Introduction to Philosophy
50:730:111:01
F 12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Professor Gentzel
An exploration of central philosophical problems, such as truth, justice, mind, and person, with a view to surveying the field and locating particular philosophical specialties within it such as logic, ethics, and metaphysics. Fulfills new general education requirement in Ethics and Values (EAV).
Introduction to Philosophy
50:730:111:90
Online
Professor Yates
An exploration of central philosophical problems, such as truth, justice, mind, and person, with a view to surveying the field and locating particular philosophical specialties within it such as logic, ethics, and metaphysics. Fulfills new general education requirement in Ethics and Values (EAV).
Symbolic Logic
50:730:201:01
M/W 9:35 am – 10:55 am
Professor Agule
An introduction to modern symbolic logic, with an emphasis on methods for the evaluation and construction of deductive arguments, and on the concepts of validity, consistency, and implication. Additional topics may be selected from among the following: informal fallacies, logic and ordinary language, induction, the scientific method, syllogistic logic, and the relation between logic and other areas in philosophy.
History of Philosophy II
50:730:212:01
M/W 8:00 am – 9:20 am
Professor Betz
The development of philosophy from its modern beginnings in Descartes. Readings selected from the classical modern period, from Descartes through Kant. Topics include the relationship between mind and body, the origins and extent of human knowledge, skepticism and beliefs, skepticism and beliefs, and the meaning of personal identity. Fulfills new general education requirement in Heritages and Civilizations (HAC).
Nature of Mind
50:730:221:01
T/TH 2:00 pm – 3:20 pm
Professor Rooney
What is the mind? Is it part of physical reality, or something separate? Can science explain the nature of the mind? Is it possible for a properly programmed computer to have a mind? If the mind is completely physical, is it located entirely in the brain? We will investigate these questions, and contrast philosophical approaches to them with the methods employed in neuroscience and empirical psychology. Fulfills new general education requirement in Ethics and Values (EAV).
Debate Ethical Issues across Disciplines
50:730:240:01
T/TH 11:10 am – 12:30 pm
Professors Moran and Wall
This course trains students in ethical reasoning and argumentation through both the study of ethics as a discipline and the practice of ethical debate in an ethics bowl competition. Students gain not only an understanding of ethical ideas and argumentation, but also skills in constructing arguments, oral communication, close reading, community outreach, and event organization. Fulfills new general education requirement in Ethics and Values (EAV).
Biomedical Ethics
50:730:249:01
M/W 3:45 pm – 5:05 pm
Professor Chwang
Exploration of moral issues in medicine and medical research. Course will typically focus on issues raised by the creation and termination of life and include topics such as abortion, stem cell research, cloning, prenatal screening for disability, right to medical care, human experimentation, genetic enhancement and eugenics, animal experimentation, the diagnosis of death, and euthanasia. Fulfills new general education requirement in Ethics and Values (EAV).
Biomedical Ethics
50:730:249:90
Online
Professor Yates
Exploration of moral issues in medicine and medical research. Course will typically focus on issues raised by the creation and termination of life and include topics such as abortion, stem cell research, cloning, prenatal screening for disability, right to medical care, human experimentation, genetic enhancement and eugenics, animal experimentation, the diagnosis of death, and euthanasia. Fulfills new general education requirement in Ethics and Values (EAV).
Biomedical Ethics
50:730:249:91
Online
Professor Yates
Exploration of moral issues in medicine and medical research. Course will typically focus on issues raised by the creation and termination of life and include topics such as abortion, stem cell research, cloning, prenatal screening for disability, right to medical care, human experimentation, genetic enhancement and eugenics, animal experimentation, the diagnosis of death, and euthanasia. Fulfills new general education requirement in Ethics and Values (EAV).
Biomedical Ethics
50:730:249:92
Online
Professor Young
Exploration of moral issues in medicine and medical research. Course will typically focus on issues raised by the creation and termination of life and include topics such as abortion, stem cell research, cloning, prenatal screening for disability, right to medical care, human experimentation, genetic enhancement and eugenics, animal experimentation, the diagnosis of death, and euthanasia. Fulfills new general education requirement in Ethics and Values (EAV).
Biomedical Ethics
50:730:249:93
Online
Professor Young
Exploration of moral issues in medicine and medical research. Course will typically focus on issues raised by the creation and termination of life and include topics such as abortion, stem cell research, cloning, prenatal screening for disability, right to medical care, human experimentation, genetic enhancement and eugenics, animal experimentation, the diagnosis of death, and euthanasia. Fulfills new general education requirement in Ethics and Values (EAV).
Biomedical Ethics
50:730:249:94
Online
Professor Gentzel
Exploration of moral issues in medicine and medical research. Course will typically focus on issues raised by the creation and termination of life and include topics such as abortion, stem cell research, cloning, prenatal screening for disability, right to medical care, human experimentation, genetic enhancement and eugenics, animal experimentation, the diagnosis of death, and euthanasia. Fulfills new general education requirement in Ethics and Values (EAV).
