Fall 2017

Explores questions about human beings and their place in nature, including questions about knowledge, mind and body, freedom and determinism, and the existence of God.

Techniques for constructing good arguments and for assessing and criticizing the arguments of others. (Duplicates credit in former PHIL 250a)

Techniques for constructing good arguments and for assessing and criticizing the arguments of others. (Duplicates credit in former PHIL 250b)

Exploration of basic questions about the nature of reality. Topics may include personal identity, freedom and determinism, causation and laws of nature.

Critical study of controversial social issues such as abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, war and terrorism, sexual morality, affirmative action, and economic justice.

Explores the nature of justice, and how apparently conflicting ideals, such as freedom and equality, are to be balanced within a just society.

What is time? What is the difference between past, present and future? Is time-travel possible? And what paradoxes might it give rise to?

Explores various conceptions of morality and what makes actions right or wrong, together with the implications of these views for concrete ethical issues.

The development of philosophy from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries; emphasis on Continental Rationalism, British Empiricism, and the philosophy of Kant.

Introduction to basic techniques of propositional and quantificational logic, and elements of probability. Especially useful to philosophy, mathematics, science, and engineering majors.

Detailed study of the evolution of Plato's thought as revealed in selected dialogues. Prerequisite: two courses in philosophy.

Development of philosophy on the continent from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries; emphasis on the philosophical works of Descartes, Leibniz, and Spinoza.

Philosophical theories about the nature of law, relations between law and morality, and analysis of normative concepts central to law, such as responsibility, punishment, negligence.

The nature of man and society, the nature and justification of state and government, political rights and political obligation, justice and equality.

Ethical theories in the 20th century; contemporary theories of value and obligation; metaethical theories; intuitionism, naturalism, and non-cognitivism; concepts of justice, human right, and freedom.

Principal theories of the nature of, and response to, art; examination of form and content in various arts; consideration of the role of criticism.

Elements of propositional and quantified modal logic and the logic of counterfactual conditionals with an eye to some of their applications in contemporary philosophy. Prerequisites: PHIL 350, or PHIL 351, or PHIL 352.

Systematic investigation of action, the mental states involved in action, the reasoning processes that lead to action, and related concepts including intentionality and free will.

The nature of mathematical truth and the nature of mathematical entities.

Individual research and readings. Not available for graduate credit.

Independent studies for philosophy majors, and guidance in the preparation of the senior thesis for students who wish to graduate with honors in philosophy. Not open to graduate students.

Analysis of selected philosophical problems and theses of current interest; explication of major contemporary papers and/or books is emphasized.

Contemporary philosophical issues and literature.

Theories of the nature of law; emphasis on recent writing; legal concepts such as rights, powers, liability, legal responsibility, law, and morality.

Advanced topics in metaphysics.

Philosophical issues in the empirical study of language concerning the relationship between linguistic meaning and the use of sentences to assert and convey information.

Research leading to the master's degree. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department. Graded CR/NC.

Basic principles of philosophical pedagogy, with emphasis on practical applications and the importance of career-long skill development. Required for first-semester teaching assistants in philosophy.

Credit on acceptance of Thesis. Graded IP/CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Thesis. Graded IP/CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Thesis. Graded IP/CR/NC.

A focused environment in which to present and evaluate dissertation work-in-progress. Focus on peer and faculty feedback, developing professional presentation skills, improving critical communication skills. Graded CR/NC. Open only to Philosophy doctoral students.

Research leading to the doctorate. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the department. Graded CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.

Credit on acceptance of Dissertation. Graded IP/CR/NC.