Below is a list of current courses offered, together with course descriptions specific to the instructors teaching the course.
For a list of course offerings generated by the university registrar, listing rooms, times, CRNs, and generic course descriptions, please visit the Course Explorer.
For a list of all courses offered by the Philosophy Department, with information about how regularly they are offered, please visit the Course Catalog.
FALL SEMESTER 2023
PHIL 100 - Introduction to Philosophy - ACP ~ Saenz
This course introduces students to the discipline of philosophy through some of philosophy's most important questions: Does God exist? Is the existence of evil compatible with the existence of God? Is the mind immaterial or material? Could a computer be a thinking thing? Do we know that there is an external world? What makes an action right or wrong? Should we be cultural relativists about morality? In thinking about these questions and their potential answers, students will, among other things, improve their ability to evaluate and construct arguments all while learning what it is that philosophers do.
Course is identical to PHIL 101 except for the additional writing component. Credit is not given for both PHIL 100 and PHIL 101. Prerequisite: Completion of campus Composition I general education requirement.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: (1) Advanced Composition & (2) Humanities - Hist & Phil
PHIL 101 – Introduction to Philosophy ~ Jensen & Rowe (two sections)
This course introduces students to the discipline of philosophy through some of philosophy's most important questions: Do we know that there is an external world? Is the mind immaterial or material? Could a computer be a thinking thing? Does God exist? Is the existence of evil compatible with the existence of God? What makes an action right or wrong? Should we be cultural relativists about morality? In thinking about these questions and their potential answers, students will, among other things, improve their ability to evaluate and construct arguments all while learning what it is that philosophers do.
Credit is not given for both PHIL 101 and PHIL 100.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Humanities - Hist & Phil
PHIL 102 – Logic and Reasoning ~ Leland (online), Louzon (in-person)
Introduction to the analysis and evaluation of actual arguments, to the practice of constructing logically sound arguments, and to logic as the theory of argument, with an emphasis on arguments of current or general interest. This course's primary goal is to improve your reasoning. Toward that end, we focus on the primary unit of reasoning, arguments, which we analyze and evaluate, but we also focus on reasoning in other contexts, e.g. explanations, as well as barriers to reasoning well, e.g. bias.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Humanities - Hist & Phil
PHIL 103 – Logic and Reasoning - QR II ~ Kerr
We are inundated with attempts to convince us of all sorts of things. Politicians try to win our vote and advertisers try to persuade us to purchase their products. What should we believe? Why? How should we respond to arguments? If someone asks why one holds a particular belief or attitude, one is likely to give reasons for one’s belief or attitude. Are they good reasons? Why? Logic is the study of arguments and reasons, and it provides a method to reflect on and evaluate reasons for beliefs and other attitudes. It provides one with the tools to critically examine why one holds the beliefs and attitudes that one holds. When one studies logic, one learns how to dissect arguments and to evaluate whether they are good ones.
Learning to reason better can improve one’s abilities to problem solve in numerous fields. Logic has applications in writing, science, mathematics, computers, linguistics, and day-to-day reasoning—including about how to live, act, and feel. It can help one become a more effective citizen, with the open-mindedness needed to consider arguments from different perspectives and achieve more nuanced understandings of difficult issues. Logic can help one learn to communicate one’s ideas better, including their justifications, both orally and in writing—thus making one a more thoughtful and effective contributor to many areas of life.
This course satisfies a level-two quantitative reasoning requirement (QRII).
Credit is not given for both PHIL 103 and PHIL 102.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Humanities - Hist & Phil, Quantitative Reasoning II
PHIL 104 – Intro to Ethics-ACP ~ Bojanowski
This course is an introduction to ethical theory, that is, the philosophical study of morality. We will begin the course by getting a sense of how to do philosophy in general before briefly engaging with some foundational issues in ethical theory. We will then move on to discussing three prominent approaches to ethical theory: utilitarianism, Kantianism, and Aristotelian virtue ethics. In addition, at various points in the course we will also consider moral questions having to do with particular issues of contemporary concern, such as famine relief, pornography, and abortion.
Course is identical to PHIL 105 except for the additional writing component. Credit is not given for both PHIL 105 and either PHIL 104 or PHIL 106.
PHIL 105 – Intro to Ethics ~ Baume
This course is an introduction to ethical theory, that is, the philosophical study of morality. We will begin the course by getting a sense of how to do philosophy in general before briefly engaging with some foundational issues in ethical theory. We will then move on to discussing three prominent approaches to ethical theory: utilitarianism, Kantianism, and Aristotelian virtue ethics. In addition, at various points in the course we will also consider moral questions having to do with particular issues of contemporary concern, such as famine relief, pornography, and abortion.
Credit is not given for both PHIL 105 and either PHIL 104 or PHIL 106.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Humanities - Hist & Phil
PHIL 106 – Ethics and Social Policy ~ Bruckler
Examination of the moral aspects of social problems, and a survey of ethical principles formulated to validate social policy.
