Introduction to Current Moral and Social Issues
50:730:105:01
T/TH 2:00 pm – 3:20 pm
Professor Young
Introduction to moral theory and application to selected contemporary issues. Possible topics include abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, punishment, equality, sexism, racism, affirmative action, privacy, obligations to the world’s needy, treatment of animals, drug use, and the meaning of life. Formerly 50:730:315,316. Fulfills new general education requirement in Ethics and Values (EAV).
Introduction to Philosophy
50:730:111:01:
M/W 9:35: am – 10:55 am
Professor Agule
50:730:111:02
T/TH 11:10 am – 12:30 pm
Professor Betz
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).
Reading Seminar
50:730:190:01
M 2:00 pm – 4:20 pm
Professor Agule
In this small, seminar-style course, students will work through either one significant book or a similarly substantive collection of essays, with the topic varying by semester. Students will engage in intensive close reading of the philosophical texts, identifying particular arguments, premises, and claims for assessment during student discussion in the seminar meetings. The course meets for 1/3 the time of a regular course, that is, on average one hour a week (or two hours every other week). This course can be repeated up to three times for credit. (Note that there is also a similar course in Religion, 50:840:190, which can be taken up to an additional three times). 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 Sacks
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. Fulfills new general education requirement in Logical and Quantitative Reasoning (LQR).
History of Philosophy II
50:730:212:01
T/TH 2:00 pm – 3:20 pm
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 belief, and the nature 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).
Self and Identity
50:730:222:01
T/TH 11:10 am – 12:30 pm
Professor Rooney
An exploration of the nature of the self, with emphasis on the conditions for remaining the same person over time and the relation between selfhood and moral responsibility. Fulfills new general education requirement in Ethics and Values (EAV).
Ethics
50:730:226:01
T/TH 3:35 pm – 4:55 pm
Professor Rooney
An examination of fundamental issues in ethical theory through the works of contemporary philosophers and key figures in the History of ethics such as Aristotle, Kant, and Mill. Topics may include human goodness, moral obligation, rights and duties, the relation of happiness to duties, the idea of role obligations specific to professional contexts, and the possibility of objective justifications of value judgments as contrasted with views from moral nihilists, skeptics, and relativists. Fulfills new general education requirement in Ethics and Values (EAV).
Biomedical Ethics
50:730:249:90
Professor Gentzel
50:730:249:92
Professor Gentzel
50:730:249:94
Professor Young
50:730:249:96
Professor Gentzel
50:730:249:98
Professor Denehy
Exploration of moral issues in medicine and medical research. The 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).
Philosophy of Law
50:730:258:01
M/W 9:35 am – 10:55 am
Professor Agule
Exploration of moral and social issues pertaining to emerging technologies. Topics covered include human enhancement, artificial intelligence, robotics, reproductive technology and cloning, and artificial life. Fulfills new general education requirement in Ethics and Values (EAV).
Philosophical Ideas in Film
50:730:264:01
ONLINE – Asynchronous
Professor Young
An exploration of classic philosophical questions as represented in film. Possible topics include (but are not limited to) truth, skepticism, relativism, personal identity, determinism, artificial intelligence, and the problem of evil. Film representations of these classic questions will be identified and evaluated from the perspective of various philosophers, possibly including Plato, Russell, James, Descartes, Berkeley, Kant, Locke, Hume, and others. Fulfills new general education requirement in Art and Aesthetic Interpretation (AAI).
Special Topics: Philosophy Love
50:730:290:01
M/W 12:30 pm – 1:50 pm
Professor Betz
Description to be forthcoming…
Independent Studies in Philosophy
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.