Fall Courses 2008
http://courses.uiuc.edu/cis/schedule/urbana/2008/Fall/PHIL/index.html
PHIL 101 – INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY (Melnick, A.; Steinberg, J.; Schaaf, E.; Harper, A.; Fagan, T.)
PHIL 101 – INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY – UNIT ONE (Estrada, D.)
PHIL 102 – LOGIC AND REASONING (Weinberg, S.; Steinberg, J.; Shea, B.)
PHIL 103 – LOGIC AND REASONING – QR II (Wengert, R.)
PHIL 104 – INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS – ACP – TRANSITION PROGRAM (Revelins, A.)
PHIL 105 – INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS (Sussman, D.; Steinberg, J.; Albrecht, I.; Plebuch, U.)
PHIL 105 – INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS – JAMES SCHOLARS PROGRAM (Thomason, K.)
PHIL 107 - INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY (Waskan, J.)
PHIL 108 – RELIGION & SOCIETY IN WEST I (SAME AS RLST 110 – SEE RLST) (Rosenstock, B.)
PHIL 110 – WORLD RELIGIONS (SAME AS RLST 110 – SEE RLST) (Thibert, J.)
PHIL 191 – FRESHMAN HONORS TUTORIAL (IND – ARR)
PHIL 199 – UNDERGRADUATE OPEN SEMINAR (IND – ARR)
PHIL 202 – SYMBOLIC LOGIC (Roth, M.)
PHIL 203 – ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY (Sanders, K.)
PHIL 206 – EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY (Weinberg, S.)
PHIL 210 – ETHICS (Rukgaber, M.)
PHIL 230 – PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION INTRO (SAME AS RLST 230 – SEE RLST) (McKim, R.)
PHIL 270 – PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE (Maher, P.)
PHIL 316 – ENGINEERING ETHICS (SAME AS ECE 316 – SEE ECE) (Hillmer, P.)
PHIL 325 - RECENT EUROPEAN PHILOSOPHY (Himmelmann, B.) - TOPIC: NIETZSCHE, HEIDEGGER, HABERMAS
PHIL 356 – EVOLUTION OF MIND (SAME AS PSYC 356 – SEE PSYC) (Cummins, R. & D.)
PHIL 380 – CURRENT CONTROVERSIES (MEETS WITH LAW 792, SECTION: B1, CRN: 52187) (Hurd, H.) - TOPIC: LAW AND PHILOSOPHY
PHIL 390 – INDIVIDUAL STUDY (IND – ARR)
PHIL 412 – CLASSICAL MODERN PHILOSOPHERS (Schroeder, W.) - TOPIC: NIETZSCHE
PHIL 412 – CLASSICAL MODERN PHILOSOPHERS (Melnick, A.) - TOPIC: KANT
PHIL 419 – SPACE, TIME, AND MATTER – ACP (SAME AS PHYS 419 – SEE PHYS) (Weissman, M.)
PHIL 420 – SPACE, TIME, AND MATTER (SAME AS PHYS 420 – SEE PHYS) (Weissman, M.)
PHIL 421 – ETHICAL THEORIES (Sussman, D.)
PHIL 426 – METAPHYSICS (Korman, D.)
PHIL 430 – THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE (Roth, M.)
PHIL 433 – EVOLUTIONARY NEUROSCIENCE (SAME AS PSYC 433, NEUR 433 – SEE PSYC) (Rhodes, J.)
PHIL 453 – FORMAL LOGIC AND PHILOSOPHY (Wengert, R.)
PHIL 471 – CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE (Maher, P.)
PHIL 477 - PHILOSOPHY OF PSYCHOLOGY (SAME AS PSYC 477) (Waskan, J.)
PHIL 492 – THESIS (IND – ARR)
PHIL 511 – SEMINAR ON ETHICAL THEORY (Moore, M.) - TOPIC: INTENTION AND RESPONSIBILITY
PHIL 513 – SEMINAR ON PHILOSOPHY OF LOGIC (McCarthy, T.) - TOPIC: WHAT IS LOGIC?