Credit is not given for both PHIL 106 and either PHIL 104 or PHIL 105.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Social & Beh Sci - Soc Sci
PHIL 107 – Intro to Political Philosophy ~ Vanderbeek
Introduction to core ideas in political and legal philosophy, for example, rights, equality, political obligations, legitimacy of states, nationalism, and oppression.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Social & Beh Sci - Soc Sci
PHIL 202 - Symbolic Logic ~ Lee (online), Estrup (in-person)
This course is an introduction to formalizing and evaluating (deductive) arguments. The first goal in this class is the class-specific goal of becoming proficient at translating and evaluating deductive arguments in sentential and predicate logic. The second goal is broad. Being able to properly evaluate arguments and understand the logical relations between statements is a skill with wide-ranging applications. Arguments appear in many aspects of our lives---not only in philosophy---and the ability to properly evaluate them is a crucial skill for everyone.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Quantitative Reasoning I
PHIL 203 - Ancient Philosophy ~ Sanders
This course is an introduction to philosophy in ancient Greece. The focus will be on three figures in particular: Socrates (or perhaps “Socrates”), Plato, and Aristotle. Our primary goal will be to develop a critical understanding of their respective approaches to, and arguments regarding, a variety of philosophical problems.
Same as CLCV 203.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Humanities - Hist & Phil
PHIL 206 - Early Modern Philosophy ~ Ben Moshe
What is the relation between mind and world? What is the role of reason and of the senses in the attainment of knowledge? What can we know with certainty and how reliable are our scientific explanations? What is the relation between mind and body? How can there be an omnibenevolent and omnipotent God when there is evil in the world? In this course, we will attempt to answer these epistemological and metaphysical questions by focusing on major philosophical figures of the 17th and 18th centuries. The overarching theme of the course is an investigation into skepticism and the nature of human understanding as undertaken by the rationalists (Descartes and Leibniz), the empiricists (Locke, Berkeley, and Hume), and Kant.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Humanities - Hist & Phil
PHIL 210 - Ethics ~ Biondi
This is an introductory course in ethics focused on central topics in metaethics and moral psychology. Topics covered include the following: moral realism and anti-realism; cognitivism and non-cognitivism; moral relativism; moral epistemology; the relation between moral psychology and science; the nature of moral motivation; the roles of desires, reasons, and emotions in moral judgment; the concept of virtue; and the relation between moral responsibility, free will, and determinism, among others.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Humanities - Hist & Phil
PHIL 222 - Philosophical Foundations of Computer Science ~ Kishida
Introduction to certain ideas and issues at the intersection of computer science and philosophy. Students will focus on foundational questions related to the birth of computer science as a discipline, philosophical issues regarding knowledge and reality that researchers face in the frontiers of contemporary computer science, and current ethical issues related to the uses of machines and computers in society.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Humanities - Hist & Phil
PHIL 223 - Minds and Machines ~ Scharp
This course provides an introduction to the study of minds and their relationship to physical reality. In particular, it will focus on two topics: (i) the relation between minds and bodies, as well as (ii) recent developments in artificial intelligence. Students will learn about influential historical and contemporary theories of mind, including materialism, idealism, dualism, functionalism, computational theories, and connectionist theories. Additional topics in philosophy of mind might include the nature of belief, desire, emotions, will, reason, intelligence, rationality, attention, and consciousness. In addition, we will cover machine learning algorithms that display intelligent behavior like chatGPT. Students will learn about the kinds of algorithms (supervised, unsupervised, reinforcement, …) and the difference between artificial general intelligence and artificial narrow intelligences. Additional topics covered include how to explain language produced by machine learning algorithms and how to use machine learning algorithms to test philosophical theses about the mind, as in the Bayesian Theory of Mind programme. Finally, we discuss the potential for superintelligence, how to control something that is vastly more intelligent than any group of humans, and the suggestion that value alignment is the key to control.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Humanities - Hist & Phil
PHIL 270 - Philosophy of Science ~ Lee
In this intermediate-level philosophy of science course, we will delve into a range of philosophical questions surrounding scientific knowledge and methodologies. In particular, we will discuss the difference between science and pseudoscience, the nature of scientific inference and explanation, skepticism towards science, underdetermination, and the realism vs. antirealism debate. We will also explore important philosophical concepts related to the philosophy of science, such as causation, reduction, emergence, and fundamentality. Additionally, we will examine some of the philosophical issues that arise within specific scientific disciplines, such as physics and biology.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Humanities - Hist & Phil
PHIL 411 - Nineteenth Century Philosophy ~ Leland
The 19th century is a particularly dynamic and influential period in the history of Western philosophy. Prominent philosophical movements of the 20th century – including existentialism, Marxism, phenomenology, and analytic philosophy – originated in the 19th century. This course offers an advanced introduction to some of the most important philosophical writings of this period, including works by Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche, among others.
3 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: One course in philosophy.
PHIL 412 - Classical Modern Philosophers ~ Leland
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was the single most influential philosopher of the past three-hundred years. More than any other recent philosopher, Kant exerted considerable influence on an impressively broad range of philosophical subfields, including epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, ethics, aesthetics, philosophy of religion, and philosophy of science. The Critique of Pure Reason (1781/87) is Kant’s most sustained treatment of issues in epistemology, metaphysics, and the philosophy of mind. It is also widely considered his greatest work. This course offers an advanced introduction to this challenging and important text.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy, preferably PHIL 206.
