PHIL 100-01 10502 |
Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy of the Future |
Days: T R
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Time: 01:20 pm-02:50 pm
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Room: HUM 214
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Instructor: Geoffrey Gorham
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Avail./Max.: Closed 0 / 16
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Details
We all hope and work for a bright future, even if we sometimes fear the worst. But what exactly is this future we care so much about, and for what sort of future should we strive? This class introduces fundamental problems of philosophy by exploring metaphysical, epistemological and ethical problems about the future. We begin with the central concerns of philosophy itself: what is real? what do I know? what is good? what really matters? We then consider the puzzling nature of the future, which we value immensely, and worry about, as though it is fully real. Are the past and present more real than the future? This raises interesting questions of our moral attitude to the future: do we have obligations to persons and generations that do not yet exist or no longer exist? Might we have an obligation to ensure that someone does (or does not) exist in the future? Future humans will face ethical issues that are worth thinking about in the present. For example, is it acceptable for future humans to colonize other planets as past humans have colonized other continents? There are a number of threats that may prevent a human future altogether: pandemics, war, climate change. How do we gauge these threats and act accordingly? And if it turns out we are doomed, how would this affect the meaning of the life we have left? If we survive, human nature is likely to undergo significant change with the rise of technologies like artificial intelligence, genetic engineering and biomedical enhancement. Are these enhancements good for us? Are we ready to become ‘trans-human’? Finally, how can we (in the present) ensure a good future for those to come?
General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Distribution Requirements:
Humanities
Course Materials
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PHIL 100-F1 10501 |
Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy of the Future |
Days: T R
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Time: 09:40 am-11:10 am
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Room: HUM 111
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Instructor: Geoffrey Gorham
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Avail./Max.: 0 / 17
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*First-Year Course only; first day attendance required*
Details
We all hope and work for a bright future, even if we sometimes fear the worst. But what exactly is this future we care so much about, and for what sort of future should we strive? This class introduces fundamental problems of philosophy by exploring metaphysical, epistemological and ethical problems about the future. We begin with the central concerns of philosophy itself: what is real? what do I know? what is good? what really matters? We then consider the puzzling nature of the future, which we value immensely, and worry about, as though it is fully real. Are the past and present more real than the future? This raises interesting questions of our moral attitude to the future: do we have obligations to persons and generations that do not yet exist or no longer exist? Might we have an obligation to ensure that someone does (or does not) exist in the future? Future humans will face ethical issues that are worth thinking about in the present. For example, is it acceptable for future humans to colonize other planets as past humans have colonized other continents? There are a number of threats that may prevent a human future altogether: pandemics, war, climate change. How do we gauge these threats and act accordingly? And if it turns out we are doomed, how would this affect the meaning of the life we have left? If we survive, human nature is likely to undergo significant change with the rise of technologies like artificial intelligence, genetic engineering and biomedical enhancement. Are these enhancements good for us? Are we ready to become ‘trans-human’? Finally, how can we (in the present) ensure a good future for those to come?
General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Distribution Requirements:
Humanities
Course Materials
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PHIL 111-01 10503 |
Introduction to Symbolic Logic |
Days: M W F
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Time: 10:50 am-11:50 am
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Room: CARN 206
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Instructor: Janet Folina
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Avail./Max.: 5 / 20
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Details
An introduction to formal methods for evaluating deductive arguments. Topics include formal fallacies, decision procedures, translation of arguments to argument forms, and natural deduction proofs in propositional and predicate logic.