PHIL 521 – SEMINAR ON CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS (Korman, D.) - TOPIC: DISSERTATION SEMINAR
PHIL 521 - SEMINAR ON CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS (Himmelmann, B.) - TOPIC: HAPPINESS
PHIL 525 – SEMINAR ON PHILOSOPHY OF MIND (Cummins, R.) - TOPIC: INNATENESS (NATIVISM)
PHIL 583 – INDIVIDUAL TOPICS (IND – ARR)
PHIL 590 – DIRECTED RESEARCH (IND – ARR)
PHIL 599 – THESIS RESEARCH (IND – ARR)
GENERAL DESCRIPTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY 101, 102, AND 105
*PHIL 101 - INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHOY 3 hours
This course provides a general introduction to philosophy through the study of examples of philosophical writings by representative figures in the history of the subject. Although the specific content of the course varies from section to section, any section may be expected to provide useful background for most of our advanced courses. It is also a good course for a person who wishes to take only one course in philosophy.
*PHIL 102 – LOGIC AND REASONING 3 hours
Philosophy 102 is an introduction to reasoning. While there may be some variations among sections – perhaps a different text, perhaps a different selection of examples – they will all be courses in informal logic, stressing practical problems and methods. The course is intended to help the student learn to follow and analyze other people’s arguments (e.g., in editorials, textbooks, and legal cases). It should also improve the student’s ability to develop, present, and defend his or her own arguments. In the course of the semester, the student will be introduced to some of the basic laws of reasoning, and also to some of the most common fallacies which occur in reasoning. Less emphasis will be placed on the theory of logic, however, than on working through and learning to deal with actual examples involving reasoning.
*PHIL 105 – INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS 3 hours
This course examines the ways that selected ethical theories or conceptions of morality help or hinder the rational discussion of concrete moral issues and problems. Typically, the moral issues discussed are those that arise in connection with topics such as sexual conduct, the taking of human life, abortion, just punishment, civil disobedience, and distributive justice (how benefits and burdens should be shared in a community).
In discussing issues of this sort, students will encounter philosophical topics such as freedom, justice, the nature of community, rights, what a person is, the nature of responsibility, and the relation of law and morality. Among the ethical theories considered are various versions of contractarianism, utilitarianism, and the natural law ethics.
*SEE COURSE SCHEDULE FOR TIMES AND MEETING LOCATIONS OF ALL SECTIONS.
PHIL 101 – INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY 3 hours
51406 BL1 1:00 – 1:50 M W 180 BEV MELNICK, A.
We will read three classical works in the history of philosophy. First we will read Plato’s Republic to consider such issues as what the good life or the happy life is for a human being, what morality is, and what the best sort of political society is. Then we will read Descartes’ Meditations and consider what the mind is, how it relates to the body, and whether the mind can be understood scientifically or not. Finally we will read Hume’s Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion to consider what the basis of religious belief is, and whether the world is due to intelligent design. The assignment for the course is three take-home short essay exams (5 pages each) with no further mid-term or final.
PHIL 103 – LOGIC AND REASONING – QR II 3 hours
32678 AL1 9:00 – 9:50 M W 160 EB WENGERT, R.
Students may not receive credit for both Philosophy 103 and 102.
An introductory logic course that concentrates on investigating how the formal mathematical structure of statements, as well as the structure of the relationships among such statements, reveals the logical force of arguments that we use everyday. Philosophy 102 takes a less formal, less mathematical approach to the same material. This course satisfies the Quantitative Reasoning II requirement.
There will be a large number of exercises, mostly done on-line using the iLrn system which is provided as a service with the text book. There will be an in-class midterm, and a final examination; these exams will not be on-line.
Text: Hurley, A Concise Introduction to Logic, 10th edition, Wadsworth, Thomson, 2008.
Note: You may either buy the text, which includes the on-line access card, or just purchase the on-line access card and read the on-line pdf version of the text.
EITHER:
ISBN: 0495503835: A Concise Introduction to Logic, 10th edition (includes CengageNow Access Card)
OR
ISBN: 0495504432: CengageNow Instant Access Code for Hurley’s A Concise Introduction to Logic Either of these may be purchased on-line at http://www.ichapters.com
Grading:
Homework: 40%
Midterm 20%
Final 30%
Discussion Participation: 10%
Pluses and minuses will NOT be used in grading.