PHIL/PHYS 419/420 - Space, Time, and Matter ~ Weaver
Space, Time, and Matter is an advanced history and philosophy of physics course that aims to: (a) introduce students to the history of both theoretical and experimental physics (more specifically, we will travel from scientific thought before Aristotle all the way to the development of the standard model of particle physics), (b) briefly introduce students to the basic formulae and accompanying (sometimes competing) interpretations of classical Newtonian mechanics, classical electrodynamics, early kinetic theory, thermodynamics, (classical) Boltzmannian statistical mechanics, special relativity, general relativity, the standard L-CDM cosmological model, and both non-relativistic and relativistic quantum mechanics, (c) introduce students to debates in the foundations of physics, and (d) give special attention to philosophical debates concerning scientific realism and anti-realism, the relationship between the manifest and scientific images, and the nature of matter, space, time, and spacetime.
PHIL 421 - Ethical Theories ~ Biondi
Systematic study of selected classics in moral philosophy by such philosophers as Aristotle, Hume, Mill, Kant, and Nietzsche.
3 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: One course in philosophy.
PHIL 424 - Philosophy of Religion ~ Weaver
According to the somewhat standard big bang model in contemporary astrophysics and cosmology, our universe began to exist about 13.7 billion years ago with an intense explosion in which spacetime itself unfolded into existence. Starting from some seemingly fine-tuned initial conditions, the universe’s evolution and large-scale structure formation was and is governed by physical constants and parameters that appear to be fine-tuned to ensure the existence of a life-permitting and not a life-prohibiting universe. These empirical claims can be challenged in various ways, but if they can be upheld, some philosophers of religion have maintained that they invite important philosophical questions. First, did the universe begin to exist and if it did, did it have a cause? Second, if the universe is fine-tuned in some way for life, does that fine-tuning constitute evidence for the existence of God?
Consider now the existence of moral values and duties. Some philosophers working in metaethics maintain that there are true and known moral principles (e.g., <Murder is wrong.>). What would make such principles true? Perhaps some way the world is morally (i.e., the existence of moral values or moral properties in the world), and that way the world is morally together with true moral principles helps yield moral duties for moral agents such as us. But some philosophers of religion argue that the existence of moral values and duties should be explained. How could value and duty of this kind emerge or in some way result from the natural fabric of the cosmos (i.e., natural properties such as those referenced and used by natural science)? Doesn’t the existence of a moral law require a moral lawgiver? So, the question some philosophers of religion would have us ask is, is God necessary for morality?
Various people across history and across the world have sincerely claimed to have religious experiences of multifarious kinds. Given that we must learn from empirical deliverances what can be empirically delivered to us in perceptual experience, some philosophers of religion would have us ask whether these religious experiences can serve as evidence for religious beliefs. Some ask further whether sincere testimony from reliable witnesses about experiences believed to be miraculous can provide evidence or justification for religious belief. Some challenge this.
Atheism is the thesis that God does not exist. What type of arguments could be given in favor of such a position? One very influential argument tries to show how certain events in the world constitute instances of gratuitous evil and that such evils are incompatible with the existence of an omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent God. The question then is whether evil constitutes evidence against belief in God. Another argument starts from the hypothesis that it is reasonable for many human cognizers to believe that God does not exist, or to at least withhold belief that God exists. This is because the evidence for God (if there is any) is not overwhelming. Instead, God (at least) appears to be hidden from some rational human cognizers. Does this divine hiddenness in some way constitute evidence against belief in God? Doesn’t God desire human cognizers to enter into a loving relationship with God? If so, how can there be completely rational agnostics or atheists who fail to believe in God despite fulfilling all or most of their epistemic duties? Another concern raised by many atheists is that science has in some way discredited religious belief perhaps by undercutting its underlying justification. The question in the ballpark here is: do certain of the deliverances of the sciences serve as evidence against religious belief?
These, and many other issues will be addressed in PHIL 424 Philosophy of Religion.
Same as REL 424. 3 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: One course in philosophy.
PHIL 425 - Philosophy of Mind ~ Schwenkler
We will read and discuss a range of texts in philosophy of mind, mainly from the analytic tradition. We will explore such topics as the relation of thought to its objects and of rational to animal nature, the conditions of a person's continued existence or “identity” over time, the nature of free and voluntary action, whether cognitive states and processes can be located in the brain, and the extent to which experimentation and empirical observation can inform our understanding of human mentality.
3 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: One course in philosophy.
PHIL 426 - Metaphysics ~ Saenz
This class surveys a number of central topics in metaphysics – being, classification, properties, composition, time, and freedom. We will use a textbook that offers an introduction to each topic and supplement this with articles that deal with some of the specific issues.
3 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: One course in philosophy.
