rosen

Conceptual and moral problems in the foundations of law. Topics may include: morality and criminal justice; the justification of punishment; moral and economic problems in private law (torts and contracts); fundamental rights and constitutional interpretation. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

CHV 310 / PHI 385

Practical Ethics

Professor/Instructor

Peter Albert David Singer

The course will challenge students to examine their life from an ethical perspective. Should altruism guide our life? What is effective altruism? Should we share our wealth with people who will otherwise die from poverty-related causes? How should we live and act in an era in which human activity is changing the planet's climate? What ethical considerations are raised by eating meat and other animal products? We will also consider the Supreme Court's decision on abortion. Students will be encouraged to question their ethical beliefs and explore how reason and argument can play a role in everyday ethical decision-making.

CLA 338 / PHI 389 / HLS 368

Topics in Classical Thought

Professor/Instructor

Mirjam Engert Kotwick

The ancients were fascinated by dreams and debated a variety of views about the nature, origin, and function of dreams. Are dreams divine messages about the future, our souls' indications of impending diseases, or just distorted versions of earlier thoughts? Do dreams have meaning and if so, how can we understand them? We will explore ancient approaches to dreams and their enigmas in literature and philosophy, medical texts, and religious practices. Although our focus will be on Greek and Roman texts, we will also pay attention to earlier Near Eastern sources as well as modern dream theories from Freud to scientific dream research.

PHI 500 / HLS 500 / CLA 509

The Philosophy of Plato

Professor/Instructor

Hendrik Lorenz

The course is a study of the development of Plato's thought and an examination of the validity of his major contributions in the areas of metaphysics, epistemology, cosmology, and ethics.

PHI 501 / HLS 549

The Philosophy of Aristotle

Professor/Instructor

Benjamin Charles Atkin Morison

The course is an historical and critical study of the major concepts of the metaphysics, theory of knowledge, and ethics of Aristotle. Particular attention is given to the Metaphysics, to parts of the Physics, Categories, Posterior Analytics, and the de Anima, and to the Nicomachean Ethics.

PHI 502 / GER 502 / CHV 502 / REL 547

The Philosophy of Kant

Professor/Instructor

Andrew Chignell, Alexander Tilghman Englert

Selected works of Kant are read, analyzed, and discussed.

PHI 503 / CLA 530 / POL 556

Plato's Political Philosophy (Half-Term)

Professor/Instructor

Andre Laks

This course discusses central issues in Plato's Political Philosophy based closely on study of the pertinent Platonic dialogues.