PHIL 107 - INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY 3 hours
52102 A 3:30 – 4:50 T R FMS WASKAN, J.
In this course we will debate the merits of classic works in the history of Western political philosophy, including the seminal writings of Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Hegel, Mill, and Marx. Their proposals regarding human nature, the purpose of the state, the ideal state, justice, and human rights have left an indelible mark on the course of human events. Also leaving their mark are the ideas expressed in the works of Islamic fundamentalists such as al-Afghani, Maududi, Qutb, and bin Laden. We will discuss many of these ideas as well and explore their historical and philosophical roots. Grades will be largely based upon three in-class exams and in-class participation.
PHIL 202 – SYMBOLIC LOGIC 3 hours
30618 A 3:00 – 4:20 M W 317 GH ROTH, M.
Logic is the science of valid inference, and in this course we will develop formal methods for doing this science. Part of the enterprise involves specifying the syntax and semantics of an artificial language and articulating rules that govern inferences using that language. Because much of the practical interest in studying symbolic logic stems from our ability to translate arguments in ordinary language into this artificial language, we will spend a good deal of time considering how claims of English can be captured in this language.
Grades will be based on a student’s performance on homework assignments, quizzes, and two exams. The text for the course is The Logic Book (with student solutions CD-ROM), 4th edition, edited by Merrie Bergmann, James Moor, and Jack Nelson.
This course satisfies the General Education Criteria for a Quantitative Reasoning I course.
PHIL 203 – ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY 4 hours
30620 A 11:00 – 12:20 T R 119 MSEB SANDERS, K.
This course is an introduction to philosophy in ancient Greece. We shall concentrate on three figures in particular: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Our primary goal is to develop a critical understanding of their respective approaches to, and arguments regarding, a variety of philosophical issues in metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics.
Assignments: There will be one in-class midterm and a final exam. As part of each, a take-home essay question will be distributed one week in advance of the exam. The resulting take-home essay (roughly 3-4 pages in length) will be due on the day of the exam itself.
In addition, each student will be required to submit a one-page (typed or word-processed) discussion paper on a topic related to the assigned readings every other week for the duration of the course.
Required texts:
Plato: Five Dialogues (2nd ed.; trans. Grube) Hackett Publishing
Plato: Protagoras (trans. Jowett, rev. Ostwald) Prentice Hall
Plato: Gorgias (trans. Zeyl) Hackett Publishing
Plato: Republic (2nd ed.; trans. Grube, rev. Reeve) Hackett Publishing A New Aristotle Reader (ed. Ackrill) Princeton University Press
PHIL 206 – EARLY MODERN PHILOSOPHY 4 hours
30623 A 1:00 – 1:50 M W F 114 TB WEINBERG, S.
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, including the scientific turn to mechanistic explanation, the nature of ideas, the role of reason and the senses in knowledge, the nature of substance and the self, and the question of freedom. The overarching theme of this course is an investigation into the limits of human understanding as undertaken in primary texts of Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Kant. Course requirements will include three written assignments.
PHIL 210 – ETHICS 3 hours
45629 A 2:00 – 3:20 T R G30 FLB RUKGABER, M.
We will begin by investigating the relationship between religion and morality. After reading the classic arguments against the dependence of morality on religion, we will read some attempts by some religious thinkers to find a distinctly religious element in moral experience and the concept of a person. We will then briefly survey the main moral systems (secular and religious) through both original texts and modern summaries. The main portion of this class will be devoted to readings by classic philosophers, theologians and religious leaders, feminists, and modern moral philosophers on applied issues, selected from and hopefully including most of the following: civil disobedience, capital punishment, pornography, sexism and racism, gun control, world hunger, war, terrorism, pacifism, abortion, euthanasia, sex and marriage, medical care, aging and disability, pain and suffering, animal rights, corporate responsibility, the environment, and population control. Weekly and extensive use of electronic reserves and Compass. Regular, online assignments to improve your reading comprehension and writing skills. Assignments will be both essay and test format.