PHIL 430 - Theory of Knowledge ~ Livengood
Theory of knowledge (also called “epistemology”) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the proper analysis of “knowledge,” the nature and structure of justification, problems of skepticism, critical evaluation of the sources of knowledge, questions about the aims of belief and inquiry, the nature of rationality, the ethics of belief, and so on. In this course, we will be developing three related themes: pragmatism, the ethics of belief, and the use of formal, mathematical tools in studying epistemology. We will not have time to cover nearly all of the broad sweep of epistemology.
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to describe what is meant by “the ethics of belief” and explain the core debate between Clifford and James, describe some of the main features of pragmatism in epistemology as well as some of its strengths and weaknesses, describe some competing (or potentially competing) models of belief, sketch arguments for and against the claim that the aim of inquiry is the truth, describe the JTB analysis of “knowledge” and Gettier’s challenge to that analysis, and much else.
3 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: One course in philosophy.
PHIL 441- Existential Philosophy ~ Byrne
This upper-level university course delves into the rich philosophical tradition of existentialism. Drawing upon the works of influential existentialist thinkers such as Sartre, Camus, Nietzsche, and de Beauvoir, this course explores the fundamental questions of human existence, freedom, meaning, and the nature of reality. Through close examination of primary texts, engaging discussions, and critical analysis, students will gain a deep understanding of existentialist philosophy and its implications for various aspects of human life.
3 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: One course in philosophy.
PHIL 454 - Advanced Symbolic Logic ~ Kishida
Completeness, compactness, and Lowenheim-Skolem theorems for first-order logic; incompleteness and undecidability of formal systems; and additional material on proof theory, model theory, or axiomatic set theory as time permits.
3 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: PHIL 202 or consent of instructor.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Quantitative Reasoning II
PHIL 477 - Philosophy of Psychology ~ Livengood
Philosophy of psychology covers a large range of issues having to do with the study of cognition, mental representation, perception, consciousness, and the methods used to investigate psychological phenomena.
In this course, we will be concerned with several interrelated foundational, conceptual, and methodological issues in psychology, including the goals of psychology, the significance of measurement, nativism and the relative importance of nature and nurture, the status of folk psychology, the relationship between psychology and neuroscience, the nature of (psychological) mechanism, the role of probability in studying human cognition, the replication crisis, severe testing, Bayesianism, causal inference, the contents of mental representations, and the nature of consciousness.
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to sketch (at least in rough outline) some important historical developments in psychology and some of the challenges psychology faces, describe the nature-nurture debate and explain its relationship to philosophical debates between empiricists and rationalists, attack or defend the claim that psychology is an autonomous science, describe the replication crisis and critically evaluate some suggestions for resolving it, describe some points of contact between philosophy of psychology and philosophy of mind, and much else.
Same as PSYC 477. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: Two courses in philosophy or two courses in psychology or consent of instructor.
PHIL 499 - Capstone Seminar ~ Bojanowski & Biondi
Capstone course required for all philosophy majors. Students will explore in depth a specific topic either in the history of philosophy or in contemporary practical or theoretical philosophy and will write a substantial original essay appropriate for a senior thesis. Topics will differ by section and semester. 3 undergraduate hours. No graduate credit. Prerequisite: PHIL 202, PHIL 203, PHIL 206, PHIL 222, PHIL 223. Restricted to Philosophy and CS + Philosophy majors with Senior Standing. Philosophy majors (and CS + Philosophy majors matriculated before Fall 2020) are required to have PHIL 202 (or equivalent), PHIL 203, and PHIL 206. CS + Philosophy majors (matriculated after Fall 2020) are required to have PHIL 202 (or equivalent), PHIL 222, and PHIL 223.
PHIL 507 - Seminar Formal Semantics I ~ Lasersohn
PHIL 511 - Seminar Ethical Theory ~ Schwenkler
This seminar will explore the nature of human action, especially in its moral dimension. We will begin by reading through G. E. M. Anscombe's Intention in relation to its historical context, and then consider the prospects of developing what Anscombe calls a "philosophy of psychology" that can be of use to normative moral theory.
Approved for letter and S/U grading. May be repeated. Letter grading applies when offered for 4 hours of credit.
For Stage 3 Philosophy PhD students this course is approved for S/U grading when offered for 2 hours of credit.
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor for non-philosophy graduate students.
PHIL 514 – Seminar on Cognitive Science ~ Hummel
An in-depth, integrative overview of the major themes in the study of Cognitive Science, including cognition as computation, the relation between mind and brain, computability and the role of heuristics in "solving" unsolvable problems, and the logical/mathematical foundations of these themes. Specific topics covered include inverse optics and vision; induction and reasoning; learnability and language; philosophy of minds and brains; evolution; artificial intelligence and computational modeling; information theory; knowledge representation. The emphasis throughout is on the interrelations among these topics as examples of important but fundamentally unsolvable problems.
Same as PSYC 514, ANTH 514, CS 549, EPSY 551, and LING 570. See PSYC 514.
