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.
Philosophy and Literature
Professor/Instructor
Sam BerstlerPhilosophy of Science
Professor/Instructor
David BuilesAn 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.
Philosophy of the Cognitive Sciences
Professor/Instructor
Sarah-Jane LeslieAn 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.
Advanced Logic
Professor/Instructor
John P. BurgessThis 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.
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.
Philosophy of Art
Professor/Instructor
Michael SmithAn 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.
Philosophy of Physics
Professor/Instructor
Hans P. HalvorsonA 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.
Early Modern Philosophy
Professor/Instructor
Daniel GarberDetailed 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.
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.
Greek Ethical Theory
Professor/Instructor
Hendrik LorenzThe 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.
Relativism
Professor/Instructor
Gilbert H. HarmanAn 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
Philosophical Analysis from 1900 to 1950
Professor/Instructor
Gideon Avram RosenAn 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.
Philosophical Logic
Professor/Instructor
John P. BurgessAn 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.
Philosophy of Bias: Psychology, Epistemology, and Ethics of Stereotypes
Professor/Instructor
Grace Elizabeth HeltonDesigned 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.
Political Theory, Athens to Augustine
Professor/Instructor
Melissa LaneA 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.
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.
Explaining Values
Professor/Instructor
Victoria McGeerThe 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.
Freedom and Responsibility
Professor/Instructor
Gideon Avram RosenAn introduction to the free will problem and its implications for ethics and the law.
Philosophy of Law
Professor/Instructor
Gideon Avram RosenConceptual 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.
Practical Ethics
Professor/Instructor
Peter Albert David SingerThe 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.
Topics in Classical Thought
Professor/Instructor
Mirjam Engert KotwickThe 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.
The Philosophy of Plato
Professor/Instructor
Hendrik LorenzThe 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.
The Philosophy of Aristotle
Professor/Instructor
Benjamin Charles Atkin MorisonThe 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.
The Philosophy of Kant
Professor/Instructor
Andrew Chignell, Alexander Tilghman EnglertSelected works of Kant are read, analyzed, and discussed.
Plato's Political Philosophy (Half-Term)
Professor/Instructor
Andre LaksThis course discusses central issues in Plato's Political Philosophy based closely on study of the pertinent Platonic dialogues.