PHIL 230 – PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION INTRO 3 hours
(SAME AS RLST 230)
34784 A 3:30 – 4:50 T R FLB REQUEST McKIM, R.
This introductory course will provide a survey of some classical and contemporary issues and topics in philosophy of religion. We will consider (a) some classical arguments for and against God's existence, (b) whether it is reasonable to believe that we have souls and whether we might survive death, (c) whether there are criteria in accordance with which the religions of the world may reasonably be compared and evaluated, (d) the significance of religious diversity, (e) the relationship between faith and reason, (f) the relationship between religion and morality, and related topics.
Written Requirements: (1) A series of short essays, usually one each week. These will generally be on the topic we are dealing with in the class meeting at which they are to be submitted. These short assignments should be at least 1 page long (typed); it is a course requirement that these are handed in at the start of the class session at which they are due. Part of their purpose is to ensure that we all do the assigned readings on time. Students may occasionally be asked to read their short assignment in class. (2) A longer paper. (5 pages, typed, single spaced, Times 12 font); unless you submit the paper electronically, please submit two printed copies of the paper: I will keep one for my records; paper topics will be assigned in class; if you wish to write on a topic that has not been assigned, you must have the approval of the instructor. Submission of the paper as an e-mail attachment is invited. (3) A short test. And (4) a final exam during final exam week.
PHIL 270 – PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE 3 hours
43826 A 10:00 – 10:50 M W F ITS REQUEST MAHER, P.
Philosophy of science is the study of the nature of science and scientific reasoning. This course introduces these issues via a selective historical survey of both science and philosophy of science from ancient Greece to the twentieth century. One focus of the course is to compare philosophers' theories of scientific reasoning with the arguments that famous scientists have used. The authors covered are Thales (philosophy and science are generally counted as beginning with him), Euclid (his geometry served as a model of science for 2000 years), Plato, Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Bacon, Descartes, Newton, Hume, Laplace, Darwin, Mill, Popper, Carnap, and Kuhn. Lecture notes will be online and no textbook is required. Grades will be determined by three 50-minute short-answer exams and an essay.
PHIL 316 – ENGINEERING ETHICS 3 hours
(SAME AS ECE 316)
36877 E2 9:00 – 10:20 T R 170 EVRT HILLMER, P.
36880 E3 11:00 – 12:20 T R 329 GH HILLMER, P.
A study of the fundamental structure of human personhood, the grounding of moral action, and the development of moral character as the precondition of integral performance in a profession. Ethical issues in the practice of engineering: safety and liability, professional responsibility to clients and employers, legal obligations, codes of ethics, whistle-blowing, career choice, case studies.
The course fulfills credit as an upperdivision class in Advanced Composition, for which the University of Illinois requires twenty to thirty pages of revised writing as a minimum standard. In order to fulfill this requirement, each member of the class will write and revise three Response Papers (an article analysis of three pages, a case study of three pages, and a paper on normative ethical theories of five pages in length), a Research Paper (of twelve pages or more in length), and a Personal Statement (of two pages) reflecting on one’s life work and career. All members of the course will also give a ten-minute presentation of their research project in class at the end of the semester. The research paper and in-class presentation function together as the final examination for the course.
The required readings for the Advanced Composition component of the course will include the seventh edition of Turabian, A Manual for Writers by Turabian (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007), and selected portions from previous editions of Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace by Williams, now in its ninth edition (1981–2007). As a course in Philosophical and Applied Ethics, the primary textbook will be the fourth edition of Engineering Ethics: Concepts and Cases by Harris, Pritchard, and Rabins (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2009), together with a set of additional readings in normative ethical theory and applied ethics.
PHIL 325 - RECENT EUROPEAN PHILOSOPHY 3 hours
TOPIC: NIETZSCHE, HEIDEGGER, HABERMAS
52282 A 12:30 – 1:50 T R FMS HIMMELMANN, B.
We will treat some of the major figures in recent European philosophy. Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Habermas still have a great influence on philosophical discussion in Europe. We will read selected passages of some of their most important writings, thus dealing with central aspects of philosophical anthropology, phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. The work of Habermas also includes features of pragmatism and, lately, an interesting discussion of the role of religion in the modern, “post-metaphysical” world.