PHIL 521 - Seminar Conceptual Engineering ~ Scharp
Conceptual engineering is the area of philosophy dedicated to evaluating our concepts and improving them if they are found to be problematic. Concepts might be problematic for many reasons: they might be inconsistent, excessively vague, politically or ethically objectionable, or have other features that render them unacceptable. Moreover, technological innovations like artificial intelligence can disrupt our concepts and prompt changes as well. If improvement is needed, it might take the form of altering existing concepts, abandoning old concepts, adding new ones, replacing some with others. Although conceptual engineering has been practiced in many eras of western philosophy, we focus on the recent flood of material on the topic and some of its historical antecedents. Along the way we will investigate the varieties of philosophical methodology, scientific revolutions, the nature of meaning and concepts, and whether philosophy makes progress. Topics covered might include knowledge, truth, goodness, obligation, intelligence, love, belief, rationality, gender concepts, race concepts, and pejoratives. Readings might include work by Belleri, Burgess, Cappelen, Carnap, Chalmers, Deutsch, Eklund, Greenough. Haslanger, Isaac, Jenkins, Kitsik, Koch, Manne, Nado, Novaes, Plunkett, Scharp, Simion, and Strawson.
Approved for letter and S/U grading. May be repeated. Letter grading applies when offered for 4 hours of credit.
For Stage 3 Philosophy PhD students this course is approved for S/U grading when offered for 2 hours of credit.
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor for non-philosophy graduate students.
SPRING SEMESTER 2024
PHIL 100 - Introduction to Philosophy - ACP ~ Saenz
This course introduces students to the discipline of philosophy through some of philosophy's most important questions: Does God exist? Is the existence of evil compatible with the existence of God? Is the mind immaterial or material? Can a computer be a thinking thing? Do we know that there is an external world? What makes an action right or wrong? Should we be cultural relativists about morality? In thinking about these questions and their potential answers, students will, among other things, improve their ability to evaluate and construct arguments all while learning what it is that philosophers do.
Course is identical to PHIL 101 except for the additional writing component. Credit is not given for both PHIL 100 and PHIL 101. Prerequisite: Completion of campus Composition I general education requirement.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Advanced Composition and Humanities - Hist & Phil
PHIL 101 – Introduction to Philosophy ~ Durso
Consideration of some main problems of philosophy concerning, for example, knowledge, God, mind and body, and human freedom.
Credit is not given for both PHIL 101 and PHIL 100.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Humanities - Hist & Phil
PHIL 102 – Logic and Reasoning ~ Louzon
Practical study of logical reasoning; techniques for analyzing and criticizing arguments, including dialectic, rhetoric, visualization of arguments, as well as elements of formal logic, induction, and scientific reasoning, with emphasis on assessing the logical coherence of what we read and write.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Humanities - Hist & Phil
PHIL 103 – Logic and Reasoning QR ~ Kerr
We are inundated with attempts to convince us of all sorts of things. Politicians try to win our vote and advertisers try to persuade us to purchase their products. What should we believe? Why? How should we respond to arguments? If someone asks why one holds a particular belief or attitude, one is likely to give reasons for one’s belief or attitude. Are they good reasons? Why? Logic is the study of arguments and reasons, and it provides a method to reflect on and evaluate reasons for beliefs and other attitudes. It provides one with the tools to critically examine why one holds the beliefs and attitudes that one holds. When one studies logic, one learns how to dissect arguments and to evaluate whether they are good ones.
Learning to reason better can improve one’s abilities to problem solve in numerous fields. Logic has applications in writing, science, mathematics, computers, linguistics, and day-to-day reasoning—including about how to live, act, and feel. It can help one become a more effective citizen, with the open-mindedness needed to consider arguments from different perspectives and achieve more nuanced understandings of difficult issues. Logic can help one learn to communicate one’s ideas better, including their justifications, both orally and in writing—thus making one a more thoughtful and effective contributor to many areas of life.
Credit is not given for both PHIL 103 and PHIL 102.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Humanities - Hist & Phil & Quantitative Reasoning II
PHIL 104 – Intro to Ethics-ACP* ~ Bojanowski
Consider the following dialogue: Anton: “Murder is wrong because I don’t like it.” Bert: “That’s false, for I like it.” If the disagreement between Anton and Bert brings out what moral disagreement essentially comes down to, murder would be at best like sweet red wine; disliked by most people but liked by others. There would be nothing objectively wrong with murder. In this course we will see why this account of ethical judgments is fundamentally flawed. Moral judgments are very different from culinary judgments of taste. This will become transparent when we look at some of the most controversial contemporary ethical issues: Should we abandon privacy online in light of our national security? Do we have a moral obligation to help the famine stricken in poor countries? Is it wrong to eat meat? What types of contents are we allowed to share on social media? Is abortion morally permissible? Should people receive high rewards for outstanding performances if these performances depend on their natural advantages? Giving an answer to each of these questions is difficult. Yet it would be inappropriate to simply flip a coin. Instead, we need to come up with a justification for our answer. As humans we can give and ask for reasons and make our actions dependent on them. These reasons can track more than simply our individual preferences. But what exactly do moral reasons track? What do we mean when we judge that an action is morally permissible or impermissible? What do we mean when we judge that a person’s character is good or evil? Is there a fundamental principle that underlies all our moral judgments? What does our life look like if it is governed by this fundamental moral principle? Is livening a morally good life compatible with living a happy life? We are going to engage with these questions by reading some of the philosophical classics (Aristotle, Hume and Kant) as well as contemporary readings.