General Education Requirements:
Quantitative Thinking Q1
Distribution Requirements:
Course Materials
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PHIL 121-01 10506 |
Ethics |
Days: M W F
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Time: 02:20 pm-03:20 pm
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Room: MAIN 010
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Instructor: Samuel Asarnow
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Avail./Max.: Closed -2 / 20
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Details
What matters in life? Is pleasure the only thing that matters? If so, whose pleasure should I pursue—just my own, my family’s, or everyone’s? Does suffering matter, too? What about the suffering of non-human animals? Is it okay for me to make animals suffer in order for me to enjoy the pleasure of eating their flesh? Or how about the suffering of people who are really far away from me—say, on another continent? Is it okay for me to spend money on cool stuff for myself when instead I could donate it to help people who are suffering very badly far away? If things in life other than pleasure matter too, what are they? People who oppose torture think that it’s wrong to hurt one person really badly even in order to prevent a large number of people from being hurt. Are they right? Is it always wrong to treat someone as merely a means to an end? Is it in general wrong to do things to people without their consent? Why? When do people deserve to be praised or blamed for their actions? What kind of person should I be? Should I try to be happy? Or should I try to be virtuous? Is virtue its own reward? Or are we all inevitably faced with a choice between being virtuous and being happy? If we are faced with that choice, which one should we pick? In Ethics, we will talk about these questions, and others.
General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Distribution Requirements:
Humanities
Course Materials
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PHIL 121-F1 10505 |
Ethics |
Days: M W F
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Time: 01:10 pm-02:10 pm
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Room: MAIN 010
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Instructor: Samuel Asarnow
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Avail./Max.: 0 / 17
|
*First-Year Course only; first day attendance required*
Details
What matters in life? Is pleasure the only thing that matters? If so, whose pleasure should I pursue—just my own, my family’s, or everyone’s? Does suffering matter, too? What about the suffering of non-human animals? Is it okay for me to make animals suffer in order for me to enjoy the pleasure of eating their flesh? Or how about the suffering of people who are really far away from me—say, on another continent? Is it okay for me to spend money on cool stuff for myself when instead I could donate it to help people who are suffering very badly far away? If things in life other than pleasure matter too, what are they? People who oppose torture think that it’s wrong to hurt one person really badly even in order to prevent a large number of people from being hurt. Are they right? Is it always wrong to treat someone as merely a means to an end? Is it in general wrong to do things to people without their consent? Why? When do people deserve to be praised or blamed for their actions? What kind of person should I be? Should I try to be happy? Or should I try to be virtuous? Is virtue its own reward? Or are we all inevitably faced with a choice between being virtuous and being happy? If we are faced with that choice, which one should we pick? In Ethics, we will talk about these questions, and others.
General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Distribution Requirements:
Humanities
Course Materials
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PHIL 221-01 10507 |
Environmental Ethics |
Days: T R
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Time: 01:20 pm-02:50 pm
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Room: MAIN 009
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Instructor: Amy Ihlan
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Avail./Max.: 2 / 20
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*Cross-listed with ENVI 221-01*
Details
Emerging in the 1970s, the field of environmental ethics began by sparking a rich line of philosophical inquiry largely focused on the moral status of the natural world and the non-human entities within it. What reasons do we have to give moral consideration to the environment? And what do we mean when we say we have a moral duty toward the environment? Do we have moral duties to individuals within a species, or to species themselves, or to ecosystems, or to...? This course will invite you to reflect on key philosophical works that engage these and related questions. You will also have the opportunity to think about significant emerging topics in environmental ethics. Depending on the semester, these may include the debate over the ethics of wilderness preservation; the challenges of expanding environmental ethics to address issues of global climate change and resource sustainability; environmental rights; and environmental justice.
General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Distribution Requirements:
Humanities
Course Materials
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PHIL 224-01 10509 |
Philosophy of Law |
Days: T R
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Time: 03:00 pm-04:30 pm
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Room: MAIN 009
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Instructor: Amy Ihlan
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Avail./Max.: Closed 1 / 20
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Details
This course explores a variety of issues in legal philosophy, including methods of legal reasoning, theories of constitutional and statutory interpretation, the relationship between law and morality, the ethical implications of lawyers’ roles in adversarial legal systems, and topics in feminist and critical legal theory. We will also consider ways legal analysis and arguments influence public policy, political controversies, and approaches to conflict resolution.