PHIL 356 – EVOLUTION OF MIND 3 hours
(SAME AS PSYC 356)
49675 RDC 11:00 – 11:50 M W F 23 PSYC CUMMINS, R. & D.
The interpretation of human thought and behavior through the lens of evolutionary theory. Topics include the nature/nurture debate concerning cognitive and other mental capacities and traits, and the interaction between evolution, learning and development.
The goal for the student in this course is to inform their understanding of human behavior (particularly behavior that appears irrational) by examining how evolution has shaped the mind. This is intended to enhance students' understanding and awareness of who we are and why we behave the way we do. To put it in more colorful terms offered by one evolutionary scientist: Imagine what would happen at a fictional dinner with the likes of Charles Darwin, Adam Smith, David Hume, and Friedrich Nietzsche debating and revising their views in the light of today's science.
PHIL 380 – CURRENT CONTROVERSIES 3 hours
(MEETS WITH LAW 792, SECTION: B1, CRN: 52187)
TOPIC: LAW AND PHILOSOPHY
43033 A 2:00 – 3:20 M W 223 GH HURD, H.
The November 2008 elections have galvanized debates by politicians and voters alike about the values that ought to guide national policy making and the goals that those in the White House and in the nation’s statehouses ought to be pursuing. Republicans are wrestling over what it means to be a “conservative,” and rhetoric abounds by those worrying that candidates will “pull the party to the left” or “pander to the core." Democrats are righteously insisting on universal health care while struggling to propose how such a costly basic good could be afforded for all without employing traditional market tactics that have long been the tools of choice by Republicans. Behind the often inflated rhetoric and unseemly wrangling of those seeking political position within this year’s elections, however, are timeless and powerfully compelling schools of thought about the responsibilities of the state and the limits of its just power. In this course we will study the distinct political philosophies that are finding expression in the contemporary debates of the day. We will work our way from the philosophical libertarianism that defines the core views of many Republicans and independents, through the various versions of political liberalism that motivate committed Democrats and other independents, to the political perfectionism that underwrites self-described social conservatives, and finally, we will close with bold challenges from self-described egalitarians and feminists who are convinced that neither liberalism nor the various schools of conservatism adequately capture the true obligations of a just state.
PHIL 412 – CLASSICAL MODERN PHILOSOPHERS 3 undergraduate hours, 4 graduate hours
TOPIC: NIETZSCHE
39418/39419 U3/G4 12:30 – 1:50 T R 329 GH SCHROEDER, W.
This course will offer an interpretation of Nietzsche's critical and constructive ethical theory, encourage critical thinking about Nietzsche's positions, and develop some implications of his views for contemporary philosophical ethics. I hope to capture both the spirit and sweep of Nietzsche's ethical thought as well as its complexities and subtleties. The main topics will be: Nietzsche’s general theory of value, his favored virtues, his theory of self-perfection, his theory of culture and politics, his method of revaluation and its results, his critique of “morality”, and his moral psychology. The arguments and rationale he offers to support his views will receive special attention, and various paradoxes and problems indicated by commentators will be addressed. We will examine both his critique of existing moral codes and classical ethical positions and his positive steps toward a new ethic.
The course will treat his early works will the same care as his later, "mature" works because the early works make dramatic contributions to his overall thinking in this area. Some books or essays, such as Thus Spoke Zarathustra and Schopenhauer as Educator, will receive more extended treatment because they focus primarily on our topic. The topic is sufficiently limited that students should be able to carefully examine most of the relevant passages from all the published works and thus should be able to achieve a fine-grained comprehension of Nietzsche's ideas (an extremely difficult task even for one area of Nietzsche’s thought). The course will thus focus on reading Nietzsche carefully, not on secondary sources. This is a reading-intensive course; students who enroll should be prepared to read a substantial number of pages each week.