Course is identical to PHIL 105 except for the additional writing component. Credit is not given for both PHIL 104 and either PHIL 105 or PHIL 106. Prerequisite: Completion of campus Composition I general education requirement.
*This course satisfies the Advanced Composition General Education Requirement*
PHIL 105 – Intro to Ethics ~ Carlson
What does it mean to do the right thing, and how do we know what that is? Why care about it in the first place? In this class, we will explore how the most popular ethical theories, from utilitarianism to deontology, attempt to answer these questions. We will also challenge our own preconceptions and intuitions by looking at specific philosophical debates surrounding controversial issues such as abortion, criminal punishment, and more.
Credit is not given for both PHIL 105 and either PHIL 104 or PHIL 106.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Humanities - Hist & Phil
PHIL 106 - Ethics and Social Policy ~ Jensen
Examination of the moral aspects of social problems, and a survey of ethical principles formulated to validate social policy.
Credit is not given for both PHIL 106 and either PHIL 104 or PHIL 105.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Social & Beh Sci - Soc Sci
PHIL 107 – Intro to Political Philosophy ~ Savonius-Wroth
Is there an alternative to our existing politics? This course begins with a remarkable challenge to immoral politics: we begin with Thomas More’s Utopia of 1516, a classic work which has entered our culture so deeply that its title has become an accepted term for dreams of a better future. Then we trace the later evolution of political philosophy: we study the development of the divide between republicanism and liberalism. Finally we return to More’s challenge and reconsider the relationships between politics and morality, and politics and economy. Should moral principles guide political action—and if so, which principles? Can principles be abandoned in the name of political or economic necessity? Is it always wrong for leaders to lie? Throughout the course, we will be reading short selections from works by major thinkers.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Social & Beh Sci - Soc Sci
PHIL 201 - Philosophy in Literature ~ Rowe
Consideration of the philosophical themes implicit in a variety of important literary works, both classical and modern; may include such authors as Sophocles, Shakespeare, Goethe, Dostoevsky, and Sartre.
PHIL 202 - Symbolic Logic ~ Lee
This course serves as an introduction to the formalization and evaluation of (deductive) arguments. The ability to evaluate arguments and understand the logical connections between statements is an important skill with broad applications. To cultivate this skill, we will study two basic 'artificial' languages: truth-functional logic (or sentential logic) and first-order logic (predicate logic). You will learn how to translate English sentences into sentences in these languages, and how to test arguments for validity using the tools provided by these languages.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Quantitative Reasoning I
PHIL 203 - Ancient Philosophy ~ Biondi
This course is a study of Ancient Greek philosophy. We investigate Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle both to understand their ethics, metaphysics, and epistemologies and also to establish a context for understanding the Cynic and Stoic traditions. Some themes include a) the nature of the individual and its relationship to society; b) how to obtain knowledge, including self-knowledge, knowledge of the natural world, and knowledge of justice; and c) the relationship between philosophical inquiry and the good life.
Same as CLCV 203.This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Humanities - Hist & Phil
PHIL 206 - Early Modern Philosophy ~ Biondi
This course provides an introduction to central themes in several major philosophical figures of the 17th and 18th centuries. We will concentrate on epistemological and metaphysical issues about the underlying nature of the natural world and how we know it, including the scientific turn to explanation as mechanistic explanation and relatedly of the nature of causation. We will also consider the nature of what exists and whether it is material, immaterial, or both, and the problems with each view, with particular emphasis on how to explain the interaction of the mind and the body. The overarching theme of this course is an investigation into the limits of human understanding in our explanations of the natural world as undertaken in primary texts of Descartes, Hobbes, Cavendish, Spinoza, Conway, and Leibniz.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Humanities - Hist & Phil
PHIL 222- Philosophical Foundations of Computer Science ~ Lee
This course provides an introduction to some of the ideas and issues at the intersection of computer science and philosophy. We will focus on foundational questions related to computer science, discuss why philosophers should engage with certain concepts in computer science, explore philosophical issues regarding knowledge and reality that computer scientists might encounter, and contemplate some ethical concerns associated with the rise of artificial intelligence.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Humanities - Hist & Phil
PHIL 223 - Minds and Machines ~ Scharp
This course provides an introduction to the study of minds and their relationship to physical reality. In particular, it will focus on two topics: (i) the relation between minds and bodies, as well as (ii) recent developments in artificial intelligence. Students will learn about influential historical and contemporary theories of mind, including materialism, idealism, dualism, functionalism, computational theories, and connectionist theories. Additional topics in philosophy of mind might include the nature of belief, desire, emotions, will, reason, intelligence, rationality, attention, and consciousness. In addition, we will cover machine learning algorithms that display intelligent behavior like chatGPT. Students will learn about the kinds of algorithms (supervised, unsupervised, reinforcement, …) and the difference between artificial general intelligence and artificial narrow intelligences. Additional topics covered include how to explain language produced by machine learning algorithms and how to use machine learning algorithms to test philosophical theses about the mind, as in the Bayesian Theory of Mind programme. Finally, we discuss the potential for superintelligence, how to control something that is vastly more intelligent than any group of humans, and the suggestion that value alignment is the key to control.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Humanities - Hist & Phil
PHIL 250 - Conceptions of Human Nature ~ Vanderbeek
Comparative examination of important historical and contemporary conceptions of human nature.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Humanities - Hist & Phil
PHIL 307 - Elements of Semantics & Pragmatics ~ Lasersohn
Introduction to the theory of meaning for natural language, including techniques for the description of lexical meaning, compositional determination of phrase and sentence meaning, and pragmatic effects on interpretation in context.
