Spring 2018

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)

Explores philosophical treatments of the problem of the meaning or purpose of human life. (Duplicates credit in former PHIL 155)

How does science differ from pseudo-science? When is it rational to accept a scientific theory? And do such theories provide genuine knowledge of reality?

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

Key works that have shaped the European and American cultural inheritance, with a special focus on the nature of love.

Major figures in the history of Western philosophical thought from the presocratics to the Hellenistic period; emphasis on Plato and Aristotle.

Examination of problems in metaphysics and/or epistemology. Conducted at the intermediate level.

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

Main philosophers and movements from 1900, including the major developments within phenomenology and existentialism, the emergence of structuralism and hermeneutics.

A systematic presentation of the main philosophical perspectives on the interactions between law and the social-political aspects of our lives.

An historical and critical study of the great moral philosophers, including Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Kant, and the British moralists.

Systematic study of the metatheory of quantificational logic, with applications to questions of decidability and completeness of formal systems, including Godel's Incompleteness Theorems.

Systematic introduction to basic concepts, including identity, difference, existence, individuals, substance, quality, and relation; emphasis on idealism, materialism, and the ontology of intentionality.

The nature of communication, meaning, reference, truth, necessity, speech acts, convention, and language.

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.

Contemporary philosophical issues and literature.

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

Problems in research in selected portions of modern philosophy.

Advanced literature on selected topics in social and political philosophy, including the nature of law, man, and society; ideals such as justice and freedom.

Advanced topics and literature in ethical theory.

Advanced topics in logic and/or philosophy of logic.

Advanced topics in the philosophy of science.

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.

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.