Fall 2023 Philosophy Courses

Fall 23 at a glance

Introduction to Philosophy | 101 L

Course Description:

This course will introduce you to some of the perennial questions of philosophy – questions about what we know and how we know it, about what is real, about what is valuable, and about how one should live. It will also introduce you to some of the skills and methods used in philosophical inquiry, skills and methods that are critical in many other inquiries as well. These include the ability to analyze and criticize arguments; the ability to articulate one’s own views and to support them with reasoned arguments; and the ability to read a text carefully, sympathetically, and critically.

Gen Ed: Literary and Artistic Studies (L)

Credits: 3

Course Time: MWF 10:00am - 10:50am

Instructor: Charles Hayes

CRN 73960

 

 

Introduction to Ethics | PHL 110 E

Course Description:

This course is an introduction to the major approaches to the study of ethics in the Western tradition. Our objectives are to get a sense of the major approaches to ethics, but most importantly learn how to critically evaluate the quality of moral arguments, even those whose conclusions we might agree with.

Gen Ed: Ethics and Human Values (E)

Credits: 3

Section 01 Instructor: Charles Hayes

Course Time: MWF 12:00pm - 12:50pm

CRN 73586

Section 50 Instructor: Charles Hayes

Course Time: Asynchronous online

CRN 72814

Introduction to Political Ethics | PHL 114E

Course Description:

The relationship between philosophical ethics and political philosophy is a complex one.  Ethical concerns often are not political and there are political concerns that do not reduce to ethical ones.  Still, these two subjects are closely related and there is much overlap.  We shall consider this area of overlap as it is manifested in the three primary approaches to political philosophy in contemporary democracies: libertarianism, liberal egalitarianism, and communitarianism.  The aim is to enable you to critically analyze the ethical assumptions that underlie the political views that you both support and oppose.

Gen Ed: Ethics and Human Values (E)

Credits: 3

Instructor: David Sherman

Course Time: TR 2:00pm - 3:20pm

CRN 72564

Introduction to Logic: Deduction | PHL 233

Course Description: This is an introductory course in logic. The objective is to provide you with a basic understanding of deductive logic in preparation for more advanced courses in philosophy and other subjects. We will be studying artificial languages that operate according to very strict rules. These languages are much simpler than ‘natural’ languages such as English (so-called because their acquisition is a universal part of human development) but they throw light on the reasoning we do in our day-to-day lives and help to refine that reasoning. Specifically, we will learn how to translate from English into the languages of sentential and predicate logic and how to determine the validity of arguments in each of these languages.

Credits: 3

Instructor: Bridget Clarke

Course Time: MW 2:00pm-3:20pm

CRN: 71933

History of Ancient Philosophy | PHL 261Y

Course Description:

This course will introduce you to some of the central writings of Plato and Aristotle. Topics covered in Plato will include Socratic definition, the examined life, Meno’s paradox, the theory of recollection, the theory of forms, the immortality of the soul, challenges to morality, the analogy of city and soul, the tripartition of the soul, and the famous metaphors of the sun, line and cave. Turning to Aristotle, topics covered will include change, nature, hylomorphism, the four causes, soul as first actuality, the Prime Mover, happiness (eudaimonia), virtue, responsibility, and the place of theoretical study in a happy life.

Gen Ed: Democracy and Citizenship (Y)

Credits: 3

Instructor: Matthew Strohl

Course Time: TR 11:00am - 12:20pm

CRN: 70944

Problems in Aesthetics | PHL 427

Course Description:

This course will introduce you to a range of central issues on contemporary analytic aesthetics, including aesthetic value, taste, the role of negative emotions in aesthetic experience, and the relationship between aesthetic and moral value.

Credits: 3

Instructor: Matthew Strohl

Course Time: TR 9:30am - 10:50am

CRN: 74374

History of Moral and Political Philosophy: Political Philosophies of Kant and Hegel | PHL 449

Course Description: 

Although neither Kant nor Hegel are known primarily for their works in political philosophy, their works in this area have nevertheless had a significant impact on our contemporary approach to it.  We will read large chunks of Kant’s Metaphysics of Morals, sections from some of his most important political essays (“Perpetual Peace,” “Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose,” “What is Enlightenment,” and “Theory and Practice”), and all of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right.  These works traverse virtually all of the major philosophical issues that continue to inform political philosophy, and provide invaluable (if sometimes overlooked) insights with respect to them.

Credits: 3

Instructor: David Sherman

Course Time: TR 11:00am - 12:20pm

CRN: 74375

Thoreau | PHL 472 & 572

Course Description:

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) has long been celebrated as a writer who helped to establish a distinctively American literature. In the process, however, his significance as a philosopher has often been overlooked. In this course we will read a number of Thoreau’s writings, including selections from The Journal, essays about civil disobedience, Thoreau’s advocacy for the abolition of slavery, and the value he attached to walking, before turning to a close reading of his masterpiece Walden. Our goal will be to try to recover the sense in which Thoreau is, first and foremost, a philosopher who seeks to equip his readers with the tools for a better life. 

Credits: 3

Instructor: Paul Muench

Course Time: TR 12:30pm - 1:50pm

CRN: 74377 (472) & 74385 (572)

The Ethics of Attention | 502

Course Description:

We’ll examine classic and contemporary accounts of, and reflections on, the ethical significance of attention: whether we pay attention, how we pay attention, and what we pay attention to. Likely authors include Simone Weil, Iris Murdoch, Jenny Odell and Silvia Panizza. 

Credits: 3

Instructor: Bridget Clarke

Course Time: MW 3:30pm - 4:50pm

CRN: 74380

Philosophy Colloquium | PHL 510

Course Description: 

The philosophy colloquium consists in discussions about the current state of environmental philosophy, the professional landscape associated with environmental philosophy, and applications of environmental philosophy to the real world.  As we engage in these discussions, students have the opportunity to develop the ideas, foster the skills, and design the process necessary to complete their Civic Engagement Project. 

Credits: 1

Instructor: Charles Hayes

Course Time: R 5:00pm - 5:50pm

CRN: 74383