Same as LING 307. See LING 307.
PHIL 380 - Current Controversies 1 ~ Levinstein
In “Computation and Humanity’s Future,” we traverse the intersection of computer science and philosophy to examine the potential implications of advanced computation on the course of human evolution and society. With a primary focus on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and AI alignment, this course explores how our accelerating technological capabilities might redefine the world we inhabit.
Understanding AGI—AI systems that possess the capability to understand, learn, and apply knowledge across a breadth of tasks at least as adeptly as a human—lies at the heart of this exploration. How do we align these potent entities with human values, ensuring their actions result in outcomes beneficial to us?
The course grapples with the inherent complexity and inscrutability of deep learning systems. How can we comprehend and direct systems when their operations elude human understanding? This question invites us to ponder the nature of agency in a world where machines could potentially outpace human cognition.
By looking into the ramifications of AI in policy and governance, the course engages with the societal consequences of rapidly advancing computational capabilities. We also delve into philosophical underpinnings that inform our approach towards AI, including decision theory and moral philosophy.
See Class Schedule for current topics. May be repeated with approval.
PHIL 380 - Current Controversies 2 ~ Kerr
Philosophical examination of positions taken on some issue of current concern, for example, human sexuality, death and dying, feminism, race, intelligence, war, sociobiology, and environmental ethics.
See Class Schedule for current topics. May be repeated with approval.
PHIL 411 - 19th Century Philosophy ~ Leland
The 19th century is a particularly dynamic and influential period in the history of Western philosophy. Prominent philosophical movements of the 20th and 21st centuries – including existentialism, Marxism, phenomenology, and analytic philosophy – originated in the 19th century. This course offers an advanced introduction to some of the most important philosophical writings of this period, including works by Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche, among others.
3 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: One course in philosophy.
PHIL 414 - Major Recent Philosophers ~ Schwenkler
We will read a series of papers by G. E. M. (Elizabeth) Anscombe, a student of Ludwig Wittgenstein who was one of the most important philosophers of the 20th century. The texts will range over metaphysics, the philosophy of mind, ethics, political philosophy, epistemology, and the philosophy of religion.
3 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. May be repeated with approval, if topics vary. Prerequisite: One course in philosophy.
PHIL 421 - Ethical Theories ~ Biondi
What does a good life look like? How do we go about living well? Ethical theories strive to supply meaningful answers to these questions. This course examines a range of theories and charts their continuities and divergences. Themes include the notion of ‘living in accord with nature’, the status of self or individuality in the good life, and the role of politics in ethics. We consider Ancient Greek Ethics, Daoism, Buddhism, Indigenous Ethics, Environmental Ethics, and Care Ethics.
3 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: One course in philosophy.
PHIL 422 - Recent Developments in Ethics ~ Biondi
Specifically titled: The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
The ethical questions presented by Artificial Intelligence touch all areas of life. New technologies challenge assumptions in law, politics, art, journalism, economics, conceptions of human nature, and ethical theory itself. This course pairs philosophy with science fiction and current events to examine three sets of questions about the ethics of AI. First, how does intelligent technology change our understanding of automation, the future of work, and the economy generally? What moral questions does the direction of automation present us today? Second, we consider AI as an existential risk. How should we think about the possibility of AI bringing about the end of humanity? Third, we examine the moral status of AI and other technologies. Should AI be given rights? Does this question push us to reexamine our expectations from a moral theory?
3 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: One course in ethics.
PHIL 424 - Philosophy of Religion ~ Saenz
This course covers issues having to do with what we mean by 'God', whether God exists, whether we can know that God exists, attributes of God, the relationship between religious belief and science, and alternative conceptions of God.
Same as REL 424. 3 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: One course in philosophy.
PHIL 426 - Metaphysics ~ Weaver
The Spring 2024 iteration of PHIL 426 Metaphysics will be an exploration and discussion of the key ideas and debates in contemporary analytic metaphysics including: metaphysical realism about abstract objects, nominalism, fictionalism about abstract objects, the nature of concrete particulars, the existence and nature of propositions, modality, spacetime, laws of nature, causation, persistence, and anti-realism. Assigned readings will come from two sources: (a) a contemporary introduction by a leading metaphysician, and (b) a collection of classic and current (highly influential) papers on each topic.
3 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: One course in philosophy.
