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Fall 2013 Class Schedule - updated June 18, 2013 at 05:56 pm

Number/Section  Title
Days Time Room Instructor
 
PHIL 115-01  Introduction to Philosophy
MWF 01:10 pm-02:10 pm MAIN 001 Janet Folina
 
PHIL 115-02  Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy and Film
TR 09:40 am-11:10 am HUM 402 Geoffrey Gorham
*First Year Course only* Film seems to be an especially vivid and effective medium to explore fundamental philosophical questions. And the medium of film raises interesting philosophical questions in its own right, especially questions about art and aesthetic experience. This class will combine reading of classic and contemporary philosophical texts with viewing and discussion of contemporary and classic films. The texts will include writings by Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Aquinas, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Mill and Nietzsche. The films may include Rashomon, The Seventh Seal, Rear Window, the Matrix, Memento, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Inception, etc. The main philosophical questions we'll examine are:

What is the relation between experience and reality?

What is the relation between reason and faith?

What is the relation between the mind and the body?

Are humans free? What is the self?

What is time? Is time travel possible?

What is the meaning of life?

What is morality? Why should I be moral?

What is the best or happiest life?

Why do films engage us so deeply?

Why do we enjoy terrifying/violent films?

What is the nature of time and space in film?

Can we 'do philosophy' with film? Are directors philosophers?

We will view one and discuss one film every one-two weeks. We will also likely travel as a group to film presentations and discussions at off-campus locations, such as the Walker Art Center, Trylon Theater and Heights Theater. Class meetings will normally consist of a brief lecture followed by general discussion of the readings and films. Coursework will consist mainly of short papers, reviews, and commentaries.



PHIL 115-03  Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy and Film
TR 01:20 pm-02:50 pm HUM 402 Geoffrey Gorham
Film seems to be an especially vivid and effective medium to explore fundamental philosophical questions. The medium of film raises interesting philosophical questions in its own right, especially questions about art and aesthetic experience. This class will pair readings of classic and contemporary philosophical texts with viewings and discussion of contemporary and classic films. The texts will include writings by Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Aquinas, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Mill and Nietzsche. The films may include Rashomon, The Seventh Seal, Rear Window, the Matrix, Memento, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Inception etc. We will view and discuss one film every one-to-two weeks. We may also travel as a group to film presentations and discussions at off-campus locations, such as the Walker Art Center, Trylon Theater and Heights Theater. Class meetings will normally consist of a brief lecture followed by general discussion of the readings and films. Coursework will consist mainly of short papers, reviews, and commentaries.
PHIL 120-01  Introduction to Symbolic Logic: Reasoning and Writing
MWF 09:40 am-10:40 am CARN 206 Janet Folina
*First Year Course only* Many arguments are persuasive. But some persuasive arguments are incorrect (some of these are fallacies); and some correct arguments are not very persuasive (at least at first glance).

Logic is the science of correct reasoning and argumentation, and symbolic logic is the use of symbols and formal rules to codify this science. (In this way, it is a bit like high school geometry.) The main aim of this course is to provide you with some formal tools for (i) determining whether an argument has a correct form, and (ii) proving a conclusion from a given set of premises. We will focus on formal "deductive" arguments, the tools of which constitute the fundamental methods of contemporary symbolic logic. We will also apply these tools in a variety of writing exercises. The payoff will be an improved ability to distinguish good arguments from bad ones, to justify such distinctions, and to provide clearer written and oral arguments in your own work.