Biomedical Ethics
50:730:249:95
Online
Professor Gentzel
Exploration of moral issues in medicine and medical research. Course will typically focus on issues raised by the creation and termination of life and include topics such as abortion, stem cell research, cloning, prenatal screening for disability, right to medical care, human experimentation, genetic enhancement and eugenics, animal experimentation, the diagnosis of death, and euthanasia. Fulfills new general education requirement in Ethics and Values (EAV).
Biomedical Ethics
50:730:249:96
Online
Professor Denehy
Exploration of moral issues in medicine and medical research. Course will typically focus on issues raised by the creation and termination of life and include topics such as abortion, stem cell research, cloning, prenatal screening for disability, right to medical care, human experimentation, genetic enhancement and eugenics, animal experimentation, the diagnosis of death, and euthanasia. Fulfills new general education requirement in Ethics and Values (EAV).
Biomedical Ethics
50:730:249:97
Online
Professor Sacks
Exploration of moral issues in medicine and medical research. Course will typically focus on issues raised by the creation and termination of life and include topics such as abortion, stem cell research, cloning, prenatal screening for disability, right to medical care, human experimentation, genetic enhancement and eugenics, animal experimentation, the diagnosis of death, and euthanasia. Formerly 50:730:349. Fulfills new general education requirement in Ethics and Values (EAV).
Ethics and Business
50:730:251:90
Online
Professor Young
Social and moral problems that arise in the context of business: profit motive, corporate social responsibility, use and abuse of corporate power, truth in advertising, consumer rights, strikes, stockholders’ rights, preferential hiring. Contemporary case studies augmented with basic texts in ethics. Fulfills new general education requirement in Ethics and Values (EAV).
Philosophy of Law
50:730:258:01
M/W 12:30 pm – 1:50 pm
Professor Agule
Introduction to philosophical issues concerning the nature of law and its relation to morality and to power. Focuses on the concept of justice and punishment, the function of law, and types of legal argument. Legal materials include cases drawn from constitutional law, contracts, torts, and criminal law. Fulfills new general education requirement in Ethics and Values (EAV).
Philosophical and Religious Perspectives on Childhood
50:730:284:01
M/W 3:45 pm – 5:05 pm
Professor Yang
This course explores the meaning and significance of childhood in society from a variety of philosophical and religious perspectives. The first half of the course critically examines some of the most influential writings on childhood in history from antiquity to modernity. We ask how these classic texts respond to such questions as the nature of childhood, the aims of child rearing, and responsibilities to and of children. The second half investigates some of the central philosophical and religious issues concerning childhood today. It examines such issues as the changing purposes of families, children’s relations to culture, and children’s rights and political participation. Fulfills new general education requirement in Heritages and Civilizations (HAC).
Evil
50:730:333:01
T/TH 2:00 pm – 3:20 pm
Professor Wall
Examines the phenomenon and meaning of evil, especially “moral” evil. Key questions pursued are how evil may be explained, why humanity is capable of it in the first place, whether it belongs to some or all people, how to differentiate its perpetrators and its victims, whether evil is compatible with the existence of a good God, and how one may judge the difference between evil and good. These and other fundamental questions are pursued through a range of classic, historical, and contemporary texts and in relation to examples of evil in today’s world. Fulfills new general education requirements in Civilizations and Heritages (C) and Ethics and Values (EAV).
Social Philosophy
50:730:343:01
M/W 9:35 am – 10:55 am
Professor Betz
Critical examination of the philosophical problems involved in theories of the society and relationships between individuals. Topics include ways gender and/or racial consideration enter into the social standing of the individual, political and economic consequences of one’s social class, and the use of liberalism, critical social theory, and post-modernism to challenge existing social institutions. Fulfills new general education requirement in Multicultural Diversity in the US (DIV) and Ethics and Values (EAV).
Life and Death Decision Making
50:730:347:01
M/W 2:05 pm – 3:25 pm
Professor Chwang
This course covers in depth, a handful of topics in biomedical ethics. These topics will focus on issues that arise at the beginning of life and at the end of life. They include, but are not limited to, abortion, paid surrogacy, the definition of death, and the use of advance directives in cases of dementia. Fulfills new general education requirement in Ethics and Values (EAV).
Independent Study in Philosophy
50:730:389:01
Hours by Arrangement
An individual reading and research project under the guidance of a member of the philosophy department in an area of interest to the department. Prerequisite: Permission of department.
Independent Study in Philosophy
50:730:390:01
Hours by Arrangement
An individual reading and research project under the guidance of a member of the philosophy department in an area of interest to the department. Prerequisite: Permission of department.