PHIL 430 - Theory of Knowledge ~ Leland
This course is an advanced introduction to central questions, concepts, and issues in contemporary epistemology. Reading and discussing influential articles, we will examine topics, such as the following: the nature of knowledge and justification, skepticism, a priori knowledge, the ethics of belief, disagreement, testimony, and epistemic injustice, among others.
3 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: One course in philosophy.
PHIL 443 - Phenomenology ~ Byrne
What is the meaning of our experience? What is consciousness? How should we understand ourselves and the world that we live in? Increasingly, such questions have been tossed aside by philosophers and philosophy. Thinkers today often engage in abstractions, thought experiments, or formal variable manipulations, which have little to do with what matters to us in our lives. This course, in contrast, impels students to return to examine the everyday world of experience. In this class, we will be introduced to the phenomenological method and we will together employ that method to uncover the frequently overlooked enigmatic and rich nature of conscious experience.
3 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: One course in philosophy.
PHIL 454 - Advanced Symbolic Logic ~ Kishida
Completeness, compactness, and Lowenheim-Skolem theorems for first-order logic; incompleteness and undecidability of formal systems; and additional material on proof theory, model theory, or axiomatic set theory as time permits.
3 undergraduate hours. 3 or 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: PHIL 202 or consent of instructor.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for: Quantitative Reasoning II
PHIL 471 - Contemporary Phil of Science ~ Weaver
The Spring 2024 iteration of PHIL 471 Philosophy of Science will be an exploration of the history and foundations of modern cosmology. Starting with the advent of general relativity and relativistic cosmology, the course will survey the early relativistic cosmological models, the key observations that motivated and constrained the space of plausible models including the discovery of the CMBR (inter alia). It will study the development of the standard hot big bang model, the development of the now standard LAMDA-CDM model and so also the inflationary paradigm, dark matter, dark energy, and the various problems of cosmology that come with the standard model (e.g., the initial low entropy problem, the cosmological constant problem, the flatness problem, the cosmological horizons problem, various fine-tuning problems, the anisotropy problem, the missing baryon problem). We will also study various foundational issues (e.g., the existence and nature of singularities, problems of probability measures in cosmology, unique problems of underdetermination in cosmology, the nature of anthropic reasoning, the arrow of time, theories of initial conditions, and philosophical issues surrounding multiverse hypotheses).
3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: One course in philosophy.
PHIL 499 -Capstone Seminar ~ Leland
This course uses philosophical tools to make sense of a range of important phenomena in contemporary American politics and political discourse. We will use recent work in social and political philosophy, epistemology, and philosophy of language to better understand things like political disagreement, polarization, “fake news,” conspiracy theories, truth-defective speech (e.g. lies, misleading assertions, and “bullshit” in the technical sense), hate speech, code words and “dog whistles,” and identity-expressive discourse, among others.
3 undergraduate hours. No graduate credit. Prerequisite: PHIL 202, PHIL 203, PHIL 206, PHIL 222, PHIL 223. Restricted to Philosophy and CS + Philosophy majors with Senior Standing. Philosophy majors (and CS + Philosophy majors matriculated before Fall 2020) are required to have PHIL 202 (or equivalent), PHIL 203, and PHIL 206. CS + Philosophy majors (matriculated after Fall 2020) are required to have PHIL 202 (or equivalent), PHIL 222, and PHIL 223.
PHIL 499 -Capstone Seminar ~ Bojanowski
Capstone course required for all philosophy majors. Students will explore in depth a specific topic either in the history of philosophy or in contemporary practical or theoretical philosophy and will write a substantial original essay appropriate for a senior thesis. Topics will differ by section and semester.
3 undergraduate hours. No graduate credit. Prerequisite: PHIL 202, PHIL 203, PHIL 206, PHIL 222, PHIL 223. Restricted to Philosophy and CS + Philosophy majors with Senior Standing. Philosophy majors (and CS + Philosophy majors matriculated before Fall 2020) are required to have PHIL 202 (or equivalent), PHIL 203, and PHIL 206. CS + Philosophy majors (matriculated after Fall 2020) are required to have PHIL 202 (or equivalent), PHIL 222, and PHIL 223.
PHIL 511 - Seminar Ethical Theory ~ Ben Moshe
What is Conscience?
In this seminar, we will examine the nature of conscience and its normative authority. We will commence by discussing some historical views of conscience--primarily those of Kant, Smith, Nietzsche, and Freud--before moving on to contemporary debates. Among other things, we will discuss conscientious objection in medicine.
Approved for letter and S/U grading. May be repeated. Letter grading applies when offered for 4 hours of credit. For Stage 3 Philosophy PhD students this course is approved for S/U grading when offered for 2 hours of credit. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor for non-philosophy graduate students.
PHIL 513 - Seminar on Philosophy of Logic ~ Livengood
Selected topics in contemporary logical theory.
Approved for letter and S/U grading. May be repeated. Letter grading applies when offered for 4 hours of credit. For Stage 3 Philosophy PhD students this course is approved for S/U grading when offered for 2 hours of credit. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor for non-philosophy graduate students.