Logic is also central to mathematics, and this course provides a good foundation for a major in mathematics as well as philosophy, and indeed any discipline that emphasizes correct, clear thinking, reading and writing.
PHIL 120-02  Introduction to Symbolic Logic
MWF 10:50 am-11:50 am CARN 206 Janet Folina
 
PHIL 125-01  Ethics
MWF 10:50 am-11:50 am MAIN 111 Diane Michelfelder
 
PHIL 125-02  Ethics
TR 09:40 am-11:10 am HUM 212 William Wilcox
 
PHIL 227-01  Bioethics
MWF 02:20 pm-03:20 pm CARN 208 Martin Gunderson
 
PHIL 236-01  Indian Philosophies
TR 01:20 pm-02:50 pm MAIN 002 Joy Laine
*Cross-listed with ASIA 236-01*
PHIL 254-01  Ethics and the Internet
MWF 01:10 pm-02:10 pm MAIN 111 Diane Michelfelder
*Cross-listed with COMP 154-01*
PHIL 283-01  Darwin/Nietzsche/Freud
TR 01:20 pm-02:50 pm HUM 215 David Martyn
*Cross-listed with GERM 327-01; not open to incoming First-Year students; core course for the Critical Theory Concentration; for description, see under German Studies*
PHIL 364-01  Philosophy of Language
TR 09:40 am-11:10 am MAIN 001 Joy Laine
*Cross-listed with LING 364-01*
PHIL 394-01  Advanced Ethical Theory
MWF 01:10 pm-02:10 pm CARN 208 Martin Gunderson
Where does morality come from? This can be asked as an empirical question about how humans came to develop morality. The empirical question of where morality came from is dealt with in such disciplines as anthropology, moral psychology and evolutionary theory. The question can also be raised as a philosophical issue about what justifies us in making moral claims and what it means to speak of morality in the first place. The empirical and philosophical explorations of morality are related, and recent philosophical work has been concerned with the relevance of empirical research on morality for the philosophical justification of morality. Some have argued that empirical research regarding the origins of morality support a form of moral skepticism called error theory. Others have argued that it indicates, if not skepticism, at least that there are no moral facts. The seminar will discuss these claims and ask whether justification and objectivity in morality are possible. We will also discuss whether there are any moral facts. Finally, we will consider what it means to be a moral agent and whether moral agency is uniquely human. The prerequisite for the seminar is Ethics (PHIL 125) or permission of the Instructor.



PHIL 489-01  Senior Seminar
W 07:00 pm-10:00 pm MAIN 002 William Wilcox
 

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Spring 2014 Class Schedule - updated June 18, 2013 at 05:56 pm

Number/Section  Title
Days Time Room Instructor
 
PHIL 115-01  Introduction to Philosophy
TR 09:40 am-11:10 am MAIN 002 William Wilcox
 
PHIL 125-01  Ethics
MWF 10:50 am-11:50 am MAIN 009 Martin Gunderson
 
PHIL 125-02  Ethics
MWF 01:10 pm-02:10 pm CARN 204 Martin Gunderson
 
PHIL 231-01  Modern Philosophy
MWF 10:50 am-11:50 am MAIN 111 Geoffrey Gorham
 
PHIL 235-01  Existentialist Metaphysics
MWF 01:10 pm-02:10 pm MAIN 111 Diane Michelfelder
 
PHIL 238-01  Philosophy of Religion
TR 09:40 am-11:10 am HUM 112 Joy Laine
*Cross-listed with RELI 238-01*
PHIL 251-01  Human Rights and Healthcare
MWF 02:20 pm-03:20 pm CARN 208 Martin Gunderson
 
PHIL 294-01  Philosophy of Sport
MWF 09:40 am-10:40 am MAIN 111 Geoffrey Gorham
 
PHIL 294-02  Rights of Non Human Animals
MWF 10:50 am-11:50 am MAIN 001 Diane Michelfelder
*First day attendance required*
PHIL 360-01  Philosophy of Science
TR 01:20 pm-02:50 pm MAIN 003 Janet Folina
*First day attendance required*
PHIL 369-01  Advanced Symbolic Logic
TR 09:40 am-11:10 am CARN 107 Janet Folina
*Cross-listed with MATH 369-01*
PHIL 394-01  Topics: Philosophical Worlds
MWF 02:20 pm-03:20 pm MAIN 111 Diane Michelfelder
 

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