Requirements will include a term paper chosen from a selected list of topics, a cumulative final exam, and an early mid-term assignment. The course will be primarily a lecture course, though there will some opportunities for class discussion. Pre-requisite: one course in philosophy.
PHIL 412 – CLASSICAL MODERN PHILOSOPHERS 3 undergraduate hours, 4 graduate hours
TOPIC: KANT
46646/46647 S3/S4 12:00 – 12:50 M W F 329 GH MELNICK, A.
We will read Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason and discuss his revolutionary views on the nature of space and time and the structure of human cognition. We will also consider his method for doing metaphysics, his conception of what he calls transcendental idealism, his defense of causation against Hume’s skepticism, and his defense of the existence of the external world in space against Cartesian skepticism. If there is time we will discuss his accounts of freedom and morality. As a secondary source we will read the articles collected by Guyer in The Cambridge Companion to Kant and Modern Philosophy. The assignment for the course will be two 8-10 page papers on selected topics for undergraduates, and a 20 page term paper for graduates. A course in the history of modern philosophy before Kant is extremely helpful but not an absolute prerequisite.
PHIL 421 – ETHICAL THEORIES 3 undergraduate hours, 4 graduate hours
30658/40630 U3/G4 2:00 – 3:20 T R 327 GH SUSSMAN, D.
This course will examine several accounts of the relationship between morality, happiness, and human nature. What is the connection between living morally and leading a happy or good human life? Is morality a distinctive rational concern that competes with self-interest, or is morality really just an aspect of self-interest, properly understood? We will also consider whether there is anything that is morally important other than the promotion of happiness and the prevention of misery. If morality demands that we do something that makes no one any better off, how could it ever be rational to follow it?
Our primary readings will be drawn from Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Hobbes’ Leviathan, Hume’s Treatise of Human Nature, Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, and John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism.
Requirements: 3 papers and a final exam.
PHIL 426 – METAPHYSICS 3 undergraduate hours, 4 graduate hours
30661/40632 U3/G4 9:30 – 10:50 T R 329 GH KORMAN, D.
Topics covered will include possibility and possible worlds, essential properties, natural kinds, the reduction of the mental to the physical, and the intersection of metaphysics with epistemology and philosophy of language. The primary text for the course will be Saul Kripke's Naming and Necessity.
PHIL 430 – THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE 3 undergraduate hours, 4 graduate hours
30664/40634 U3/G4 9:30 – 10:50 M W 329 GH ROTH, M.
This course is about the conditions under which somebody can be properly said to know something. While it is generally agreed that knowledge requires true belief, it is also thought that something else needs to be added to true belief to yield knowledge—justification. However, there is much disagreement over what this is or whether it is required. For example, suppose perception is a reliable belief forming process, where reliability is understood in terms of producing largely true beliefs. Would that be sufficient to convert true perceptual belief into knowledge, i.e., would that constitute ‘justification’? What if the perceiver is unaware that these belief forming mechanisms are reliable? Must the perceiver have good reasons for thinking her perceptual beliefs are reliably formed in order for those beliefs to be justified, reasons that are in some sense ‘internal’ to her? If so, is justification required for knowledge? Also, under what conditions are reasons good reasons? Connected to this last question is the issue of whether our justification is ever good enough to rule out certain skeptical hypotheses, and if not, whether we can know anything at all. Finally, it is often held that there are two different sources of justification: ‘a priori’ and ‘a posteriori.’ We will examine what the difference is supposed to be and whether such a difference exists.
Grades will be based on a student’s performance in class discussion, short writing assignments, and two papers (6-8 pages each). The primary texts for the course are Keith Lehrer’s Theory of Knowledge, 2nd edition, and Contemporary Debates in Epistemology, edited by Ernest Sosa and Matthias Steup.
Prerequisite: One course in philosophy.
PHIL 453 - FORMAL LOGIC AND PHILOSOPHY
3 undergraduate hours, 4 graduate hours: 46663/46664 (U3/G4)
11:00 - 11:50 MWF Room to be announced
WENGERT, R.
The topic for this course has been recently changed.(06/04/2008)
This semester the course will be a detailed study of the famous incompleteness theorems proven by Kurt Gödel.
