Philosophy Course Descriptions
Philosophy 200
- Introduction to Philosophy
Full course for one semester. AnThis course is an introduction to
the central problems and topics of metaphysics, epistemology, and
ethics. Prerequisite: Humanities 110. Conference.
Philosophy 201
- Logic
Full course for one semester. This course is an introduction to the
formal logic of propositions, identity, and quantification,
culminating in an introduction to metalogic and a study of some
alternate and deviant logics. Lecture.
Philosophy 301
- Ancient Philosophy
Full course for one semester. This course is an introduction to
ancient Greek philosophy focusing on the works of Plato and
Aristotle. Prerequisites: Philosophy 200 and 201. Conference. Not
offered 2005-06.
Philosophy 302
- Modern Philosophy
Full course for one semester. This course is an introduction to the
metaphysical and epistemological views of major Modern philosophers
such as Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and
Kant. Prerequisites: Philosophy 200 and 201. Conference. Not
offered 2005-06.
Philosophy 303
- Hellenistic Philosophy
Full course for one semester. This course is an introduction to
Hellenistic philosophy, including skepticism, stoicism, and
Epicurianism. Prerequisites: Philosophy 200 and 201. Conference.
Cross listed as Classics 303. Not Offered 2005-06.
Philosophy 304
- Empiricism: Locke, Berkeley, and Hume
Full course for one semester. This course offers a detailed
examination of the three philosophers at the center of English
empiricism in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries: Locke,
Berkeley, and Hume. Prerequisite: Philosophy 200. Conference.
Philosophy 308
- Post-Kantian Continental Philosophy
Full course for one semester. This course is an examination of the
development of philosophy in Germany following the publication of
Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason in 1781. Figures to be
studied include Kant, Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel. Prerequisites:
Philosophy 200 and 201. Conference.
Philosophy 309
- Existentialism
Full course for one semester. This course is an introduction to
some central topics in modern continental philosophy including
subjective freedom, self-deception, anxiety, and death. Figures to
be studied include Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Sartre. Prerequisites:
Philosophy 200 and 201. Conference. Not offered 2005-06.
Philosophy 310
- Metaphysics
Full course for one semester. This course is a study of the central
topics and problems of metaphysics, including the mind-body
problem, free will and determinism, persistence and change, and the
natures of particulars, properties, time, space modality,
causality, identity, and persons. Prerequisites: Philosophy 200 and
201. Conference.
Philosophy 311
- Epistemology
Full course for one semester. This course is an introduction to the
central topics in the theory of knowledge, including the nature of
knowledge, the nature of epistemic justification, and varieties of
skepticism. Prerequisites: Philosophy 200 and 201. Conference. Not
offered 2005-06.
Philosophy 312
- Ethical Theories
Full course for one semester. This course is an introduction to the
central theories and problems of ethics. Prerequisites: Philosophy
200 and 201. Conference. Not offered 2005-06.
Philosophy 314
- Aesthetics
Full course for one semester. This course is a study of the
principal theories of criticism and taste. Prerequisites:
Philosophy 200 and 201. Conference. Not offered 2005-06.
Philosophy 315
- Philosophy of Language
Full course for one semester. This course is a study of such topics
as truth, reference, meaning, convention, linguistic and
non-linguistic communication, and the relationships between
language, thought, and reality. Prerequisites: Philosophy 200 and
201. Conference. Not offered 2005-06.
Philosophy 317
- Philosophy of Mind
Full course for one semester. This course is a philosophical study
of the mind through the examination of such topics as the mind-body
problem, intentionality, consciousness, first-person authority,
other minds, folk psychology, artificial intelligence, and
connectionism. Among the theories to be examined are dualism,
materialism, behaviorism, the identity theory, functionalism,
emergentism, eliminativism, and dynamical systems theory.
Prerequisites: Philosophy 200 and 201. Conference.
Philosophy 318
- Philosophy of Biology
Full course for one semester. This course is a philosophical study
of such topics as adaptation; units of selection; emergence and
reduction; function and teleology; the status of species and
systematics; evolutionary trends; implications of evolutionary
theory for psychology, culture, epistemology, and ethics; and
social implications of contemporary biology (such as the human
genome project, genetic engineering, and artificial life).
Prerequisites: Philosophy 200 and 201. Conference.
Philosophy 321
- Modal Logic and Metaphysics
Full course for one semester. This course is an introduction to
modal logic, possible-world semantics, and associated philosophical
issues. Prerequisites: Philosophy 200 and 201. Conference. Not
offered 2005-06.
Philosophy 405
- Senior Seminar
Half course for one semester. This course is an intensive study of
selected philosophical problems or works. Primary emphasis is
placed on exercising and developing the skills required for
original and creative work in philosophy. Open to majors with
senior standing, and to others with consent of the instructor.
Discussion.
Philosophy 411
- Advanced Topics in Metaphysics: Modality and Tense
Full course for one semester. This course is a study of the logic
and metaphysics of modality and tense. Prerequisites: Philosophy
310 and 315 or consent of the instructor. Conference.
Philosophy 412
- Advanced Topics in Epistemology
Full course for one semester. This course is an intensive study of
a subject within epistemology. Specific topics vary from year to
year. Prerequisite: Philosophy 311 or consent of the instructor.
Conference. Not offered 2005-06.
Philosophy 413
- Advanced Topics in Ethics: Virtue Ethics
Full course for one semester. We will conduct a detailed
investigation into virtue ethics, beginning with Aristotle’s ethics
but focusing on contemporary developments of virtue ethics.
Prerequisite: a 300-level philosophy course in ethics or ancient
philosophy or consent of the instructor. Conference.
Philosophy 414
- Advanced Topics in Contemporary Philosophy: Reasons
Full course for one semester. We will conduct an investigation of
the nature of reasons for belief, reasons for action, and reasons
for moral conduct, as well as related material on the nature of
practical and theoretical deliberation. Prerequisite: a 300-level
philosophy course of the consent of the instructor. Conference.
Philosophy 415
- Major Figures in Philosophy
Frege
Full course for one semester. This course is a study of Frege’s
work in logic, philosophy of language, and philosophy of
mathematics. Prerequisite: one 300-level course in philosophy.
Conference.
Nietzsche
Full course for one semester. In this course we will examine
Nietzsche's critique of morality in the context 19th century
continental philosophy. We will also consider Nietzsche's views on
truth, psychology, and religion, as well as his doctrines of the
will to power and the eternal recurrence. Prerequisites: a
300-level philosophy course or consent of the instructor.
Conference.
Philosophy 470
- Thesis
Full course for one year.
Philosophy 481
- Individual Work in Special Fields
One-half or full course for one year. Prerequisite: approval of
instructor and division.
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