General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Distribution Requirements:
Humanities
Course Materials
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PHIL 294-01 10337 |
Freedom and its Discontents |
Days: T R
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Time: 09:40 am-11:10 am
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Room: HUM 213
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Instructor: David Martyn
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Avail./Max.: 2 / 25
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*Cross-listed with GERM 294-01; taught in English*
Details
“Free choice is the only miracle the moderns recognize” (Karol Berger). Freedom currently occupies an ambiguous place in our collective state of mind: while the Right takes to the streets in the name of freedom, MLK’s ringing refrain, “free at last,” continues to resonate in the Left’s calls for social justice. Both camps typically rely on the same underlying concept of what freedom is: something an individual exercises with their free will. In this course, we will work to gain a measure of distance on this common view of freedom by counterposing it with premodern as well as modern strains of thought that go against the grain of classical liberalism. Readings from Aristotle, Locke, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, Arendt, Buck-Morss, Mbembe, Badiou, Ahmad Yousif, and others. Weekly reading responses; three mid-length papers with revisions. No prerequisites, but be prepared to work your way through some densely argued texts.
General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Distribution Requirements:
Humanities
Course Materials
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PHIL 311-01 10510 |
Philosophy of Language |
Days: T R
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Time: 09:40 am-11:10 am
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Room: MAIN 111
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Instructor: Hannah Kim
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Avail./Max.: Closed 3 / 20
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*Cross-listed with ENGL 394-02 and LING 311-01*
Details
Language is magic: we can make noises at each other or make marks on a page and others can “see” what’s inside our minds! Language is even more magical when we consider its ability to do things: it can change people’s status (e.g. declaring someone a knight or husband/wife), harm others (e.g. using slurs), and turn literal falsehood into truths (e.g. metaphors or fiction) among others. In this class, you’ll be introduced to classic and contemporary topics surrounding language: how it is that words refer to objects, how context shapes meaning, how language and reality/thought are connected, and whether emoji and music are languages.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Humanities
Course Materials
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PHIL 312-01 10512 |
Philosophy of Mathematics |
Days: M W F
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Time: 01:10 pm-02:10 pm
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Room: MAIN 002
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Instructor: Janet Folina
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Avail./Max.: 6 / 15
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*Cross-listed with MATH 212-01*
Details
Why does 2 + 2 equal four? Can a diagram prove a mathematical truth? Is mathematics a social construction or do mathematical facts exist independently of our knowing them? Philosophy of mathematics considers these sorts of questions in an effort to understand the logical and philosophical foundations of mathematics. Topics include mathematical truth, mathematical reality, and mathematical justifications (knowledge). Typically we focus on the history of mathematics of the past 200 years, highlighting the way philosophical debates arise in mathematics itself and shape its future. Prerequisite(s): PHIL 111, MATH 279, or permission of the instructor.
General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
Distribution Requirements:
Humanities
Course Materials
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PHIL 489-01 10514 |
Senior Seminar |
Days: W
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Time: 07:00 pm-10:00 pm
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Room: MAIN 011
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Instructor: Geoffrey Gorham
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Avail./Max.: 0 / 10
|
Details
A capstone experience in philosophy for senior majors. Each participant in the seminar will be expected to write an essay reflective of scholarly standards within the discipline on a question of their own choosing, within a collaborative and supportive environment. Participants in the seminar will help one another develop their capstone papers and prepare to present them publicly at the end of the semester. Readings may be assigned as appropriate with regard to student-identified topics. Prerequisite(s): Philosophy major and senior status, or permission of instructor.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Humanities
Course Materials
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PHIL 489-02 10515 |
Senior Seminar |
Days: W
|
Time: 07:00 pm-10:00 pm
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Room: MAIN 003
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Instructor: Hannah Kim
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Avail./Max.: 3 / 10
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Details
A capstone experience in philosophy for senior majors. Each participant in the seminar will be expected to write an essay reflective of scholarly standards within the discipline on a question of their own choosing, within a collaborative and supportive environment. Participants in the seminar will help one another develop their capstone papers and prepare to present them publicly at the end of the semester. Readings may be assigned as appropriate with regard to student-identified topics. Prerequisite(s): Philosophy major and senior status, or permission of instructor.
General Education Requirements:
Distribution Requirements:
Humanities
Course Materials
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