Peter Smith has written a recent text, An introduction to Gödel's Theorems, that combines formal rigor with accessible explanations of the formal details as well as of the philosophical implications of Gödel's famous results. Previous books on the topic have typically either been too elementary, or too bristlingly difficult. I believe, and hope students will agree, that Smith has achieved a nice balance. The course will involve a close reading and discussion of Smith's text.
Topics to be covered include: effective computability (algorithms) and formal attempts to capture the notion, formal systems and what truths they cannot prove, why reasonable formal systems will always miss some arithmetical truths, Gödel's famous encoding (numbering) of formulas, diagonal arguments, Gödel's two famous theorems, Turing machines, the Church-Turing Thesis, and what Gödel's and Turing's results do not prove.
It is assumed that students have already taken an introductory course in symbolic logic, comparable to our PHIL 202. It would be unwise to take this course without such a background.
There will be regularly required on-line exercises over the semeste and a final examination. Class participation will also contribute to one's final grade.
TEXT: An introduction to Gödel's Theorems by Peter Smith, paperback, Cambridge University Press, 2007.
--The book can be bought for $26.99 on Amazon.
PHIL 471 – CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE 3 undergraduate hours, 4 graduate hours
30667/46665 U3/G4 1:00 – 1:50 M W F ITS REQUEST MAHER, P.
This course will discuss some of the best recent philosophical accounts of scientific laws, causation, explanation, theories, probability, and confirmation. Works discussed include Marc Lange's Natural Laws in Scientific Practice (Oxford 2000), James Woodward's Making Things Happen (Oxford 2003), David Lewis's "How to Define Theoretical Terms" (1970), and my "Confirmation Theory" (2006). Lecture notes will be online and no textbook is required. Grades will be determined by quizzes and three short-answer exams; graduate students also write an essay.
PHIL 477 - PHILOSOPHY OF PSYCHOLOGY 3 undergraduate hours, 4 graduate hours
(SAME AS PSYC 477)
52098/52099 U3/G4 11:00 – 12:20 T R ITS REQUEST WASKAN, J.
When science (as we know it) burst onto the intellectual scene in the 17th century, some speculated that a viable science of psychology would soon follow. It has, however, taken centuries, and many missteps, for something resembling this description to emerge. The current state of the art is a broad-ranging, somewhat factional interdisciplinary endeavor known as cognitive science. Over these centuries of effort, questions such as the following would have to be answered: Should the science of psychology focus on the study of conscious experience, mental states, behavior, neural mechanisms, cognitive mechanisms, or body/world interactions? Should its goal be the formulation of laws, the control of behavior, the control of mental states, the creation of artificial minds, models of mechanisms, or something else entirely? Are there facts about the mind that lie forever beyond the reach of science? Is it possible that science might refute our common-sense conception of ourselves (e.g., the proposal that beliefs and desires cause actions)? Is mainstream cognitive science so flawed as to mandate the search for an alternative? We will explore the past, present, and future of cognitive science by discussing and debating answers found to these questions in the works of prominent philosophers and scientists (e.g., Hobbes, Brentano, Tichener, Skinner, Turning, Chomsky, Newell & Simon, Searle, Dennett, Churchland, Cummins, and Noë). We will also utilize several pieces of (very user-friendly) software that will provide hands-on knowledge of key ideologies. Grades will be based upon a few software assignments, some very short essays, and a longer final essay (7-10 pages for undergraduates, ~15 pages for graduate students).
PHIL 511 – SEMINAR ON ETHICAL THEORY 2 to 4 graduate hours
TOPIC: INTENTION AND RESPONSIBILITY
39428 MM 4:00 – 5:50 T 402 GH MOORE, M.
The seminar will examine the topic of intention and responsibility. We will start by examining the roles of intention: (1) in marking serious moral culpability; (2) in marking the boundary of the permissibility of consequentialist justification on an agent relative ethics; and (3) in serving as the touchstone for change in normative powers, as in consent. The aim of the first half of the seminar is to isolate the demands placed on the concept of intention by these moral roles. The second half of the seminar will examine whether intention has a nature sufficient to meet these demands. This is a matter of the philosophy of mind, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience. We will examine the functional specification of intention, its likely structural realization(s) in the brain, its causal efficacy in initiating and directing voluntary motor movements, and the problem of content ascription to Intentional states like intentions.
PHIL 513 – SEMINAR ON PHILOSOPHY OF LOGIC 2 to 4 graduate hours
TOPIC: WHAT IS LOGIC?
52066 TGM 3:00 – 4:50 M 402 GH McCARTHY, T.
This seminar will focus on semantical, epistemological and metaphysical issues concerning the nature of logic. Some questions we will look at are these: What is logical consequence? What is logical truth? Are there logical concepts and, if so, which concepts are logical? In particular, is identity a logical concept? Is existence? Is necessity? What is a "logical constant"? What is the connection between the concept of a logical constant and the concept of logical consequence? What's so special about classical logic? Can there be alternative logics? Is there such a thing as incompatibility between logics? Is modal logic logic? Is second-order logic logic? Is mathematics logic? Are logical truths a priori? Are logical truths necessary? What is the connection between the concepts of logic and structure?
Here is a partial list of sources (limited to books): McGinn, Logical Concepts; Etchemendy, The Concept of Logical Consequence; Sher, The Bounds of Logic; Dummett, The Logical Basis of Metaphysics; Quine, Philosophy of Logic.
PHIL 521 – SEMINAR ON CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS 2 to 4 graduate hours
TOPIC: DISSERTATION SEMINAR
39430 DK 4:00 – 5:50 R 402 GH KORMAN, D.
Ongoing dissertation seminar required for all students who have passed the prelim requirement.
PHIL 521 – SEMINAR ON CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS 2 to 4 graduate hours
TOPIC: HAPPINESS
39429 BH 6:30 – 8:20 R 402 GH HIMMELMANN, B.
There is a notorious indeterminateness connected with the idea of happiness. What are we talking about? What kind of fulfilment is meant when we consider happiness? Are there any ‘objective’ criteria by means of which we can assess what we call happiness, or is it correct to say that only subjective evaluations are possible? To what extent is happiness founded on a person’s own plans and efforts? To what degree does it depend on factors beyond our influence – on luck, on contingencies of any sort? Another problem which has been discussed frequently is the relation between happiness and morality. Does the immoral person deserve to be well off? Some philosophers, especially in antiquity, have argued that only a moral life can be a truly happy life.
Along these lines we will discuss classic as well as contemporary texts (from Aristotle, Epicurus, Seneca, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Hobbes, Joseph Butler, David Hume, Jeremy Bentham, Immanuel Kant, Arthur Schopenhauer, John Stuart Mill, Henry Sidgwick, Friedrich Nietzsche, Julia Annas, Wayne Davis, Daniel Haybron, John Kekes, Richard Kraut, Robert Nozick, Wladyslaw Tatarkiewicz, and Richard Taylor). These readings are to be found in a volume recently published by Oxford University Press (Steven M. Cahn / Christine Vitrano (ed.), Happiness: Classic and Contemporary Readings in Philosophy, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007).
PHIL 525 – SEMINAR ON PHILOSOPHY OF MIND 2 to 4 graduate hours
TOPIC: INNATENESS (NATIVISM)
30669 RC 3:00 – 4:50 W 402 GH CUMMINS, R.
Texts: Various papers and book chapters to be made available.
Requirements: Two short papers and a term paper.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing in Philosophy or permission of the instructor.
Course Content:
Innateness (Nativism). Perhaps more than any other, the issue of innateness divides rationalist and empiricist approaches to the science of cognition. Both believe that there are innate cognitive capacities, e.g., the capacity to learn. What divides rationalist and empiricist is the issue of innate knowledge: the that substantive and contingent information about the environment is part of the genetic endowment of every biological cognizer. The rationalist argument goes back to Plato: certain things that are known could not be learned.
This seminar focuses on the current status of the innateness debate: on the concept of innate knowledge, on the relation between learning, development and evolution that drives current conceptions of cognition and, hence, of the mind generally.
The content of this course is negotiable at the first organizational meeting.
